Agenda Day 2
8:00 am - 8:30 am
REGISTRATION & COFFEE
8:30 am - 8:40 am
OPENING REMARKS FROM THE CHAIRPERSON
Lucy Johnson -
Chief Operating Officer,
HGF
8:40 am - 8:45 am
LIVE POLLING
8:45 am - 9:15 am
PRESENTATION: AUTHENTICITY IS EVERYONE’S BUSINESS - TURNING CUSTOMER AWARENESS INTO A FRONTLINE BRAND DEFENCE
Laura Martini -
Global Domains & Brand Protection Manager,
Chiesi Group
As counterfeit products, imitation sites and misleading marketplaces become harder to distinguish from the real deal, authenticity increasingly becomes part of the customer experience. But for IP leaders, customers need the knowledge and confidence to recognise fakes for it to become a proactive strategy for brand protection. Against maturing counterfeiters, how can IP teams turn customer education into meaningful protection while strengthening trust and loyalty?
• Explore education, enablement, engagement and information as a customer-centric brand protection strategy
• Learn how authenticity tools such as product verification and QR codes can give customers the confidence to identify genuine products
• Examine the importance of social media marketing as brand education without undermining the customer experience
9:15 am - 10:00 am
PANEL DISCUSSION: AI TO THE RESCUE - TRANSFORMING THE IP LIFECYCLE FROM SEARCH TO PORTFOLIO DECISION-MAKING
Dr. Georg Müller -
Head of Intellectual Property, European & Swiss Patent Attorney, UPC Representative,
TomTom International
AI within IP has moved beyond generic productivity gains to become a practical tool across the lifecycle. While some teams are already building sophisticated legal-reasoning agents and testing infringement workflows, others are evaluating how to integrate it into existing IMPS. But it is far from simple: AI upskilling can initially add to workloads, and the biggest opportunity may not be another standalone tool, but in connecting extant systems. There is no "one size fits all" approach, so how can IP leaders determine what is best for business?
TomTom International
• Hear how AI is being applied across the IP lifecycle to create the biggest impact on business value
• Discuss integrating AI with existing IPMS, search tools and workflows to automate administrative processes
• Consider how to make the case for AI investment when implementation initially creates additional work
• Identify where AI can move IP teams beyond efficiency gains, freeing resources for more proactive portfolio management
Dr. Georg Müller
Head of Intellectual Property, European & Swiss Patent Attorney, UPC RepresentativeTomTom International
10:05 am - 10:35 am
THINK TANK: FROM FILING TO ENFORCEMENT - OPTIMISING PATENT STRATEGY IN THE UPC ERA
Torge Thielemann -
Managing Partner,
RGTH
Three years after its launch, the UPC is no longer just a new litigation forum. It is increasingly shaping decisions made at the filing, prosecution and portfolio-management stages. As patentees seek to maximise flexibility and minimise litigation risk, strategic considerations such as national fallback filings, prosecution choices, opt-outs, injunction leverage and cross-border enforcement are becoming more interconnected than ever before. The question is: has the UPC merely altered where disputes are fought, or is it fundamentally changing how patents are obtained and managed throughout Europe?
• Explore how the UPC has influenced filing strategies, and whether prosecution practices need to evolve in light of increasing scrutiny of prosecution history
• Analyse how the UPC's approach to jurisdiction, long-arm reach, infringement actions and injunctions is changing litigation and enforcement strategies across Europe
• Evaluate how patent portfolio management can be aligned with UPC litigation risks and opportunities, including validity challenges, forum selection and cross-border enforcement considerations
10:40 am - 11:10 am
THINK TANK: CTRL + ALT + IP - REBOOTING BUSINESS MODELS IN THE AI ERA
Dr. Maximilian Brandt -
Chief Intellectual Property Counsel,
FEV Group
AI is transforming the IP lifecycle, accelerating workflows, reshaping internal expectations, and putting traditional business models under pressure, thereby causing in-house teams to rethink their role in an increasingly technological landscape. The challenge is twofold: harnessing AI to accelerate operations while navigating fundamental questions around ownership, customer agreements and value created. So how can IP teams help reshape their approach to curate robust business models while ensuring AI becomes a driver of long-term value and protection?
• Explore how AI is reshaping IP business models as internal expectations demand less resource, and faster results
• Discover how AI tools are transforming IP operations from patent drafting to agent-based workflows
• Understand how to protect ownership of valuable data while maintaining competitive advantage
11:15 am - 11:45 am
THINK TANK: RELATIONSHIP GOALS - BUILDING MORE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN BRAND OWNERS AND EXTERNAL COUNSEL IN A TECH-DRIVEN WORLD
Inevitably, the advancement of technology is reshaping how IP rights owners deliver brand protection, and work with external counsel. As in-house teams take greater ownership of their strategic priorities, models of fully outsourced or fully in-house legal services are giving way to more flexible, hybrid approaches. With an increasingly crowded market of law firms and technology service providers, IP leaders must determine the right balance. But what does effective collaboration look like, and how should brand owners measure the value their external partners bring beyond traditional legal expertise?
• Compare how brand owners are adapting their operating models from fully outsourced portfolio management to in-house and hybrid approaches
• Explore how AI and technology are changing the responsibilities of in-house teams, law firms and specialist service providers
• Discuss which metrics matter most when selecting external counsel and service providers
• Share how using AI to drive smarter portfolio management can deliver more targeted investment in brand protection
10:05 am - 10:35 am
1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS
10:40 am - 11:10 am
1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS
11:15 am - 11:45 am
1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS
11:50 am - 12:35 pm ROUNDTABLE: THE TRAINING GROUND - SHAPING TOMORROW’S HEADS OF IP
Peter Arrowsmith - Partner, GJE
11:50 am - 12:35 pm
ROUNDTABLE: THE EVOLUTION OF DESIGN - EXPLORING NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN IP PROTECTION
Beverley Robinson -
Partner,
Appleyard Lees
11:50 am - 12:35 pm
ROUNDTABLE: UNDER PRESSURE - ADAPTING THE IP OPERATING MODEL TO DRIVE EFFICIENCY, EFFECTIVENESS, AND RESILIENCE
Virginien Leost -
Director,
PSS Solutions
12:35 pm - 12:50 pm
QUICK-FIRE PRESENTATION: THE NEXT FRONTIER - INTEGRATING IP WITH AI GOVERNANCE, CYBERSECURITY, AND DATA REGULATIONS
Isabel Bairrão -
Head of Privacy, Intellectual Property and AI Legal,
EMMA - The Sleep Company
With the technology evolution showing no signs of slowing down, IP teams are increasingly operating at the intersection of innovation, regulation, data and security. AI can create value, but it can also affect the protection and use of data and intellectual property. From trade secrets and new EU legislation to the future development posed by enhanced digitisation, how can IP leaders overcome the difficulty of distinguishing genuine business risk from regulatory noise?
• Examine how trade secrets and other forms of IP protection need to evolve as AI increases the scale and speed at which information is created, shared and analysed
• Understand where IP and regulation increasingly overlap to enhance protection of valuable data
• Examine how cybersecurity and appropriate AI governance can enable IP teams to impactfully leverage AI capabilities
12:50 pm - 1:50 pm
LUNCH
1:50 pm - 2:20 pm THINK TANK: DESTINATION EXPANSION - CHARTING THE PATENT ROADMAP TO LATIN AMERICA
María Isabel Navarro Fernández - Head of Patent Counsels, NestleAs innovation and commercial activity grows across Latin America, Brazil and other Central and South American markets are becoming increasingly important jurisdictions for patent teams. But there are many considerations for extending a patent strategy into the region: lengthy and uncertain prosecution timelines, differences in examination practices, enforcement mechanisms and judicial expertise can all influence how patenting can deliver meaningful value. So how can patent leaders develop a practical approach to Brazil, and Latin America, while considering their place within a broader global IP strategy?
• Discuss how to prioritise patent filings across Central and South American jurisdictions to determine where protection is business-critical
• Assess how to navigate prosecution uncertainty, identify the right local counsel and build trusted relationships to support effective patent protection and enforcement
• Share successful cross-jurisdictional prosecution and enforcement strategies to better prepare for litigation
• Explore how lessons from more established patent systems can be applied to strengthen patent protection across Latin America
2:25 pm - 2:55 pm SCENARIO SIMULATION: MAKING IP PAY - UNLOCKING REVENUE FROM DEFENSIVE PORTFOLIOS THROUGH MONETISATION, LICENSING, AND TANGIBLE ROI
Take on the role of an IP investment committee and decide how to reshape a fictional company's 15–20 asset portfolio.
Working in teams, attendees will assess an IP asset's strategic value, legal strength, commercial potential and cost before deciding what to Keep, Invest, Licence, Sell or Abandon.
Join this hands-on exercise to explore how portfolio choices can move IP from a defensive cost centre to a strategic asset that generates tangible commercial value.
1:50 pm - 2:20 pm
1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS
2:25 pm - 2:55 pm
1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS
3:00 pm - 3:05 pm
LIVE POLLING
3:05 pm - 3:20 pm
QUICK-FIRE PRESENTATION: PROTECT WHAT MATTERS - REEVALUATING TRADE SECRETS IN THE AI ERA
Adele Calamo Specchia -
Head of Ownership & Licensing - Corporate Intellectual Property,
ASML
Trade secret protection has traditionally been treated as a matter of internal practice aimed at managing disclosure and ensuring employees understand their responsibilities. But as AI changes how information is created, accessed, and shared, the boundaries of what needs protecting (and how) are becoming more complex. Transparency and disclosure is as important as ever for IP leaders, but with a lack of guidance on the implications of AI on intellectual property, how can they rethink trade secret protection for an AI-enabled organisation?
• Discuss how AI has changed the way businesses identify, protect and monitor trade secrets
• Examine the tension between trade secrets and transparency to successfully balance protection and commercialisation
• Consider how to approach AI security and governance to protect intellectual property
• Delve into creating AI upskilling programmes that express the importance of trade secret protection
3:20 pm - 4:20 pm
PANEL DISCUSSION AND CHAMPAGNE ROUNDTABLES: REVIVING AN AGING FUNCTION - BUILDING THE PEOPLE AND CAPABILITIES THE FUTURE OF IP DEMANDS
Donato Pasquariello -
Director Intellectual Property, European Patent Attorney,
Ericsson
David Babayan - Associate General Counsel - Patents, Holcim Group
Benedikt Krüger - Head of Intellectual Property Varian & Process Excellence, Siemens Healthineers
Gwen ten Berge - Director Intellectual Property, VMI Group
The IP function is undergoing a transformation, with technology at the forefront. But the biggest question is not what advanced technologies can do, but whether IP teams have the skills, mindset, and operating models needed to take advantage of them. As work becomes increasingly automated, IP leaders must rethink where people create value, which capabilities should remain in-house, and what should be outsourced. An ageing profession and limited investment in talent raise questions about how the industry will attract, develop, and retain the next generation of IP talent. So, what does the IP workforce of the future look like?
Siemens Healthineers
• Explore how technology is changing the skills, roles and capabilities needed across in-house IP teams
• Examine whether traditional business models remain fit for purpose as AI transforms the way work is delivered
• Hear how to attract, develop and retain younger talent with the evolution of training and career pathways
• Consider the growing importance of soft skills, mindset and leadership in building future-ready IP teams
Hear about one of the biggest, yet under-discussed, questions facing IP leaders today. Then, following their panel discussion, panellists will each join a table and delve into more detail with their peers to discuss the topic further.
Benedikt Krüger
Head of Intellectual Property Varian & Process ExcellenceSiemens Healthineers
