Course overview
Technology and software have influences across most business sectors in relation to leveraging growth, and this has important implications for IP and patent laws. This intensive one-day training course will help you to understand the development strategies impacting software patents and update you on the major developments in European patent law, in particular GUI inventions and ‘mixed’ inventions with both patentable and non-patentable subject matter.
Under the guidance of our expert faculty, you will learn how recent US case law impacts software patents in the US and become proficient in exploiting the differences between the US and Europe regarding the scope of available patent protection. The training course will provide a review of key tactics for US practice and give you an understanding of the latest US strategies in dealing with obviousness and the rise of indefiniteness and written description issues.
Having an experienced in-house lawyer on the faculty will ensure that you benefit from their practical knowledge on selecting and protecting software technologies, and get invaluable insights into foreign filing strategies.
You will get to grips with how to avoid pitfalls in claim drafting using case studies and understand whether patent protection should be available for software-related and business-related inventions.
The practical workshop training session will provide ample opportunity for discussion with the expert faculty and consolidate your learning.
CPD Hours: 6
Course Content
- Day 1
- Patent protection for software-related and business-related inventions in Europe
- Patent protection for software-related and business-related inventions in the United States
- Preparation of patent applications and prosecution of European applications for software-related and business-related inventions
- Industry view: an in-house perspective on managing IP protection of software-related inventions
- Practical workshop: questions, answers and discussion of specific examples
Speakers
Tim May
Timothy May is a partner in the Washington, DC office of Finnegan LLP. He has over 20 years experience in the field of US patent law, with significant experience counselling clients on software patent matters. Tim currently manages the patent portfolios for several European clients in various software, medical device and electrical and mechanical technologies. He regularly speaks on software patent issues. Prior to joining the firm, he served as a Patent Examiner at the US Patent and Trademark Office, where he examined applications involving digital and software technologies. From 2006 to 2011, Tim was located in the firm’s European office and continues to work with many European clients.
Alan Boyd
Alan Boyd is a partner at D Young & Co. Before he joined the patent law profession, he was a software engineer researcher and research assistant. Alan’s main areas of expertise include computer architectures, embedded systems, digital electronics, telecommunications and networks. He is a member of D Young & Co’s electronics, engineering & IT team, and has a great deal of experience in drafting and prosecuting patents for a range of clients. He is also an examiner for the legal paper in the European Qualifying Exams.
Eileen Brandenburger
Eileen Brandenburger, PhD is a European Patent Attorney and Head of Intellectual Property at Recursion and Exscientia, a NASDAQ listed clinical stage AI-driven TechBio company, which is accelerating the development of patient centric medicines by encoding, automating and transforming the drug discovery and development process.
She is an experienced legal professional with a track record of building teams and providing advice to businesses and executives in the pharma, tech and life sciences industries. She has specialist expertise in technical and commercial IP including patent and trade secret strategy and contracting at the interface of life sciences and tech.
