Patents in Telecoms and the Internet of Things 2024

Organised by Professor Sir Robin Jacob with James Marshall (Pinsent Masons) and Nicola Dagg (Kirkland & Ellis), the key topics of the conference include:

• Who should decide FRAND terms when parties cannot agree?
• Getting to FRAND – Patent Assertion and Defence Strategies
• New kinds of SEP Licensees
• The Commission Proposal I
• The Commission Proposal II
• Valuing a Portfolio and Assessing FRAND
• Platforms and Pools: Where next?
• Hot Topics including use of non-SEP patents as part of FRAND negotiations
• Transparency
• Judges’ Panel

Please note that the agendas for the conference are subject to change. Correct at 25 April 2024.

Agenda - Day 1

Time	Session
08:30	Registration and coffee
09:00	WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION Professor Eloise Scotford, Dean, UCL Faculty of Laws Prof Sir Robin Jacob, UCL IBIL
09:05	PANEL 1: What assistance can SSOs give in resolving FRAND disputes? Moderator: Rory Clarke, Kirkland & Ellis International LLP Background/Intro - which standards does your SSO oversee and what is the nature of the accompanying FRAND obligation? Does your SSO already have a dispute resolution mechanism and if so what is it? Does your SSO already provide support to assist resolving FRAND disputes and if so what is it? What additional support do you feel your SSO could give to assist resolving FRAND disputes? In general, what support do you believe SSOs are best placed to give for assisting the resolution of FRAND disputes? What barriers, if any, are there for SSOs to become more involved in assisting with resolving FRAND disputes? Speaker: Ignacio De Castro (WIPO) Konstantinos Karachalios (IEEE) Christian Loyau (ETSI)
10:05	KEYNOTE 1:  Fabian Gonnell (Qualcomm)
10:20	Break
10:45	PANEL 2: Getting to FRAND – Resolving FRAND Disputes – Is there a better way? Moderator: James Marshall, Pinsent Masons Where, and under what circumstances can an anti-suit injunction be granted and when should anti-anti-suit injunctions be sought? Final injunctions for infringement of SEPs – where are the courts more likely to grant them?    What is "willingness" and is it working? Which jurisdictions are preferred and why? Should one or several be engaged? Do interim injunctions have a place? Speakers: Robert Earle (Ericcson ) Charles Eloshway (USPTO) Fabian Gonnell (Qualcomm) Emil Zhang (Huawei)
12:00	PANEL 3: New kinds of SEP Licensees Moderator: Katie Coltart, Linklaters LLP Speakers: Marianne Frydenlund (Avanci) Pekka Sääskilahti (Compass Lexecon) Pippa Wheeler (HP) Benno Buehler (Charles River Associates)
13:00	Lunch
14:00	PANEL 4: The Commission Proposal 1 Moderator: Peter Camesasca Speakers: Michael Fröhlich (EPO) Eeva Hakoranta (InterDigital) Markus Kicia (European Commission) Carter Eltzroth (DVB)
15:00	Break
15:30	PANEL 5: The Commission Proposal 2 Moderator: Professor Sir Robin Jacob Speakers: Vincent Angwenyi (Sisvel) Prof Adam Mossoff (George Mason University) Daniel Alexander KC (8 New Square) Prof. Bowman Heidan (CIP and UC-Berkeley)
16:30	PANEL 6: Valuing a Portfolio and Assessing FRAND – Comparable licenses, top down etc. Moderator: Carissa Kendall-Windless (Pinsent Masons) Speakers: Brian Napper (Ocean Tomo) Justus Baron (Northwestern) Dr Roya Ghafele (OxFirst) Tim Pohlman (LexisNexis IPlytics)
17:30	Reception

 

Agenda - Day 2

Time	Panel
08:45	Registration and coffee
09:45	PANEL 7: Platforms and Pools: Where next? Moderator: Carlos Aboim, Licks Attorneys Speakers: Steve Faraji (Audi) Juliane Buchinski (ZTE) David Yurkerwich (Ankura) Luke McLeroy (Avanci)
10:45	KEYNOTE ADDRESS : Susanna Martikainen, Chief Licensing Officer, Mobile Devices, Nokia
11:15	Break
11:45	PANEL 8: Transparency Moderator: Gary Moss, EIP Speakers: John Mulgrew (Lenovo) Keith Mallinson (WiseHarbor) Will Plut (Patent Profit International LLC) Dr. Thomas Dreiser (Huawei)
12:45	MINI-KEYNOTE ADDRESS UK IPO: SEPs policy forward look Adam Williams, Chief Executive, UK Intellectual Property Office
13:00	Lunch
14:00	PANEL 9: Hot Topics including use of non-SEP patents as part of FRAND negotiations Moderator: Nicola Dagg, Kirkland & Ellis International LLP Speakers Taylor Ludlam (Lenovo) Clemens Heusch (Nokia) Prof Jorge Contreras (University of Utah) Final speaker TBA
15:00	MINI-KEYNOTE ADDRESS An overview of the international developments in WTO and China Ruben Schellingerhout (European Commission – ONLINE)
15:15	PANEL 10: Judges Panel Moderator: Prof. Sir Robin Jacob (UCL IBIL) Speakers Wang Yang Fang (former Judge Supreme Court of China) The Hon Mr Justice Mellor Dr Klaus Grabinski (Court of Appeal / Unified Patent Court) Hon Rodney Gilstrap (US District Court – Eastern District of Texas)
16:15	Closing remarks

 

About the Keynote Speakers

Susanna Martikainen, Chief Licensing Officer, Mobile Devices, Nokia
Susanna Martikainen is Chief Licensing Officer, Mobile Devices, and leads Nokia’s smartphone patent licensing program. During her 20+ year career at Nokia, Susanna has played a major role in structuring and negotiating patent license agreements with many major licensees, and managed complex enforcement projects including large-scale FRAND arbitrations. In the past eighteen months Susanna and her team have concluded smartphone licensing agreements with Apple, Honor, Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo. Susanna is also involved in IP strategy, business development, transactions and regulatory matters. She has a master's degree in law from Helsinki University.

Fabian Gonell, Senior Vice President, Licensing Strategy and Legal Counsel, Qualcomm
Fabian Gonell is Senior Vice President, Licensing Strategy and Legal Counsel of Qualcomm’s Technology Licensing division, where his responsibilities include developing the Company’s licensing strategy, negotiating license agreements, and overseeing the company’s compliance with the rules of standards organizations. He has played a major role in structuring and negotiating license agreements with many of Qualcomm’s licensees, including Apple, Samsung, LGE, Ericsson, and Nokia/Microsoft, as well as in Qualcomm’s response to regulatory investigations of Qualcomm’s licensing practices. Prior to joining Qualcomm, Mr. Gonell was a litigator at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York, where he represented Qualcomm and other clients in patent and antitrust litigation. He also served as an adjunct professor at the Fordham University School of Law, where he taught courses in interviewing, counseling and negotiation. Mr. Gonell holds a BA in Economics from the City University of New York and a JD from the Fordham University School of Law, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Fordham Law Review.

 

Adam Williams, CEO, UK Intellectual Property Office
Adam Williams was formally appointed CEO and Comptroller General in December 2022 (having been Interim CEO from September 2022). Previously, Director for Business and International Policy, and a member of the IPO’s Board, Adam was responsible for the Office’s international activities, trade negotiations, support to UK businesses and academia, as well as bolstering the IP ecosystem in the UK.   Adam has previously worked in the UK Government on Defence policy matters and has extensive experience dealing with policy issues in the EU, UN and NATO as well as undertaking bilateral negotiations.  Adam joined the Intellectual Property Office in late 2009 as Head of International Coordination in the Copyright and Enforcement Directorate. He then took up the role of Deputy Director International Policy in July 2013 and the role of Director in September 2017. Adam also held a voluntary Non-Executive Director role for the Welsh Rugby Players Association between 2019 and 2021.

 

About the Panellists

Daniel Alexander KC
Daniel Alexander KC is a highly-regarded advocate at 8 New Square chambers, focusing on IP disputes of international significance in a wide range of technologies and industries. He has been lead counsel in a number of defining cases in electronics, pharmaceuticals, biophysics and biotechnology, as well as some of the leading trade mark and media disputes. He has a broad practice, focussing on intellectual property but extending to contractual cases, IT, media/entertainment law and a range of international disputes. He is rated in the top band of silks in IP in legal directories.  Daniel also sits part-time as a judge (High Court, Chancery Division and Patents Court and as an Appointed Person). He sits as an arbitrator, including as chair, under various rules. He is also a member of the Football Association Premier League appeals panel. In his judicial/arbitral capacities he has written over 80 decisions, of which a number are reported, on IP law/procedure, competition, commercial, regulatory, real property and sports law.

Vincent Angwenyi
Vincent Angwenyi is Senior IP Counsel for Advocacy and Policy at Sisvel Group. Sisvel is Europe’s only patent pool administrator in the standard essential patent (SEP) ecosystem and has been operating for over 40 years. Vincent coordinates Sisvel’s policy and advocacy strategy in the field of patent policy and technology standardization. This includes engagement with various government agencies globally as well as in standards development organizations. He is a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales, holds a LLM in Intellectual Property from the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center and a LLD from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

Justus Baron
Justus Baron is a Research Director in economics at Northwestern University, Pritzker School of Law. Dr Baron’s research focuses on technological innovation, standardization, and intellectual property rights. Dr Baron has written scholarly articles published in leading outlets, such as Research Policy, Antitrust Law Journal, and the International Journal of Industrial Organization, as well as several comprehensive policy reports for the European Commission. Dr Baron was a member of the European Commission’s Expert Group on Standard Essential Patents (SEP), and was the lead researcher of a consortium assisting the European Commission with an Impact Assessment on SEPs. Dr Baron is the founder and director of Baron Research in Economics and Legal Analytics, a research company that specializes in the economic analysis of technological innovation, technology standards, and Intellectual Property.

Juliane Buchinski
Juliane Buchinski LL.M. is the lead IP litigation counsel Europe at ZTE, based in Düsseldorf, Germany. She is responsible for ZTE 's IP litigation, including IP strategy and IP policy in Europe. Since 2015, she has been defining ZTE 's litigation strategy in Europe as well as for cross border litigation. Juliane has been involved in a variety of cases specifying the case law on FRAND matters. Before joining ZTE , Juliane was a senior associate at the international law firm Hogan Lovells (2008-2015), where she specialised in patent litigation. She studied law at the University of Halle/Saale, Germany and holds an LLM degree from the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Juliane is admitted to the Düsseldorf Bar and is fluent in German and English.

Ignacio De Castro
Ignacio is the Director of the WIPO Arbitration and mediation Center. He is a Spanish lawyer and an English solicitor and holds an LL.M. degree from King's College London. Before joining WIPO in 2002, he practiced with the law firms Baker & McKenzie (London) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (London) in the areas of international arbitration and litigation.  Ignacio is responsible for the administration of mediation, arbitration and internet domain name cases filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center and the development and promotion of WIPO alternative dispute resolution (ADR). This includes implementing ADR collaborations concluded with IP Offices and courts, as well as establishing ADR procedures adapted to specific areas of intellectual property.

Robert Earle
Robert Earle is Vice President, Assertion and Enforcement for IPR & Licensing at Ericsson. Robert and his team are involved in developing Ericsson’s global patent assertion and enforcement strategy, providing detailed technical analysis of Ericsson’s industry-leading portfolio of over 60,000 patents, as well as the mapping of those patents against the products and services provided by potential licensees. They have effectively utilized emerging market patent systems to ensure effective licensing opportunities in those markets - some notable examples include India and Brazil. Additionally, Robert has engaged in global intellectual property policy development.  He has presented, met with, and positively impacted policy decision makers in multiple international jurisdictions providing industry input for further intellectual policy development. Robert joined Ericsson in 2014 as Vice President for Assertion and Enforcement. Prior to joining Ericsson, he was a partner with Fish & Richardson in its Dallas office. He has first chair experience in multiple jury trials representing clients before federal and state trial courts. His experience includes representing top international companies in patent litigation cases. Mr. Earle also served as a United States naval officer for nine years prior to attending law school. Robert  is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, holds a Juris Doctorate, and a Master’s degree in electrical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.

Steve Faraji
Steve is Head of Patents Vehicle/Production and Chief IPR Policy Manager at AUDI AG in Neckarsulm, Germany. He is a qualified German and European Patent Attorney specializing in computer implemented inventions and software. Steve advises on licensing issues, in particular on standard-essential patents in the automotive industry. Prior to joining Audi, he worked on prosecution and litigation of ICT patents for a major patent law firm in Munich.

 

Michael Fröhlich
Michael Fröhlich is the Director of Patent Developments and IP Lab at the European Patent Office. He is a fully qualified German lawyer with a post-graduate degree and a Ph.D. in intellectual property. Serving in increasingly responsible positions in the IP area since over twenty-five years, he leads a team of lawyers and paralegals responsible for developing policy orientations and solutions to shape the international and European legal framework in the field of patents and related areas of law and practice, including the development of legal policy in relation to the Unitary Patent, new emerging technologies and patent law trends, the fostering of work sharing, or the harmonisation of patent law and practices. Prior to joining the EPO, Michael was Senior Director, EU IP & Strategy at BlackBerry, where he was responsible for the company’s IP affairs in Europe and for managing a range of global strategic matters relating to standard-setting initiatives, patent licensing, and litigation. Previously, was Senior Legal Counsel at Nokia, where he helped define Nokia’s patent and standards position. He was also Head of Legal Affairs at the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), where he shaped ETSI's IPR Policy. Prior to joining ETSI, Michael practiced law at Preu Bohlig & Partner in the fields of contentious and pre-contentious IP matters, with a particular focus on patent litigation. He also has work experience in Brazil, where he worked for Dannemann Siemsen Advogados. Michael has served for many years as the Chairman of the AIPPI Committee on Patents & Standards, as well as the Vice-Chairman of the GSMA IPR Working Group and Vice-Chairman of the LES Publication Committee.

Marianne Frydenlund, Vice President, Avanci IoT
During her career, Marianne has gained a unique in-house perspective on IP-related business practices within the wireless ecosystem. At Avanci, she is developing and leading new licensing solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT) beyond the automotive industry. During 2023, Marianne launched the Avanci Aftermarket, Avanci 4G Smart Meter and Avanci EV Charger programs, all of which include dozens of licensors and several initial licensees.

Marianne joined Avanci from Nordic Semiconductor, where she was most recently Senior Vice President, Legal & Compliance, with responsibilities including patent licensing activities, concluding several ground-breaking agreements. Earlier in her career, Marianne worked for Huawei Technologies, Nexans Norway AS, Equinor and Aker Solutions where she focused on legal issues associated with technology-related commercial transactions.

A graduate of the University of Oslo School of Law, Marianne chairs the Board of the Norwegian Company Lawyers Association (NCLA) where she has been involved in their mentoring programs aimed at helping women advance in business and technology-related careers. Marianne is among the IAM Strategy 300 and one of World IP Review’s 2023 Shining Lights, recognizing influential women in IP.

Roya Ghafele
Roya Ghafele is Director of law and economics consultancy OxFirst.  Additionally, she is a visiting Professor in IP Law with the School of Law of Brunel University. She has a large number of academic papers to her name, has advised the EU on IP valuation and was an expert to INTA’s Brand Valuation Committee (International Trademark Association), CIPA’s IP Management Committee (Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys)  and the UKIPO (UK Intellectual Property Office) Research Excellence Committee. She has been a Senior Member of St Cross College of Oxford University since 2008. She held an Assistant Professorship in IP law with the University of Edinburgh, a Department Lectureship in International Political Economy with Oxford University and a Research Fellowship with the Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley.  Her Ph.D. was awarded the Theodor Koerner Research Prize by the President of the Republic of Austria. Dr. Ghafele was trained at Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies, the Sorbonne and Vienna University.

Chief Judge Rodney Gilstrap
Judge Rodney Gilstrap was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas, and was confirmed in 2011. He assumed the position of Chief Judge in 2018. He resides in Marshall, Texas and has responsibilities in the Marshall and Texarkana Divisions of the EDTX. Prior to assuming the bench, Judge Gilstrap was engaged in private practice of law in East Texas for 30 years. During this time he also was elected three times as County Judge of Harrison County, Texas. He holds a BA magna cum laude from Baylor University where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He also holds a JD from the Baylor University School of Law where he was an Assoc. Editor of the Baylor Law Review. He has served as President of the Baylor Law Alumni Association. In 2018 he was named “The Baylor Lawyer of the Year” - the highest recognition given by his alma mater. He was also selected as the 2018 “Jurist of the Year” by TEX-ABOTA (comprising all 16 chapters in Texas of the American Board of Trial Advocates).

Dr. Klaus Grabinski
Dr. Klaus Grabinski is President of the Court of Appeal and chairperson of the Presidium of the Unified Patent Court since November 2022. Before he served on the German Federal Court of Justice’s 10th Civil Division, including as the Deputy Presiding Justice of the Division that has, inter alia, jurisdiction on patent litigation matters. Prior to joining the German Federal Court of Justice in 2009, he held a number of judicial roles, including as a presiding judge of a patent litigation division at the Düsseldorf Regional Court and as a judge at the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court. He is co-author of a commentary on the European Patent Convention (Benkard, Europäisches Patentübereinkommen, 4th edition, 2023), a commentary on the German Patent Act (Benkard, Patentgesetz, 12th edition, 2023) and gives talks and takes part in panels at national and international conferences on IP matters. He was an external legally qualified member of the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office.

Eeva Hakoranta
Eeva K. Hakoranta is InterDigital’s EVP, Chief Licensing Officer, responsible for overseeing the company’s complete licensing portfolio and activities. Eeva joined InterDigital in July 2020 and contributes more than 30 years of experience in the legal and licensing industry. Prior to joining InterDigital, she served more than 13 years at Nokia, most recently as Senior Vice President and Head of IP and Litigation, as well as General Counsel for Nokia Technologies. Prior to leading Nokia’s IP activities, she was influential in building the company’s patent licensing team and significantly growing its licensing revenue. Before Nokia, Eeva served in private practice at Roschier Attorneys Ltd in Helsinki, Finland. Ms. Hakoranta holds an LLM from the University of Helsinki

Bowman Heiden
Dr. Bowman Heiden is currently the Executive Director of the Tusher Strategic Initiative for Technology Leadership, the Director of the Center for Intellectual Property (CIP) at the University of Gothenburg, and co-chair of the Technology, Innovation, and Intellectual Property program at the Classical Liberal Institute at the NYU School of Law. Dr. Heiden was recently a member of the European Commission Expert Group on Standard Essential Patents. Dr. Heiden holds degrees in engineering, technology management, and economics, and his research is at the interdisciplinary interface of economics, law, and innovation, in particular, intellectual property, innovation economics, and competition policy in knowledge-intensive sectors. Before turning his focus to the fields of innovation strategy and policy. Dr. Heiden played professional basketball in a number of European countries. This is why he is so tall.

Dr. Ing. Konstantinos Karachalios
A globally recognized leader in standards development and intellectual property, Prof. Dr. Ing. Konstantinos Karachalios is currently strategic advisor to Sophie Muirhead, the Executive Director of IEEE.  He was previously managing director of IEEE, where he enhanced their efforts in global standards development in strategic emerging technology fields, through technical excellence of staff, expansion of global presence and activities and emphasis on inclusiveness and good governance, including reform of the IEEE standards-related patent policy. As member of the IEEE Management Council, he championed expansion of IEEE influence in key techno-political areas, including consideration of social, environmental and ethical implications of technology, according to the IEEE mission to advance technology for humanity. Results have been rapid in coming and profound. IEEE has become one of the most innovative organizations of its kind, and the place to go for debating and building consensus on issues such as a trustworthy and inclusive Internet and AI systems, also trailblazing the space of ethics in design of autonomous systems. Before IEEE, Konstantinos played a crucial role in successful French-German cooperation in coordinated research and scenario simulation for large-scale nuclear reactor accidents. And with the European Patent Office, his experience included establishing EPO’s patent academy, the department for delivering technical assistance for developing countries and the public policy department, serving as an envoy to multiple U.N. organizations. Konstantinos earned a Ph.D. in energy engineering (nuclear reactor safety) and masters in mechanical engineering from the University of Stuttgart.

Markus Kicia
Markus Kicia has held various positions in the European Institutions. He began in 2005 as a Trade Mark Administrator at the European Intellectual Property Office, handling trade mark-related procedures and representing the Office before the European Court Of Justice. In 2010, he joined the European Commission, working as a Case Handler at DG Competition, responsible for state aid cases. He also served as a Legal Officer at DG Trade, providing legal support relating to, among others, trade-related aspects of intellectual property and handled WTO disputes. As a Legal Officer in DG Energy, his work focused on the Energy Charter Treaty and proceedings before the European Court of Justice. He is currently working as a Legal and Policy Officer at DG Grow, where he is responsible for the SEP Regulation and other intellectual property matters. Prior to that, he worked as an Attorney-at-law in Munich, Warsaw, and Wroclaw, representing clients in commercial and intellectual property law matters.

Christian Loyau
Christian Loyau is graduated from the University of Paris in business, corporate and IP law.
After 5 years practicing in law firm in Denmark and France, Christian joined Digital Equipment Corporation, and Cap Gemini in France. He served for 12 years as Legal Director for International Affairs for the French telecommunication company Matra Communication and was involved in the IPR group of ETSI from 1993 to 1996. He then served as General Counsel and Secretary of the Board of the French IT quoted company Bull for 14 years. Christian is now Director for Legal Affairs and Governance of European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).

Keith Mallinson
Keith Mallinson has more than 25 years of experience in the telecommunications industry: as a research analyst, consultant and testifying expert witness. Complementing his industry focus, he has a broad skill set including technologies, market analysis, regulation, economics and finance. He has published numerous articles and speaks publicly at industry events on a wide variety of topics including market developments and competition in next generation mobile network technologies, semiconductors, patents and licensing. Prior to founding his expert consulting firm WiseHarbor in 2006, he led industry analyst firm Yankee Group's global Wireless/Mobile research and consulting team based in Boston from 2000. Until then, he had overall responsibility for the firm's European division in London. Mallinson has an undergraduate electronic engineering degree from Imperial College London and an MBA from the London Business School, including an academic exchange with Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management in Illinois.

Luke McLeroy
Luke is President at Avanci Video, the independent, one-stop licensing platform which brings together licensors and licensees to share video technologies for internet streaming video. An intellectual property attorney with more than 20 years of experience negotiating collaborative solutions for patent holders and technology developers, Luke previously spent seven years at Avanci working to ensure that all participants in the company’s Avanci Vehicle platform can efficiently and transparently license cellular technologies for connected vehicles. Luke is also a frequent speaker on patent licensing, and the importance of licensing patents on terms that are fair and reasonable for all parties, at industry conferences including those hosted by the American Bar Association, the Berkley Center for Law and Technology, IAM, the International Telecommunications Union, Stanford Law School and University College London. Luke joined Avanci in 2016 from Ericsson, where he led the company’s North American patent licensing business. In this role, he helped develop and license Ericsson’s patent portfolio, analyzing and valuing patent portfolios in multiple technology areas such as wireless connectivity, codecs, data networks, and security, and advocating policy positions to legislative bodies, competition agencies, standard-setting organizations, and other forums.  Prior to Ericsson, Luke was an associate and then a principal at the law firm McKool Smith in Dallas, helping to resolve major patent disputes between some of the world’s largest technology companies. Luke received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law.

Adam Mossoff
Adam Mossoff is Professor of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University in the United States of America. He is widely published in academic journals and in monographs on the law, history, and policy of patent licensing and the key role of patent licensing in thriving innovation economies. His research has been relied on by Justices on the United States Supreme Court, by judges on the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and by officials at US federal agencies, such as the US Federal Trade Commission, the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice, and the US Patent & Trademark Office. Professor Mossoff has been invited to testify six times before the US Congress on proposed patent legislation. He is a frequent speaker at academic and professional conferences on patent law and innovation policy. Professor Mossoff is a member of the Intellectual Property Rights Policy Advisory Group of ANSI, and he has served as Chair and Vice-Chair of the Intellectual Property Committee of the IEEE-USA. He is also a member of the Public Policy Committee of the Licensing Executives Society-USA & Canada.

John Mulgrew
John Mulgrew is VP of Intellectual Property at Lenovo and has a mechanical engineering degree from Rice and a JD from GW Law. He started his legal career at several prominent law firms in New York and DC.  At Microsoft, John led teams handling a wide variety of licensing, litigation support, and other IP transactional related matters, and for two years he also served in a broader role for Microsoft Research in EMEA where he drafted multi-party agreements with companies, universities, governments and research organizations.  John joined Uber in 2017 to lead the IP team, including through the company’s IPO in early 2019.  Over time, his responsibilities also included leading the Privacy Legal team during GDPR compliance, helping to reorganize the legal department to form multiple client-facing legal teams, and managing the marketing legal team.  After leaving Uber, John joined Lenovo as VP of Intellectual Property where he focuses on developing a portfolio that best serves the business.

Brian Napper
Brian is a Senior Managing Director and member of the leadership team of Ocean Tomo, a financial expert, management consulting, and advisory services firm focused on intellectual property and other intangible assets that is now part of the JSHeld global consulting company.  Brian has extensive experience in determining FRAND/RAND rates for SEPs in various situations.  He has provided expert opinion and testimony in numerous international arbitration and U.S. federal court matters related to the determination of SEP FRAND/RAND rates.  He has advised SEP owners and potential licensees to SEPs regarding FRAND rates and compliance. He has analyzed and quantified the value of SEP portfolios in connection with the acquisition, sale, or private equity investment wherein the primary assetss were SEP portfolios. Brian is one of two economists within The Sedona Conference Working Group 9, drafting (but not yet issued) a “Framework for Analysis of Standard-Essential Patent (SEP) and Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) Licensing and Royalty Issues – Global Edition.” Throughout his 35-year career, Brian was the Global Head of FTI Consulting’s and Deloitte’s Intellectual Property Group.  He has also been a co-founder or founding shareholder in two other start-up consulting firms, StoneTurn Group and The Barrington Consulting Group.

Tim Pohlmann
Tim Pohlmann is the CEO and founder of LexisNexis IPlytics. He earned his doctoral degree with the highest distinction from the Berlin Institute of Technology, with a dissertation on the interplay of patenting and standardization. He then went on to work as a post-doctoral researcher for the Law and Economics of Patents Group at CERNA, MINES ParisTech. In 2014 Dr Pohlmann founded the SEP intelligence software company IPlytics with the vision of creating the first solution on the market to bring together comprehensive declared SEPs as well as patent pool and technical standards contribution data, to provide industry-leading analysis on the past, present and future of standards-essential technology. IPlytics purpose is being the transparent, accessible source of wisdom for all professionals to overcome friction and complexity in data-led decisions where SEPs matter. Dr Pohlmann is a recognized thought leader, panel speaker and adjunct University lecturer on the topics of SEPs, FRAND licensing, patent pools and patent intelligence solutions. As a recognized economic expert, Dr Pohlmann has been actively involved in preparing empirical studies for the European Commission, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the German federal government.

Will Plut
Will is a Silicon Valley veteran, StartUp Founder, and currently runs PPI, an international tech transfer, patent transaction, and M&A firm. Will has been involved in innovation, StartUps, and invention commercialization since 1997. He has founded and sold multiple StartUps. He is the lead inventor on over 50 patents, and has successfully built, monetized, or commercialized every one of his inventions. In 2011, he sold power conservation software to Samsung; this technology now resides in with every Samsung smartphone, cumulatively saving hundreds of megawatts globally each day. He sold his laser-based projector technology, founded Startups around his own inventions in Infectious Disease defense and social commerce, developed technology in ballistic protection, and has numerous advances in robotics. Will is a member of the US Patent Bar and practiced patent law for eight years at a Silicon Valley patent prosecution firm.

Pekka Sääskilahti, Compass Lexecon
Pekka Sääskilahti is a Senior Vice President and Head of Finland and Scandinavia at Compass Lexecon. He has economic consulting experience in competition cases regarding merger clearance, abuse of dominance, quantification of damages, and in intellectual property matters. He has worked more than 15 years in the telecommunications and high-tech industries as an in-house economist, as well as in management consulting. Pekka also currently serves as Professor of Practice at Hanken School of Economics, where he teaches intellectual property and competition economics, pricing, and strategy.
 
He has advised clients in relation to competition, pricing (across various B2B and B2C industries), intellectual property rights, valuation, damages, and regulatory policy. He has provided expert reports and testimony to the Finnish Market Court and an arbitral tribunal. Pekka has been involved in global patent licensing, litigation, and arbitration cases, and he has estimated reasonable royalties for copyrights. Pekka is an active contributor to the regulatory policy debate on standardisation and standard essential patent licensing through developing valuation methodologies, organising scientific programmes, and publishing thought leadership.
 
Pekka has a Ph.D, in economics from the Helsinki School of Economics, and he has published his research in academic journals including the Journal of Health Economics, the Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, the Scandinavian Journal of Economics, the Journal of Competition Law & Economics, the International Journal of the Economics of Business, and the Economics of Innovation and New Technology.

Ruben Schellingerhout
Ruben is a legal expert in the European Commission's Trade Department. He is specialised in intellectual property rights from a trade and competition law perspective. Since 2004 he works in the European Commission where he held positions in the Departments for Enterprise, Competition and Trade. In DG Competition he worked on the 2009 Rambus patent ambush case and the EU's horizontal guidelines on standard setting. From 2016 to 2020 he worked in the European Union Delegation to the People's Republic of China, also on IPR. Since September 2020 he is a legal officer in the legal unit of the Trade Department working among others on the WTO dispute settlement case China: Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights. Ruben holds a Masters degree in Public Administration from Leiden University and a Master of Laws from the University of Amsterdam

 

Pippa Wheeler, HP
Pippa Wheeler is Senior Litigation Counsel at HP located in Germany. HP managing significant litigation throughout the UK and Ireland, Scandinavia, Germany, Austria and Switzerland as well as the Benelux countries. A large portion of her work over the past 25 years involves patent litigation at national courts and now at the UPC, as well as copyright levies. In addition, she is involved in defining HP’s lobbying efforts to improve the legal framework for a variety of areas including IP. She was called to the Bar of England and Wales and has also a Diploma in EU Competition Law from Kings College London. She speaks English and German.

 

David Yurkerwich
David Yurkerwich is a Senior Managing Director and a leader of Ankura’s IP team. He is based in New York and works closely with companies and law firms in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. David is a seasoned valuation and damages expert with over 40 years of experience. He has provided expert evidence in over 100 disputes.  He has facilitated numerous IP transactions including technology transfers, licenses and sales. David has designed, implemented and managed patent licensing programs.  His expert work has included reports and testimony in patent infringement cases, standard-essential patent FRAND disputes, international arbitrations and other business disputes involving a broad range of technologies and markets. David and his team continuously enhance their valuation models by combining timely market information with advanced analytical tools to consider the technical, legal and business risks in IP negotiations and litigation. David received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Villanova School of Business and became a certified public accountant. He was a founder of IP-focused consultancy teams at Peterson Worldwide, InteCap, Charles River Associates and Navigant Consulting (which became part of Ankura in 2018). Ankura is a global consultancy with over 2,000 professionals that collaborate to create innovative customized solutions for clients facing a wide range of economic, governance and regulatory challenges and opportunities

Xiaowu “Emil” Zhang, Huawei
Xiaowu “Emil” Zhang is Huawei’s Head of European IPR Department. With his more than 16 years with Huawei, Emil leads Huawei’s various IP practices, including complicated overseas IP disputes resolution, patent and technology licensing, business cooperation, as well as IP strategic and portfolio planning.  

 

About the Moderators

 

Carlos Aboim, Licks Attorneys
Founding partner of Licks Attorneys and one of the leaders at the Rio de Janeiro office, Carlos Aboim is the head of ICT and Telecom litigation practice. With more than 20 years of experience, he has been acting as a first-chair trial and appellate litigator before state and federal courts, handling with success high-stakes and leading cases in intellectual property (mostly patent disputes), unfair competition, antitrust and regulatory compliance, mainly in the areas of information technology and life sciences, as well as global portfolio licensing in the areas of standard essential patents (SEPs) and patent pooling. Aboim worked in the first-ever infringement lawsuit filed in Brazil regarding SEPs, representing the SEP holder and helping them with solid strategies to obtain preliminary injunctions taking into account not only legal aspects, but also economic and market knowledge to maximize the impact on the bigger picture. On the patent prosecution front, Carlos handles lawsuits seeking to promote fast track prosecution of Information and Communication technologies patent applications, being successful in every single case. Carlos is a frequent speaker in the most relevant international IP panels and advises high-profile clients in licensing negotiations and international disputes.

Rory Clarke, Kirland & Ellis International LLP
Rory Clarke is an intellectual property litigator, with a focus on patent litigation.  He has extensive experience litigating technologies such as mobile telephones and infrastructure (UMTS, LTE and 5G), other radio systems (e.g. DMR and TETRA) and internet connectivity.  Rory frequently acts in complex global SEP/FRAND disputes on behalf of principal players in the telecommunications industry and has been involved in many of the leading cases in this field.  He also advises clients on SEP and FRAND policy more widely, including in relation to legislative developments such as the proposed EU SEP Regulation.  Rory’s practice covers the wider strategic aspects of intellectual property litigation, including acting as coordinating counsel for multijurisdictional matters, assisting clients to develop and implement their litigation strategies, and leading settlement/licensing negotiations.
 

Nicola Dagg, Kirkland & Ellis Internaitonal LLP
Nicola Dagg leads the top ranked intellectual property litigation practice of Kirkland & Ellis in London. Nicola is a market leader for tech patent litigation. She has acted in the cutting edge cases in the UK and across Europe on SEP, essentiality, validity and global FRAND cases. Nicola has more than 30 years’ experience as an elite patent litigator advising and leading on the most complex national and international patent litigation cases. Legal 500 UK 2024 names Nicola to the “Hall of Fame” and describes her as “one of the outstanding patent litigators of current times”. Chambers UK 2024 says “Nicola Dagg is excellent, a a strategic thinker and leader. She is well recognised in Europe and totally deserves it”.

 

Peter D. Camesasca
Peter D. Camesasca, Ph.D., is a seasoned, multi-faceted competition lawyer with 27 years of experience in all major aspects of EU competition law. He has a strong business development track record with a leveraged client base and is a routined cross-practice and cross-office team player, working in law firms as well as with clients' in-house teams. Peter is highly experienced working in and with different cultures (Asia, Europe, U.S.) and has a particular focus on in- and outbound aspects of the Asia/Europe interface. Peter’s work experience includes cases under Articles 101, 102 and 106 TFEU, national and multijurisdictional merger and joint venture notifications (including FDI and Foreign Subsidies Regulation / FSR assessments / DMA Digital Markets Act), investigations by multiple enforcement authorities and global antitrust litigation and monopolization issues (including Digital Markets Act / DMA and IP cross-over issues). In addition, he advises and litigates on horizontal and vertical cooperation issues, prepares and executes various compliance and dawn raid programs and participates in the installation of in-house training programs.

Katie Coltart, Linklaters LLP
Katie Coltart is a patent litigator with a wealth of experience across the telecoms and technology sectors. She is well-versed in dealing with major cross-border matters requiring significant coordination across multiple forums and on appeal. Katie’s telecoms and technology experience spans a broad spectrum of subject matters, including those relating to GPRS, 3G, 4G and 5G telecommunications, wireless radio communication protocols, mobile email systems, connected cars, consumer technology products, and technology and communications aspects of medical devices. She is particularly experienced in SEP/FRAND licensing matters in the mobile handsets and connected cars sectors. Katie is recognised for patent litigation by top directories such as Chambers, The Legal 500 and IAM Patent 1000. In 2019 she was named as an “IP Trailblazer” by World Intellectual Property Review’s Influential Women in IP.

Professor Sir Robin Jacob, UCL Institute of Brand & Innovation Law
Sir Robin read Natural Sciences at Trinity College Cambridge and then simultaneously read for the Bar (1965) an LLB from the LSE. He is an Arbitrator, Mediator, Expert Witness and Expert Determiner and IP advisor at 8 New Square, Lincoln’s Inn. He practiced 1967. He was IP Junior Counsel for the Comptroller of Patents and all Government departments, 1975-81. He was appointed QC in 1981 and to the Bench in 1993 where he was a designated Patent Judge. He was appointed to the Court of Appeal in October 2003. He formally retired May 2011 to take up his current appointment. He continued to sit intermittently in the CA from time to time until April2016. He is Hon. Fellow of the LSE, and of St Peter’s
College, Oxford., Hon. President of the UK branch of the Licensing Executive Society and of the Association of Law Teachers. He was Treasurer of Grays Inn (2007) anda Governor of the LSE (1988-2017). MIP awarded thOutstanding Achievement in IP 2012. He has written extensively on all forms of IP. He often lectures both in the UK and abroad and is regularly consulted on IP matters by the UK government. He remains President of the Intellectual Property Judges’ Association (the association of European IP, particularly patent, judges).

James Marshall, Pinsent Masons LLP
James Marshall is a leading practitioner with over 37 years’ experience in Intellectual Property. His focus is patent litigation, particularly in the telecommunications, life sciences and pharmaceutical fields. He has significant experience in SEP/FRAND disputes, hi-tech and telecommunications patent disputes, and frequently acts for household names in the sector in precedent-setting litigations. His expertise includes patent and other IP licensing, enforcement strategy, misuse of confidential information, and IP licence disputes.


 

Gary Moss, EIP
Since April 2023 Gary has held the position of Chairman at EIP, a role which allows him to bring his undoubted experience to help guide the overall development and strategy of EIP. His career as a leading IP lawyer acting in large scale UK IP disputes and cross-border IP disputes both in Europe and the United States spans more than 40 years. Gary joined EIP in 2011 to build EIP Litigation and during that time he has overseen major litigations. During his career Gary has been responsible for the conduct of many groundbreaking cases including Kirin Amgen v Transkaryotic Therapies Inc, which for many years stood as the leading authority on the construction of patents, and Unwired Planet v Huawei, a Supreme Court decision relating to cellular technology, which was recognised throughout the world as breaking new ground in the jurisprudence regarding standard essential patents.  In the last few years Gary has had a major focus on SEP / FRAND litigation and has been described by Chambers Directory as “the Godfather of international FRAND litigation”.   Most recently Gary acted for the Claimants in the UK FRAND action Optis v Apple. Gary has consistently been ranked among the top UK patent litigators by the Legal 500, JUVE, Chambers and Partners, IAM Patent 1000, and IP Stars directories.

 

 

In-Person and Live Streamed

This conference will be held in-person at Beveridge Hall, Senate House, University of London.  The theatre will maintain 75% capacity only and is very well ventilated. We also have a live stream ticket available to those unable to join us in the UK.

Booking Fees

Standard Ticket = £600 (Early bird = £500 until 19 April)
Standard Group Ticket (3 or more from the same firm) = £525 (Early bird = £425 until 19 April)
UCL Alumni / IBIL Sponsors Ticket = £400
Government Legal / NGOs = £300
Academic Ticket (full time academics) = £250

Judiciary - please email lisa.penfold@ucl.ac.uk for a complimentary ticket

Online Access Only = £300

Book and pay using a card at:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/patents-in-telecoms-and-the-internet-of-things-conference-2024-registration-863702165427

Corporates needing to be invoiced can use this link and complete the required information.

The Venue - Senate House

Senate House -  University of London, London WC1E 7HU
Access from either Russell Square or Malet Street

Our conference was held at the iconic Art-Deco building in the heart of Bloomsbury, London, and just behind the British Museum. Senate House was constructed between 1932-1937 to house the University of London.

 

Queries

If you have any queries about this event please contact Lisa Penfold in the UCL Laws Events team - lisa.penfold@ucl.ac.uk