Foley proudly sponsored this year’s BIO-Europe international partnering conference held on November 12-14 in Hamburg, Germany. Ric Henschel, Senior Counsel for Foley’s Chemical & Pharmaceutical Practice, participated as a panel presenter for the workshop titled, U.S. and European Patent Law: Anticipated Changes and the Impact for the Life Sciences Industry. Richard Peet, Partner and Chair of Foley’s International Business Industry Team and Chemical & Pharmaceutical Practice, was moderator for this conference session.
U.S. and European Patent Law: Anticipated Changes and the Impact for the Life Sciences Industry
Monday, November 12, 2007
9:00 – 10:30 a.m.
Congress Center of Hamburg, Germany
Moderator
- Richard Peet, Partner and Chair, International Business Industry Team and Chemical & Pharmaceutical Practice, Foley & Lardner LLP
Confirmed Panel
- Ric Henschel, Senior Counsel, Chemical & Pharmaceutical Practice, Foley & Lardner LLP
- Ingwer Koch, Director, Directorate Patent Law, European Patent Office (EPO)
- Allen Norris, Vice President Head of IP Group, UCB SA
- Stephen Yoder, Senior Counsel, Head of Licensing and Intellectual Property, MorphoSys AG
Background
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) finalized sweeping rule changes in August 2007 that will significantly change U.S. patent practice and may influence European patent practice as well. We expect the USPTO to propose yet further changes soon. These changes will dramatically affect companies seeking patent protection in the U.S.
Meanwhile in Europe, EPC 2000 enters force in December 2007 as a revision of the European Patent Convention governing European Patent Office (EPO) proceedings, the London Agreement nears ratification to significantly reduce translation requirements for national patents based on EPO patent applications, and talks progress toward establishing a European Community patent and patent litigation court.
- What are the potential negative and positive effects of these reforms for the global market?
- What further changes are expected?
- How should the biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries prepare for these changes?
Experts from the U.S. and Europe discussed how these pivotal changes will affect your business and offered solutions to minimize their adverse impact.
More Information
BIO-Europe brings together international decision-makers from the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and financial sectors offering networking opportunities, workshop participation, and private, pre-scheduled one-on-one meetings.
To read this copy in French, please see Event Materials at the right of this page.
