Following the seminar held in Munich in October 2011, V.O. organised a second edition in October 2013, titled Autumn Seminar on Recent Developments in IP.
This time, participants came from the US and China. In two days, in Hotel Excelsior located centrally in the Bavarian capital, they were brought fully up-to-date on a number of current topics in the field of patents, including supplementary protection certificates, patent jurisdiction in the Netherlands and Germany, accelerated nullity proceedings before the German Patent Court, accelerated infringement proceedings before the Munich District Court, and the Unitary patent. Speakers were, among others, a few judges of the above courts and an attorney-at-law of the European Patent Office. There were also presentations by specialists of V.O.
Excursions
The presentations were alternated with excursions to the German Patent and Trademark Office and to the German (technology) museum. On the third day a trip to the city of Regensburg was on the programme, with a special visit to the BioPark: the second largest centre for biotechnology in Bavaria. There, the participants were welcomed and given a guided tour by one of the founders of GeneArt AG, a successful biotech company specialised in gene synthesis and DNA engineering.
For participants and organisers the seminar proved to be a very suitable stage for sharing current expert knowledge. The knowledge at hand in turn raised new questions and discussions. The focus on a few themes deepened and broadened the insight of all. Also, the seminar was a choice opportunity to get to know each other better. In fact, plans are being developed to organise a third international seminar in 2015. More about this in a next newsletter.