The “new normal” is focus of IP Business Congress in Barcelona

With traditional patent strategies under pressure to show that they are still relevant, business as usual in the IP space is no longer the same.

Patent-adverse laws and more circumspect courts have forced owners worldwide to rethink how best to obtain, evaluate and utilize patents. The added scrutiny also has encouraged new, more collaborative IP business models and to reconsider ways of generating ROI.

This year’s IP Business Congress (IPBC Global) at the Arts Hotel in Barcelona, June 5-7. 2016 will be host to more than 75 presenters and 600 attendees. It marks the ninth IPBC Global, the leading event for the business of IP value creation.

The keynote session, “Welcome to the new normal,” will feature the head or co-head of IP at Microsoft, SAP, LG and Google, and the former director of IP business at Sony. An IP executive from Ericsson will moderate.

Rapid Evolution

“New challenges posed by a rapidly evolving global IP market have caused many affected by IP to re-think ways of doing business,” said Joff Wild, Editor of IAM magazine and lead IPBC Global producer. “Developments in Europe and Asia are creating a more international ecosystem, and assertion-based monetization programs are becoming harder to implement in the U.S.”

This year’s IPBC Global sessions include:

Welcome to the new normal
Meeting the Chief IP officer challenge
Peace not war
Insider the inter partes review regime
Quality trumps quantity
Adapt or die
The Alice effect
Europe’s chance to lead
Buyers’ market
Debate: Patents as an asset class

Bruce Berman (yes, me) has been asked to moderate a debate on a controversial topic, “Patents as an asset class.” I will have my work cut out for me: It has frequently been claimed that patents are an asset class and should be treated as such by owners and investors. However, others vehemently disagree. They argue that promoting them in this way does more harm than good. Who is right?

Make Your Voice Heard

Readers who plan to attend the conference are encouraged to stop by the IP asset discussion. Members of the audience will be equipped with devices that permit them to cast their vote for against patents as assets at the end of the debate.

IP CloseUp readers who register will receive as 20% discount if they use the registration code IPBC16IPCU.

As usual at IPBC, there will be a host of good networking and private meeting opportunities, and the Catalan back-drop ought to make things even more intriguing. Barcelona is one of Europe’s top technology hubs, and recently was named the world’s “Most Wired City.”

For program and speaker information go here. To register go here.

Image source: ipbusinesscongress.com; http://superflat.typepad.com/