My colleagues have put together very interesting programmes for both, with a great line-up of in-house and private practice speakers.
The Women’s Leadership Forum is the second such event we have hosted, after our inaugural one in June in New York (pictured). The sessions will be led by leading women IP practitioners who will be speaking on topics including litigation and licensing trends, dealing with NPEs, biotechnology, IP protection and social media, and IP developments in Canada and Europe. Panellists include in-house lawyers from Facebook, Twitter, StubHub, SAP, Gilead, Toyota, Nokia and CBS (among others) as well as some of the top US, Canadian and UK private practice lawyers.
Chief Magistrate Judge Elizabeth D Laporte of the Northern District of California is giving the keynote address and the final session will see a panel of in-house counsel and law firm partners offering advice on progressing your IP career. The event is aimed at women at all stages of their career, from junior associates to senior partners.
The European Patent Reform Forum aims to give US in-house counsel, and their US private practice advisers, a thorough primer in the changes taking place in Europe affecting patent prosecution and enforcement.
Although the first Unitary Patent is not slated to be issued until next year at the earliest, savvy companies are already considering their strategies: weighing up the likely costs and benefits (financial and strategic) of applying for Unitary Patents; and considering whether to opt in or out of the Unified Patent Court system.
An excellent group of speakers including lawyers from the EPO, in-house counsel and some of the European private practitioners who have followed the machinations of EU patent reform most closely will offer advice for developing your own strategies.
You can still register for both events online. They are both free for in-house counsel and R&D professionals. We did temporarily close registration for the Women’s Forum but have now managed to secure a larger venue at the Fairmont to cope with demand and should be able to squeeze a few more people in.
If you are coming along to one (or both) of the events then I look forward to seeing you there (do come and say hello). If you can’t make it on the day then you can follow the proceedings on Twitter using @managingip. Those of you on the East Coast can find out more about the New York European Patent Reform Forum taking place on Friday here.
