23 April
8:30-9:00 Registration
9:00-9:30 Opening Remarks
9:30-11:00 PATENTS
The UPC’s Emerging Substantive Patent Law: Inventive Step and Claim Interpretation
As the UPC develops its own body of substantive patent law, important principles are emerging on inventive step and claim interpretation. The session will examine the latest UPC and Court of Appeal case law, with particular attention to the UPC’s evolving approach to inventive step, how it compares with the EPO’s problem-solution approach and established national practices, and whether a distinct UPC standard is emerging. It will also explore the UPC’s evolving principles of claim interpretation and whether a genuinely uniform European approach is taking shape.
Beyond UPC Litigation: First Cases and Practical Lessons from the UPC Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre
With the UPC Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre (PMAC) now operational, the first cases are beginning to provide practical insight into its role in resolving patent disputes. The session will look at the first referrals and cases, available statistics and outcomes, and practical lessons from the Centre’s initial experience. It will explore when taking a UPC dispute to the PMAC makes sense, how the process works in practice, and what it can offer beyond continued litigation
11:00-11:30 Coffee Break
11:30-13:00 TRADEMARKS
Current Practice in the Assessment of Distinctiveness of an EU Trade Mark:
- the Importance and Use of Languages in the Assessment of Distinctiveness and the Assessment of Likelihood of Confusion;
- descriptiveness of names of colours and colours
Reputed trademarks: The link between the marks
EUIPO Practice in the Use of Artificial Intelligence:
- proof of use and evidence in the digital age: AI-generated content, deepfakes, and metadata
- the AI impact on commercial perception (algorithmic shopping) - the "average consumer" standards in EUIPO practice
13:00-14:00 Lunch
14:00-15:30 COPYRIGHT
Risks and benefits of open-source licenses
This panel will address broader legal and business risks, such as IP issues, cybersecurity and supply chain vulnerabilities, abandoned projects, and OSS compliance challenges in investment, financing, and M&A transactions. l explores the legal and commercial implications of using open source software (OSS) in proprietary products. It will examine the differences between permissive and copyleft licenses, the circumstances under which OSS may require source code disclosure, and how OSS can be commercialized while maintaining proprietary rights. The discussion will also cover key legal issues, including license enforceab
15:30-16:00 Coffee Break
16:00-17:30 ENFORCEMENT & CASE LAW
Preliminary Injunctions: Requirements for compensating damages suffered by the defendant and granting security for the defendant.
This session addresses the existence, nature, and extent of the applicant’s (usually the plaintiff’s) liability for compensating damages suffered by an enjoined party (usually the defendant) in the case where a Preliminary Injunction (“PI”) requested by the applicant is granted but the PI is ultimately determined to have been wrongfully granted. Furthermore, the issue of the standards and requirements for setting a sufficient “guarantee” (bond, security, or undertaking) to compensate a defendant, if needed.
Protection of confidential information during civil or administrative proceedings
Additionally, the session concerns the protection of confidential information in civil proceedings before the court and in administrative proceedings before the Board of Appeal, addressing the potential conflicts between the requirement to protect confidential information against disclosure on the one hand and the right to a fair defense of the party on the other hand.
17:30-17:45 Closure of the Conference