The Licensing Executives Society International, Inc. (LESI) is convening its second Global Technology Impact Forum (GTIF) at the headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) from 20 January 2013 to 22 January 2013. Although this international forum is hosted at WIPO headquarters, this event does not appear on the calendar of WIPO events for January 2013. It should be noted that this Forum just precedes the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting In Davos from 23 January 2013 to 27 January 2013.
According to the LESI website,
LESI is a global business association made up of 32 national and regional societies, representing more than 12,000 individual members in over 90 countries, all involved in the licensing, transfer and management of intellectual property rights.
The first GTIF was held in Geneva in January 2012 and at the Hotel Intercontinental; the agenda of that meeting can be found here: http://www.gtiforum.org/gtif2012lesi-gtif-2012-agenda/.
In the words of LESI, the purpose of the GTIF, an annual event, is to “coordinate coordinate and publicize the efforts of premier global non-profit and non-governmental organizations dedicated to the promotion of IP licensing and technology transfer for the betterment of mankind.”
The second annual meeting of the GTIF is hosted by WIPO at its headquarters in Geneva from Sunday, 20 January 2013 to Tuesday, 22 January 2013. The heavy lifting of this conference will be done on 21 January 2013 and 22 January 2013 interspersed with a welcome cocktail hosted by WIPO on Sunday and a reception dinner at the Mandarin Oriental.
Sponsors of GTIF 2013 include Ocean Tomo, Bardehle Pagenberg, Illinois Institute of Technology, KLS Edition, Xomix, Sidley Austin and Innovation Insights. The strategic partners of GTIF 2013 include WIPO, the World Trade Organization and the Center for Applied Innovation. It appears that the registration fee for non-members of LES is $995.
The entire agenda of the 2013 GTIF can be found here: http://www.gtiforum.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/GTIF-2013-Program-Agenda-Final.pdf
The break out sessions include agenda items on compulsory licensing, emerging IP exchange efforts, and [US]PTO programs to support humanitarian tech transfer. Some key highlights in the agenda are the following:
Day 1, Commercial IP Development – Monday January 21, 2013
9:15 – 10:45 a.m.
Intellectual Property and Innovation Economics
Global Trends (Session 1)
- Stuart Graham, Chief Economist, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
- Carsten Fink, Chief Economist, World Intellectual Property Organization
- Dominique Forey, Chair en Economie et Management de I’lnnovation, Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne
- Moderator: Russell E. Levine, President-elect LES USA/Canada
2012 Year in Review (Session 2)
- Francis Gurry, Director General, World Intellectual Property Organization
- Antony Taubman, Director, Intellectual Property Division, World Trade Organization
- Kevin Nachtrab, President, Licensing Executive Society International
- Moderator: Chris Katopis, Executive Director, LESI
1:30 – 3:00 p.m
GTIF Breakouts: IP NGO Shared Agenda Issues
- Assigned Table Talk Discussions
- Compulsory Licensing
- Emerging IP Exchange Efforts
- PTO Programs to Support Humanitarian Tech Transfer
- Trade Secrets as an Economic Asset
- Valuation Primer
- Co-moderator: Kevin Nachtrab, President LESI
- Co-moderator: James E. Malackowski, Immediate Past President, LESI
Day 2, Invent for Humanity: Tuesday January 22, 2013
11:00 – 12:30 p.m.
The Role of IP in Translating the Humanitarian Impulse to Invent into Technological Progress and Sustainable Economic Growth (Session 5)
- Thaddeus Burns, Senior Counsel, Intellectual Property & Technology, GE
- Richard Wilder, Associate General Counsel, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Dr. Yogesh Patil, CEO and Co-Founder, BioSense
- Jon de Bufanos, Managing Director, Natural Balance
- Moderator: Jennifer Brant, Director, Innovation Insights
3:15 – 5:00 p.m.
Improving Public Access to Technology Globally (Session 7)
- Niven R. Narain, CEO & CTO, Berg Pharma
- Kristin K. H. Neuman, Executive Director, Librassau MPEG LA, LLC
- David Rosenberg, VP Corporate Policy, GSK
- Moderator: Gary Keller, CEO, Xomix, LTD