Thank you for Joining the Annual Meeting!
See you next year! Please save the date: May 3-4, 2022.

Annual Silicon Valley Meeting
October 4-8, 2021
Crowne Plaza Palo Alto

Over a year ago, the world entered a global economic shutdown. Companies slashed their budgets, laid off employees, and postponed or cancelled transactions. As we emerge from the pandemic to a roaring economy, what did we do right? What did we do wrong? How are we preparing for the year ahead? Hear from Nearly 70 Senior IP Counsel! IP Counsel Cafe will bring the community back together in Palo Alto for a week of virtual and in-person events — all outdoors! Join us for benchmarking, cocktail reception, breakfast events, and more! Space is limited. Reserve your spot now!

Need a hotel room? A limited number of rooms are available to registered attendees at the Crowne Plaza at a discounted rate of $119 plus tax on October 5 and 6. The discount code will be provided to registered attendees.

REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.

DETAILED AGENDA (All times are in Pacific Time)
Join IP Counsel Cafe for Virtual and In-Person Outdoor Events All Week!
Click here to see the Agenda-at-a-Glance

MON, 10/4 | TUES, 10/5 | WED, 10/6 | THURS, 10/7 | FRI, 10/8

MONDAY, OCTOBER 4
- VIRTUAL SESSIONS -

9:00 - 10:00 AM
IP Departments Emerging from Covid-19: One Year Later, Lessons Learned - VIRTUAL
Over a year ago, companies across the globe physically shut down due to the pandemic. Fearing a global downturn, companies slashed their budgets, laid off employees, and postponed or cancelled transactions. As we emerge from the pandemic to a roaring economy, did we make the right moves? As we plan for the year ahead, what adjustments are needed? If you slashed your budget but still performed well, will you get your budget back? If you redirected unused travel budget to other areas such as foreign filing, was that the right move? How are companies thinking about the year ahead?

Speakers:

10:00 - 11:00 AM
U.S. Litigation Trends - VIRTUAL

What litigation trends are we seeing and what industries are expecting to see more litigation down the road? Patent troll litigation was down in 2017-2020, but it is picking back up again. What has been the impact of Covid on NPE litigation? Texas has become a less predictable forum, with WD Texas less plaintiff friendly than ED Texas. What strategies are working in Texas? What, if any, impact does the U.S. Supreme Court's Arthrex decision have on PTAB litigation?

Speakers:

5:00 - 6:00 PM
Speed Networking and Career Discussion Open Q&A - VIRTUAL
Stay connected! Join us for speed networking and a career discussion. How did Covid19 impact your career? As we move past the pandemic, what do you need to do to further your career? Michael Chernoff, Managing Director at Murgitroyd, will lead this discussion with Alex Chen, Senior Counsel at TikTok/ByteDance. Then we will enjoy several rounds of speed networking.

Speakers:

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5
- VIRTUAL SESSIONS -

9:00 - 10:00 AM
Foreign Filing Trends in Response to Covid19 - VIRTUAL
Foreign filing is often driven by business decisions. When determining where to file, companies consider factors such as the products they sell, their licensing agreements, and supply chains. Business trends have been changing and some trends were accelerated by Covid19. How did business trends shift during the pandemic and how did foreign filing respond?

- Did you file differently during Covid19? And as we move past the pandemic, were those the right decisions?
- As we move past the pandemic, will we return to pre-pandemic filing patterns, continue the current course, or shift to a new direction?
- What demographic and market changes will drive foreign filing strategies in years to come?
- How do you landscape on a global level to make your filing decisions?
- How are laws evolving in different countries such as China?
- How are international patent regimes changing?
- How are companies thinking about international patent filing programs?
- How do you decide where and how much to file in specific countries?

Speakers:

10:00 - 11:00 AM
How to Optimize Inventor Engagement to Improve Patent Quality and Global Patent Prosecution on a Limited Budget - VIRTUAL
Innovation is a company’s lifeblood and successfully engaging your inventors is key to your company’s innovation. As we shifted to remote work during Covid19, companies went to great lengths to ensure their inventors were able to continue working safely, but there are old and new challenges. Facing limited budgets, what can you do to optimize inventor engagement to improve patent quality and global patent prosecution?

- How do you stay tapped into what is happening if you are not in the same office as your inventors?
- How do you maintain inventor interest and engagement?
- How do you work with inventors around the world to increase invention disclosures despite language and cultural differences, especially when you are remote?
- How can in-house counsel and outside counsel collaborate to efficiently collect all necessary technological details from inventors to maximize prosecution success for a global filing program?
- What tools are companies using for managing invention disclosures and docketing?

Speakers:

4:00 - 5:00 PM
Women's Program - Career and Mentoring - VIRTUAL
Over a year since Covid upended our lives, how are women attorneys faring in the work place?

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6
- VIRTUAL SESSIONS IN THE MORNING -
- IN-PERSON OUTDOOR SESSIONS IN THE AFTERNOON -

9:00 - 10:00 AM
Managing Multi-Jurisdictional Litigation - Global Litigation and Rocket Dockets - VIRTUAL
- If you have litigation in several jurisdictions, how did those jurisdictions get selected?
- If you are on the offensive side, what are the top jurisdictions and how do you strategize when you are going into the litigation?
- If you get an injunction in Germany, how does that impact litigation in the U.S.?
- Are there any changes in the global rocket dockets outside of Texas? - What is happening in China and Germany? China just had a change in their patent filing laws. What are the immediate and longer term changes? As the process changes in 3-5 years, what impact will we see on its litigation forum?

Speakers:

10:00 - 11:00 AM
Intersection of IP & Data: Best Practices for Data Privacy and Complying with a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) - VIRTUAL
As companies grapple with increasing amounts of data, they face competing interests such as data monetization and data privacy. What must IP Counsel do to effectively serve their clients? California will soon have regulations similar to DSAR, which is mandated by Europe’s GDPR. How do you comply with it? What are best practices around privacy as companies manage their increasing amounts of data.

Speakers:

- IN-PERSON MEETING BEGINS -

11:45AM - 12:15PM
Check in for In-Person Meeting

12:15 - 1:15 PM
Patent Portfolio Development As We Move Past Covid19 - IN PERSON & LIVE STREAMING
As we move past the pandemic and fear of an economic downturn, some companies are re-evaluating decisions made at the start of the pandemic. How did companies manage their portfolios during the pandemic, and are they making adjustments as we move past the pandemic? Companies have had a year to evaluate measures that they took last year in response to Covid19. We thought certain things would happen. Were we right? What observations can you make, a year later?

- How are companies looking at next year and the near future?
- How much are companies spending on their portfolios and how do they calculate return on investment?
- How do you manage resource allocation for budgeting to make sure it aligns with business strategy?
- Should companies file a lot or focus on licensing and deals?
- If you are a startup trying to scale, but you have no historical data, how do you articulate budget for IP portfolio development to the C-suite?
- How are companies developing and utilizing their portfolios as we move past the pandemic?
- How are companies modeling to determine the number of patents that they need?
- How to think proactively about risk so that you are balancing the needs of counter assertion vs. cross licensing?

Speakers:

1:15 - 2:15 PM
Networking Lunch

2:15 - 3:15 PM
Trends in Standard Essential Patents - IN PERSON & LIVE STREAMING
- What are the emerging trends in SEPs, especially extraterritorially?
- The UK imposed FRAND rates on SEPs that were global rather than just on UK products. What is the impact?
- Should you participate in standard formation?
- How do you frame the risk analysis for encumbering your IP through participating in standard formation? There has not been a lot of litigation enforcing alliance membership terms that impose SEP terms. How do you frame the risk analysis?
- What is the impact of patent pools?

Speakers:

3:15 - 4:15 PM
The Current State of Patent Transactions - IN PERSON & LIVE STREAMING
- What impact has Covid had on transactions?
- Are companies seeing more interest in licensing?
- Have budgets gone up or down for licensing?
- Are licensing negotiations moving more quickly due to virtual meetings during the pandemic, and do we foresee this continuing beyond the pandemic?
- What patents should you maintain?
- Is there a shorter time frame from patent to implementation?

Speakers:

4:15 - 4:30 PM
Coffee Break

4:30 - 5:30 PM
Patent Portfolio Development and European Considerations - IN PERSON & LIVE STREAMING
What is allowable in Europe but not in the US? How can you work effectively with your law firms? US firms are very familiar with what's patentable in the US. European firms are very familiar with what's patentable in Europe. Finding a firm with expertise in both can be challenging. How can you work with your firms to streamline the portfolio building process?

Speakers:

5:30 - 6:30 PM
Cocktail Reception

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7
- IN PERSON MEETING CONTINUES -

8:30 AM
Check In & Breakfast

9:00 - 10:00 AM
Strategies for Improving Patent Quality - IN PERSON & LIVE STREAMING
- How did patent filings fare during Covid19?
- What can companies do to help improve patent quality?
- How are companies working with patent examiners to train them on new technologies?
- How do you submit an application that meets the USPTO's criteria?
- How are companies approaching USPTO modernization? 

Speakers:

10:00 - 11:00 AM
Expanding Innovation and Productivity through Diversity Initiatives - IN PERSON & LIVE STREAMING
Diverse teams offer different perspectives that enable companies to innovate and build products that meet the needs of diverse consumers. But how do we successfully build diverse teams? How do we empower all members of our teams to contribute? Why is it important to hire diverse outside counsel? This panel will address:
- How did diversity initiatives play out during Covid?
- Does working from home help or hinder diversity in innovation?
- Are companies doing anything differently to engage diverse inventors?
- How are law firms and companies faring in their efforts to hire diverse attorneys?
- Even after you hire diverse candidates, how do you keep them?
- What initiatives are companies and law firms introducing to hire and retain diverse attorneys?

Speakers:

11:00 - 11:15 AM
Coffee Break

11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
Open Source and the Business Process Behind It - IN PERSON & LIVE STREAMING
- How do you quantify risk when there is little open source litigation?
- Is there an industry standard tool for open source compliance?
- How do you formalize the process of contributing to open source projects? How do you open source your own projects? How do you make sure you have the right stakeholders involved? How do you track the approval process?
- What organizational structures can you put in place to run open source and make policy decisions on a high level and a case by case basis?
- Who approves open source projects? how do you track an action item?
- How do you decide if it has been security approved? Who needs to approve it?
- What is your process for deciding if it is a good business decision to open source a piece of code? who decides? what are the factors you need to think about?
- How do you articulate a a policy that makes sense for your engineering teams?

Speakers:

12:15 - 1:15 PM
NPE Litigation & Risk Mitigation Tools - IN PERSON & LIVE STREAMING 
What are recent trends in NPE litigation? How are companies responding? What are the pros and cons of the various risk mitigation tools?

Speakers:

1:15 - 2:15 PM
Networking Lunch

2:15 - 3:15 PM
Auto & Transportation Industry Meeting - IN PERSON
Join IP Counsel from the auto and transportation industry for an open discussion on the issues facing the industry and how companies can work together to further industry goals. Cruise and Uber will discuss the Allied Transportation Association, a non-profit automotive/transportation industry working group for operating companies.

Speakers:

4:00 - 5:15 PM
Palo Alto Walk
Join us for a 3-mile Palo Alto walk to see the Barron Park Donkeys! Meet the donkey behind the donkey in “Shrek.” This walk will take approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes round-trip from the Crowne Plaza Palo Alto. Walking shoes are recommended.

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8
- VIRTUAL SESSION -

9:00 - 10:00 AM
In-House Counsel Only Session: Breakfast Speed Networking & Benchmarking Law Firm Billing - VIRTUAL
This is a peer benchmarking session for in-house counsel only.

- How much are you paying for portfolio maintenance items, writing applications and responses? Fees for provisionals? Utilities? Is there a kicker for complexity or office actions? Is there a difference between final and non-final office actions? Appeal brief fee?
- How do you set up fee arrangements for litigation?
- How developed do you want to be before you go to an examiner for an interview? Some have the office action and amendments all ready, send it through and discuss. Others just call the examiner and chat before sending everything. How should outside counsel be billed for that?

END OF PROGRAM
See you next year!

Agenda is subject to change. Please check back for updtes.

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AGENDA-AT-A-GLANCE (All times are in Pacific Time)
Join IP Counsel Cafe for Virtual AND In-Person Outdoor Events All Week!
Click here to see the Detailed Agenda