A Workshop on Protecting Applied Technology with Patents

Who this course is for

The course is for a mix of professionals and students with an interest in Intellectual Property and commercialization of research results, in particular in Information and Communication technology.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this one-day short course participants will gain an insight into the individual steps necessary for protecting innovative technology with patents. As an example of the patenting process, the structure, function and services of the European Patent Office (EPO) will be presented and explained. The various procedural steps of the patenting process will be shown and the corresponding best practice will be explained. The presentation will also focus on what exactly can be patented, explaining the exclusions from patentability and using Information and Communication Technology as an example.

Information on the investment necessary for patent protection at the EPO will be given as well. The post-grant life of a patent will be briefly sketched, explaining the basics of licensing, valuation, infringement and validity proceedings.

Agenda

9.30am - 9.50am: Opening, coffee and networking

9.50am – 10:00am: Welcome, delegate introductions by Dr Evangelia Chrysikou (Lecturer - Program Director)

10:00am - 10.15am: UCL Innovation and Enterprise

10:15am – 10:30am: UCL Business

10:30am – 11:30am: ‘An Introduction to IP and the patenting system for beginners’ by David Combes (Partner, Chartered UK & European Patent Attorney, from Barker Brettel Intellectual Property)

11:30am - 12:00pm: Discussion

12.00pm - 13.00pm: Lunch break and networking

13:00am – 14:30am:  ‘How do we go about patenting technological applications at the European Patent Office? What are the conditions for patenting?’ Can information and communication technology, in particular inventions implemented in software, be patented? What about artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, algorithms? by Yannis Skoulikaris

14.30pm – 15.00pm: Break

15.00pm - 16.30pm: Group work on case studies, results presentation in plenary session

16.30pm - 17.00pm: 10-15 min. patent clinics for people to ask questions privately

Note: The exact times of the structure of the day may change slightly.

Course Team:

Yannis Skoulikaris, Director Operations, European Patent Office

Yannis Skoulikaris is Director Patent Granting Process in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) at the European Patent Office. He has 40 years of professional experience in computer technology, of which 30 years in patent protection in ICT. His recent engagements at the EPO have been drafting guidelines for the examination of computer-implemented inventions (CII) and cutting edge technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain, and conducting comparative studies in CII patenting practice with the JPO (Japan Patent Office), CNIPA (China National Intellectual Property Administration) and KIPO (Korean Patent Office).

Yannis has a background in Physics and Computer Science with focus on artificial intelligence. He has followed two years of legal studies with the University of London, training as a European Patent Attorney and as a technical judge for the Unified Patent Court with CEIPI in Strasbourg. He is a guest lecturer for European Patent Law, in particular for patenting of computer-implemented inventions, at the Law School of the Maastricht University and the Washington University, St. Louis. He has presented the European practice in patenting computer-implemented inventions with emphasis on artificial intelligence applications in various fora in Europe, North and South America and Asia. He is a Senior Member of IEEE.

David Combes, EPA, CPA, EUIPO representative, Ceng, MIMechE, MEng (Hons)

David Combes has ten years’ experience in defence related research and development prior to training as a patent attorney. He is named inventor on seven patent families. David is handling patent work for Malvern Instruments Limited, preparing and filing patent applications to protect new inventions and managing a portfolio of around 85 pending cases throughout the world, regularly meeting inventors to discuss new inventions and how to make progress with patenting older ones. Preparing and filing a patent application on all optical memory for Oxford University, against a challenging publication deadline in Nature Photonics.

Areas of expertise include patent drafting and prosecution before the UK and European Patent Office, international patent prosecution, patentability review, patent filing strategy, opposition, validity and infringement advice, patent office opinions and patent opposition.

Sector specialisms include aerospace, energy and universities.

Cost

For UCL attendees: £25

For non UCL attendees: £100