| Page 31 | Kisaco Research

Judges from leading patent jurisdictions come together to share their perspectives on FRAND royalty rate determination and core technology related patent litigation questions. This forum offers a rare opportunity to hear directly from those shaping the legal landscape around standard-essential patents, licensing disputes, and evolving enforcement trends. The panel will explore practical challenges, judicial approaches, and insights into how courts are balancing innovation incentives with fair competition.

Author:

Margot Kokke

Honourable Judge
UPC Court of First Instance
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Margot Kokke

Honourable Judge
UPC Court of First Instance

Author:

Edger Brinkman

Honourable Judge, Local Division Hague
UPC
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Edger Brinkman

Honourable Judge, Local Division Hague
UPC

As European courts see increased trade secret enforcement activity, particularly in industries like semiconductors, AI, and automotive, the strategic interplay between patent and trade secret protection is evolving. This session will explore the practical and legal considerations that drive trade secret litigation, and how these disputes intersect with patent strategies, particularly in cross-border contexts. Panellists will discuss how European companies are learning from U.S. trade secret practice and how this is shaping enforcement choices, litigation posture, and IP portfolio structuring.

• Examine key differences in procedural tools and evidentiary requirements for trade secret litigation across Europe and the U.S.

• Explore how businesses decide between trade secret protection and patenting in fast-moving sectors like AI, mobility and software.

• Discuss coordination of parallel patent and trade secret disputes, including cross-border enforcement challenges and forum selection strategies.

Author:

David Goodfellow

Chief IP Counsel
Aptiv
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David Goodfellow

Chief IP Counsel
Aptiv

Patent quality remains a critical concern for technology and innovation-driven industries such as IoT, automotive, telecommunications, and medical devices. This session will examine how differing definitions and expectations of quality are shaping global enforcement strategies and IP value. Panellists will explore the role of major patent offices and courts – including the EPO, UPC and PTAB – and discuss how perceptions of patent strength affect licensing leverage, competitive positioning and dispute outcomes across jurisdictions. Expect a comparative and commercially grounded discussion on how businesses are adapting their portfolios and legal strategies in response.

• Compare approaches to patent quality and examination at the EPO, USPTO and other key offices.

• Discuss the relationship between patent quality and litigation outcomes in major venues including the UPC and PTAB.

• Explore how companies in tech and innovation sectors are shaping their portfolios to maximise commercial and legal advantage.

Author:

Manuel Neetz

IP Counsel
Siemens Healthineers
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Manuel Neetz

IP Counsel
Siemens Healthineers

Author:

Farnaz Massoumian

Senior Patent Attorney
Vodafone
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Farnaz Massoumian

Senior Patent Attorney
Vodafone

Author:

Wolfram Thomas

Senior Director- Patent Counsel
Qualcomm
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Wolfram Thomas

Senior Director- Patent Counsel
Qualcomm

Author:

Georg Müller

Head of IP
Tom Tom

Dr. Georg Müller is Swiss and European Patent Attorney and leads TomTom’s IP team as Head of IP. Prior to this, he oversaw Strategic IP Counsel the IP activities of the Grid Automation Business Unit of Hitachi Energy. Dr. Müller started his professional career in Research and Development at ABB Corporate Research. He holds a doctoral degree in physics after studies of physics in Göttingen, Hannover, and Santa Barbara.

 

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Georg Müller

Head of IP
Tom Tom

Dr. Georg Müller is Swiss and European Patent Attorney and leads TomTom’s IP team as Head of IP. Prior to this, he oversaw Strategic IP Counsel the IP activities of the Grid Automation Business Unit of Hitachi Energy. Dr. Müller started his professional career in Research and Development at ABB Corporate Research. He holds a doctoral degree in physics after studies of physics in Göttingen, Hannover, and Santa Barbara.

 

Author:

Lauren Baker

Associate
Barnes & Thornburg
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Lauren Baker

Associate
Barnes & Thornburg

Author:

John Cox

Partner
Barnes & Thornburg

With deep knowledge of issues facing the life sciences industry, John Cox counsels clients regarding their worldwide intellectual property rights and represents their patent interests when litigation arises, particularly regarding pharmaceutical, chemical, and biotechnology matters. John takes his role in protecting these important assets of life science innovators very seriously while approaching each matter with enthusiasm.


Through his ability to communicate effectively and succinctly, John advises on, develops, and carries out global IP strategies for the benefit of innovative companies, his clients, who are focused on developing core assets that save and improve the lives of patients. John enjoys leveraging his unique ability to put together targeted and enduring teams for each matter – paying close attention to each person’s strengths and skillsets and how they fit with one another, alongside his highly specialized experience and thoughtful and responsive nature.
John is intimately familiar with the pharmaceutical industry, having dealt with patent and IP subject matter ranging from brain chemistry, the gastrointestinal system, drug delivery systems and treatments of rare diseases and cancer to medical diagnostic methods, the generation of biofuel using bacteria, and processes for manufacturing chemicals and pharmaceutical products. He also has almost two decades of experience in Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) cases, including pre-litigation investigations.

John offers guidance from the first step of a matter through to resolution, including all aspects of litigation. He has extensive experience related to discovery and motion practice, as well as in developing offensive and defensive strategies. He is well versed in dealing with complex subject matter and technical witnesses, such as inventors and experts.


John adeptly helps clients navigate the crossroads of foreign business practices and the complexities of U.S. patent practice, having worked with foreign pharmaceutical, chemical, and biotechnology companies throughout his career.

... read more

John Cox

Partner
Barnes & Thornburg

With deep knowledge of issues facing the life sciences industry, John Cox counsels clients regarding their worldwide intellectual property rights and represents their patent interests when litigation arises, particularly regarding pharmaceutical, chemical, and biotechnology matters. John takes his role in protecting these important assets of life science innovators very seriously while approaching each matter with enthusiasm.


Through his ability to communicate effectively and succinctly, John advises on, develops, and carries out global IP strategies for the benefit of innovative companies, his clients, who are focused on developing core assets that save and improve the lives of patients. John enjoys leveraging his unique ability to put together targeted and enduring teams for each matter – paying close attention to each person’s strengths and skillsets and how they fit with one another, alongside his highly specialized experience and thoughtful and responsive nature.
John is intimately familiar with the pharmaceutical industry, having dealt with patent and IP subject matter ranging from brain chemistry, the gastrointestinal system, drug delivery systems and treatments of rare diseases and cancer to medical diagnostic methods, the generation of biofuel using bacteria, and processes for manufacturing chemicals and pharmaceutical products. He also has almost two decades of experience in Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) cases, including pre-litigation investigations.

John offers guidance from the first step of a matter through to resolution, including all aspects of litigation. He has extensive experience related to discovery and motion practice, as well as in developing offensive and defensive strategies. He is well versed in dealing with complex subject matter and technical witnesses, such as inventors and experts.


John adeptly helps clients navigate the crossroads of foreign business practices and the complexities of U.S. patent practice, having worked with foreign pharmaceutical, chemical, and biotechnology companies throughout his career.

Author:

David Kanter

Founder & Executive Director
MLCommons

David co-founded and is the Head of MLPerf for MLCommons, the world leader in building benchmarks for AI. MLCommons is an open engineering consortium with a mission to make AI better for everyone through benchmarks and data. The foundation for MLCommons began with the MLPerf benchmarks in 2018, which rapidly scaled as a set of industry metrics to measure machine learning performance and promote transparency of machine learning techniques. In collaboration with its 125+ members, global technology providers, academics, and researchers, MLCommons is focused on collaborative engineering work that builds tools for the entire AI industry through benchmarks and metrics, public datasets, and measurements for AI Safety. Our software projects are generally available under the Apache 2.0 license and our datasets generally use CC-BY 4.0.

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David Kanter

Founder & Executive Director
MLCommons

David co-founded and is the Head of MLPerf for MLCommons, the world leader in building benchmarks for AI. MLCommons is an open engineering consortium with a mission to make AI better for everyone through benchmarks and data. The foundation for MLCommons began with the MLPerf benchmarks in 2018, which rapidly scaled as a set of industry metrics to measure machine learning performance and promote transparency of machine learning techniques. In collaboration with its 125+ members, global technology providers, academics, and researchers, MLCommons is focused on collaborative engineering work that builds tools for the entire AI industry through benchmarks and metrics, public datasets, and measurements for AI Safety. Our software projects are generally available under the Apache 2.0 license and our datasets generally use CC-BY 4.0.