Programme - Tuesday, 15th May 2007
8.30 - Coffee & croissants
9.30 - Keynote speech
- Ron Marchant, former Chief Executive, UK Patent Office (Slides) (Notes)
10.00 - Research on benefits and costs
As economists have focused on the growing role of the patent system, there has been an outpouring of new research. What does the evidence reveal about patents as assets – and about the costs and risks associated with patents? What are the implications for patent policy?
- Moderator: Ron Marchant
- Provocateur: Dr Brian Kahin, CCIA/University of Michigan
- Dr Dominique Guellec, OECD (Slides)
- Jim Bessen, Boston University (Slides)
- Dr Paola Giuri, LEM, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa (Slides)
— Break —
- Dr David Martin, CEO, M-Cam (Slides)
- Dr Bruno Van Pottelsberghe, Chief Economist, EPO
12.30 - Buffet lunch
13.40 - The Communication from the Commission: questions and answers (60 minutes)
Dr Jens Gaster and David Ellard of the European Commission, DG Internal Market, discusses "Enhancing the patent system in Europe" and answers questions from the audience. (Slides)
14.30 - Quality
There is growing concern that low-quality patents can burden the system and ultimately impose a tax on real innovation. But quality has several dimensions and is difficult to measure directly. How can quality be monitored and managed? Most importantly, what can be done to improve it – and reduce conflict over patents?
Moderator: Greg Perry, European Generics Association
Provocateur: Prof. Johanna Gibson, Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute
- Daniel Ravicher, Executive Director, Public Patent Foundation (Slides)
- Francis Hagel, Intellectual Property Manager, CGGVeritas (Slides)
- Prof. Dietmar Harhoff, University of Munich (Slides)
— Break —
- Prof. Beth Noveck, Peer-to-Patent Project, New York Law School (Slides)
- Dr Roger Burt, Intellectual Property Law Counsel, IBM Europe (Slides)
17.30-18.30 - Reception in the Hotel Metropole
Programme - Wednesday, 16th May 2007
8.30 - Coffee & croissants
9.00 - Diversity in Innovation
Evidence that patents are used and viewed differently in different technology and business contexts has been affirmed by industry differences on patent reform in the U.S. and patentable subject matter in Europe. The complexity of information technology and software in particular lead to practices that are unfamiliar in traditional areas. If innovation is to be optimized in all fields, how should intellectual property systems adapt?
Moderator: Amédee Turner, CJA Associates
Provocateur: Pieter Hintjens, President, FFII
- Prof. Reto M. Hilty, Director of Max Planck Institute (Slides)
- Prof. Salvatore Torrisi, University of Bologna (Slides)
- Prof. Geertrui Van Overwalle, Centre for Intellectual Property Rights, University Leuven (Slides)
— Break —
- Corinna Heineke, Oxfam (Slides)
- Catherine McCarthy, Sun Microsystems (Slides)
- Prof. Lee Hollaar, University of Utah (Slides) (Article)
12.00 - Keynote speech
- Mark Shuttleworth, President, Ubuntu Foundation
12.30 - Buffet lunch
13.30 - Institutions and Innovation
Political demand for an integrated system and cheaper patents has led to proposals for a community patent and specialized patent courts. But these debates point to a larger question: How do national systems and the EPO fit within a framework of European innovation policy?
Moderator: Dr Jens Gaster, European Commission, DG Internal Market
Provocateur: Ed Black, President, CCIA
- Reinhilde Veugelers, European Commission, Bureau of European Policy Advisors (Slides)
- Prof. John Duffy, George Washington University (Slides)
- Benoit Battistelli, French IP Commissioner and Director General, INPI
— Break —
- Jean-Luc Gal, European Patent Office
- Prof. Luc Soete, UNU-MERIT/U. of Maastricht
- Erika Mann, MEP
16:30 - Keynote speech
- William Kovacic, Commissioner, U.S. Federal Trade Commission (Slides)
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Time and Place
- 15 and 16 May 2007
- Metropole Hotel
- Place Brouckere, Brussels, Belgium
