Hello again, LES friends in many time zones, countries and mealtimes around the world! Last week saw lots of great relevant activity for LES-ers including a successful 50^th Anniversary event for LES ANZ in Syndey, Australia (which included a final session last Friday that honored International Women’s Day during a panel at the LES ANZ meeting. More coverage here). LESI’s Women in Licensing Alliance (WILA) hosted its own International Women’s Day event online kicking off the day in Japan and made a video available for viewing. Thanks to Pam Cox and Junko Sugimura for organizing.

At the end of this week, in Rio, the LESI Americas & YMC Committees host a joint, in-person conference on Thursday and Friday, “Celebrating Innovation in the Marvelous City.” We look forward to reports from what looks like a great agenda in an area primed to advance licensing of more technologies in the coming year (due to recent legislative improvements among other factors).  

More information below on other LESI Committee and LES Society events in Switzerland, USA & Canada, Scandinavia and France also this week. Its continues to be a busy March! And, if you have not made plans yet to join us for LESI2024 in Madrid, Spain (April 28-30), register now! 

Have a great week!!

• March 13 - "IP Financing Strategies: Pitfalls and Innovation in the Exploitation of IP Assets" (LES Switzerland) ZURICH
• March 13 - "Brands without Borders: Global Perspectives on Brand Protection and Brand Management" (LES USA-Canada) ONLINE
• March 13 - "Brand Use Restrictions on the Road to Paris" (LESI TDM & Americas Committees) ONLINE
• March 14-15 - "Celebrating Innovation in the Marvelous City" (LESI YMC & Americas Committees) RIO DE JANEIRO
• March 14 - "Industry Roundtable on Unitary Patent" (LES Scandinavia) HELSINKI
• March 14 - "Cybersecurity for SMEs & Start-Ups in Europe" (LES France) PARIS/ONLINE
• March 15 - "HTB Conference 2024 - Global Perspectives​" (LESI & EPO) ONLINE
• March 25-26 - "Basic Licensing Course &/or Topic Day: Start-ups and Licensing – Unveiling the Path from Funding to Licensing" (LES Benelux) ROTTERDAM
• March 26 - "Everything you need to know about Business Secrecy" (LES France) ONLINE
• March 27 - "The Ubiquitous World of Internet of Things (IoT) Connected Devices" (LES USA-Canada) SAN JOSE
• March 28 - "les Nouvelles LIVE: Spotlight on the March 2024 Edition" (LESI) ONLINE

Details on these events are posted below and on connect.lesi.org.

See the full list of upcoming events on the LESI website.

View information on previous LES events.

To get more involved in LESI, consider joining a committee.

LES Switzerland

"IP Financing Strategies: Pitfalls and Innovation in the Exploitation of IP Assets"

Wednesday, 13 March 2024

10:20am - 5:15pm (CET)

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND

The aim of the seminar is to provide a comprehensive insight into the financial aspects of IP and to create a space for the exchange of knowledge and experience. Participants will gain valuable insights into the financing of IP litigation, strategies for leveraging IP portfolios, the use of IP as loan collateral and the valuation of IP portfolios. In addition, current topics such as the taxation of intangible property rights and the management of IP on the blockchain will be highlighted.

The aim is to develop an understanding of the opportunities and challenges of building, trans-ferring, enforcing and exploiting IP and to provide participants with practical solutions to the challenges they face in their daily practice.

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LES USA-Canada

"Brands without Borders:

Global Perspectives on Brand Protection and Brand Management"

Wednesday, 13 March 2024

9:00am - 10:00am (EDT)

ONLINE

In the global marketplace, the imperative to safeguard and strategically manage brands transcends national boundaries. "Brands without Borders" offers a unique opportunity to explore brand protection and management through the lens of international expertise. Join LES USA-Canada as four IP attorneys from Nigeria, Argentina, Switzerland and China deliver insights into the multifaceted challenges of brand security and value from their unique perspectives.

Participants will benefit from a deep dive into the critical aspects of brand protection, including trademark, copyright, and anti-counterfeiting measures, tailored to the specific needs and legal frameworks of different regions. The session aims to equip business leaders, brand managers, and intellectual property professionals with advanced strategies for maintaining brand integrity and value on a global scale.

This event is FREE to LES members.

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LESI Trademarks, Designs, & Merchandising and LESI Americas Committees

"Brand Use Restrictions on the Road to Paris"

Wednesday, 13 March 2024

10:00am - 11:00am (EDT) / 3:00pm - 4:00pm (CET)

ONLINE

Join LESI’s TDM and Americas committees as they discuss BRAND USE RESTRICTIONS ON THE ROAD TO PARIS. The issue of ambush marketing resurfaces where event organisers take new and inventive steps to prevent brand owners from piggy-backing on the reputation surrounding popular events, but so do contractual issues and specific ‘Olympic’ national French legislation imposing restrictions on athletes and their sponsors ON THE ROAD TO PARIS (and beyond).

Moderator: Jochen M. Schaefer, Legal Counsel of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry and of the European Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry

Speakers:

• Cecilia Fernandez Wagener, IP Counselor for South American Football Association
• Julia Goldemberg, Marketing Coordinator for Brazilian Olympic Committee
• Ansley Rey O’Neal, Head of Special Projects (Paris 2024) at World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry

This event is FREE to participants.

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LESI YMC Pan-American and LESI Americas Committee

"Celebrating Innovation in the Marvelous City"

Thursday-Friday, 14-15 March 2024

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

A two-day event organized by the LESI Americas & LESI Young Members Congress (YMC) Committees.

You are invited to the vibrant city of Rio de Janeiro on March 14-15 for a spectacular joint event hosted by the Americas and YMC Committees. Embracing the theme "Carnival of the Future: Celebrating Innovation in the Marvelous City," this gathering promises to be an exhilarating exploration of cutting-edge advancements in technology and industry. The event will encompass an array of enriching sessions delving into pivotal subjects such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain, energy transition, agriculture innovation, food, and sports.

This unique gathering will provide a platform for attendees to engage in thought-provoking discussions, exchange groundbreaking ideas, and forge invaluable connections within the global intellectual property community. Rio de Janeiro, renowned for its captivating energy and cultural diversity, will set the stage for a truly inspiring convergence of minds. Join us as we uncover the limitless potential of innovation while reveling in the spirit of the world's most iconic Carnival city.

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LES Scandinavia

"Industry Roundtable on Unitary Patent"

Thursday, 14 March 2024

2:00pm - 4:00pm (EEST)

HELSINKI, FINLAND

Join LES Scandinavia for a discussion on Unitary Patent, industry benchmark on UPC strategies & lastest news from the field on 14 March!

Speakers:

• Mikael Mäkelä, Wärtsilä
• Sonja London, TactoTek
• Suvi Julin & Michael Nielsen, Berggren

This event is FREE to LES members.

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LES France

"Cybersecurity for SMEs & Start-Ups in Europe"

Thursday, 14 March 2024

5:30pm - 8:00pm (CET)

PARIS, FRANCE / ONLINE

2024 is shaping up to be a busy year for cybersecurity! The entry into force of the NIS 2 (Network and Information Security) Directive on cyber security obligations and its implementation will profoundly change the legislative landscape. These new legal obligations has to be seen against the background of an exponential increase of cyber threats, risks that have been heightened for French SMEs and start-ups by the hosting of the Paris Olympic Games.   

Guillaume Crépin, Ile-de-France delegate for the ANSSI (Network and Information Security National Agency), will provide an update on the reality of cyber risks for SMEs and start-ups. He will also discuss the future role of the ANSSI, soon to become a supervisory authority with the power to impose sanctions, as well as best practices and resources for protecting against cyber risks. His intervention will be followed by a roundtable with practitioners dealing with cybersecurity issues.

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LES International & European Patent Office

"HTB Conference 2024 - Global Perspectives​"

Friday, 15 March 2024

9:30am - 12:15pm (CET)

ONLINE

High-growth technology businesses (HTB) are key players in using intellectual assets to foster innovation. They are major drivers of economic growth and job creation. 

The High-growth technology business conference aims to support business decision makers in technology driven businesses (especially in SMEs) by sharing how intellectual property can support their business. 

This conference is specially designed for business decision makers and associated IP professionals.

This event is FREE to participants.

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LES Benelux

"Basic Licensing Course &/or Topic Day:

Start-ups and Licensing – Unveiling the Path from Funding to Licensing"

Monday-Tuesday, 25-26 March 2024

ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS

On March 25, 2024 The Netherlands Patent office and LES Benelux join forces to offer a new Basic licensing course designed for those that are either new to the licensing profession or other professionals that would like to get acquaintance with licensing matters.

This Basic introduction to licensing shall be particularly helpful for Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that deal with intellectual property as core of their business.

On March 26, 2024 the Young Member Committee of LES Benelux will be providing an extraordinary edition of a topic day revisiting their successful event last year in Luxemburg entitled “Start-ups and Licensing – Unveiling the Path from Funding to Licensing”. The program will consider among others, what terms and conditions are relevant in your license agreement when dealing with next round of investment.

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LES France

"Everything you need to know about Business Secrecy"

Tuesday, 26 March 2024

5:30pm - 7:30pm (CET)

ONLINE

Everything you need to know about business secrecy: assessment of the first 5 years of application of the law of July 30, 2018 and the decree of December 11, 2018.

Three lawyers will share their expertise and their experience on these crucial issues for any company:

• What are the "reasonable protection measures" that need to be put in place in order to benefit from trade secret protection?
• How can trade secrets be protected in legal proceedings?
• How effective are legal proceedings in the event of violation of trade secrets?
• What about before the UPC?

Speakers:

• Élisabeth Berthet, attorney at law, Promark
• Thomas Bouvet, attorney at law, Jones Day
• Anne-Charlotte Le Bihan, attorney at law, Bird & Bird

Moderators:

• Laetitia Nicolazzi, attorney at law, Linklaters,
• Isabelle Romet, mediator, Interspheris

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LES USA-Canada

"The Ubiquitous World of Internet of Things (IoT) Connected Devices"

Wednesday, 27 March 2024

11:00am - 2:00pm (PDT)

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA

A recent report from McKinsey estimates that the IoT industry could enable $5.5 trillion to $12.6 trillion in value globally by 2030. A study by Ericsson predicts up to 24 billion inter-connected products (e.g., mobility, medical devices / healthcare, smart homes / offices, industrial equipment & more) by 2050. The key to enabling such scale and value is standards-based connectivity and interoperability. Everything will be wirelessly connected. Products will talk to each other and the back-end infrastructure, sending instructions, content, software, usage reports and much more.

Because connectivity standards are covered by patents, and every product must follow the standards, patent licensing is inevitable. The first big waves of connectivity patent licensing involved computers, cellular handsets and connected cars. The next big wave (and possible tsunami) will be IoT devices. The patent licensing revenue could run into the tens of billions of dollars. Technology developers, product manufacturers, users, joint licensing programs and governments are all gearing up to address this opportunity. But the IoT space is huge and diverse, with vastly different usage cases, value propositions, profit margins compared to handsets, computers and connected cars.

Takeaways:

• Understanding the key issues & challenges in IoT licensing

• Who are the players, and what are the strategies, opportunities & timing

• What’s old? What’s evolving? What’s new?

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LES International

"les Nouvelles LIVE: Spotlight on the March 2024 Edition"

Wednesday, 28 March 2024

10:00am - 11:00am (EDT) / 3:00pm - 4:00pm (CET)

ONLINE

Join LESI for the next les Nouvelles LIVE! online event to hear the “making-of” stories from the authors of articles in the March 2024 edition. Articles this month discuss the intersection between artificial intelligence and technology transfer, regulatory policy proposals affecting licensing and litigation, the interplay between antitrust law and intellectual property law, and much more!

This event is FREE to participants.