Monday 6 October 2014

CIPA Congress 2014: the highlights

3 October 2014, 8 pm

I have noticed that proper bloggers write summaries of the conferences they go to.  So on the train home I attempt to distil the key messages from CIPA Congress 2014.  Here is the result.

Keynote speech by the IP Minister: IP is lovely; every business should have one.

Session 1: try to build yourself a portfolio of lovely IP before your employees build it for you and put it on Facebook®.

Session 2: IP portfolio management is all about risk management.

Session 3: some things are going to happen in trade mark law.  (I may have mis-remembered this.  I am not a trade mark expert.)

Keynote speech by an EPO Director: it’s OK; we are getting some more printers.  And some new Guidelines.

Session 4: prosecuting an IP portfolio is all about risk management.  Except in the US, where it is just about risk.

Session 5: EPO opposition hearings are all about damage limitation.  The best person to limit the damage for you is a barrister, who is properly trained to make damage look entertaining.

Keynote speech by a US attorney: USPTO post-grant review will kill your patents.  All of them.  Even the best-trained barrister may struggle to make this look entertaining. 

Session 6: IP litigation strategy is all about risk management.

Session 7: IP licensing is all about risk management.

Vice-President’s address: here is some straw.

Keynote speech by a senior Oxfam advisor: IP is not lovely.  IP is evil.

Response by GSK: oh no it isn’t.

Audience: boo!

Session 8: risk management is probably outside your budget.  It may also be outside the scope of your indemnity insurance.  Greece is a good place to set up a manufacturing node because of the baklava.  (I may have mis-remembered this bit too.)  The CJEU is not half as bad as you think, especially if you hire a barrister to make it seem more entertaining.

Session 9 (CIPA open meeting on SILC): CIPA is lovely and is going to do lots of lovely things for its members.  Also please can we come round for a coffee and a chat and do you happen to have any caramel custard tarts?

I hope my readers find this a useful summary.  But just in case I have missed anything important, the whole thing was being filmed.  The box-set should be available before Christmas.

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