Professor Sir Robin Jacob speaks at Fordham IP Conference

IBIL's Director, Professor Sir Robin Jacob, was invited to speak at the 32nd Annual Intellectual Property Law & Policy Conference at Fordham Law School, held in New York on 24-25 April 2025, organised by the Emily C. & John E. Hansen Intellectual Property Institute.

Professor Sir Robin Jacob participated first in the 'Current IP Issues' panel with a paper entitled: 'Why are Patents Always Under Threat Yet Soft IP is Allowed to Grow Like a Wild Thing?' He argued that copyright in particular has been extended very (too) far, whilst patents - despite typically requiring significant R&D expenditure - face continual criticism and the threat of curtailment. This brought on a very lively and thought provoking debate with the discussants and audience members. 

Professor Jacob, a retired Lord Justice of Appeal, also co-chaired the panel discussion entitled 'Views from Judicial Decision Makers'. He was joined by numerous other distinguished members of the international IP judiciary, including: Dr. Klaus Bacher, Chief Judge, Patent Division of the Federal Court of Justice, Germany; Edger Brinkman, Unified Patent Court, The Hague; Stephen Burley, Federal Court of Australia; David Carson, US Copyright Claims Board; Peter Charleton, Supreme Court of Ireland; Klaus Grabinski, President of the Unified Patent Court, Court of Appeal; Carl Josefsson, President of the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office; Mr Justice Richard Meade and Mr Justice James Mellor, High Court of England & Wales; Christiane Schmaltz, German Federal Court of Justice and Jiyoung Yi, IP High Court South Korea.

Read more about the conference here.