Group homewerk of Group 1 of the MIPLM 2022/23

1. CEIPI MIPLM 2023 - Group 1
Week 1 Assignment
Please read the IP trend monitor.
Do you observe those trends in your industry/law firm?

2. Topics/Trends
● IP key to recovery - litigation (Anne)
● Collaboration in IP initiatives (Thanh Thuy)
● New Ways of Working at the EPO (Daniel)
● IP trends (Elisa)
● US IP trends (Larry)
● Shift in ways of working in private practice (Jacob)
● Southeast Asia IP Practitioner’s Trend (Guy)
● Trends in the Philippines (John)
● IP trends in private practice: Russia and Eurasian region (Victor)
● Trends overlooked by the report - AI & NFT (Lionel)

3. US litigation trends (Anne)
Economic downturn / recession
● We see an increase in the number of IP cases filed
● Companies are looking to monetize sometimes
overlooked assets
● Clients can be more aggressive - less willing to
settle

4. Collaboration in IP initiatives (Thanh Thuy)
● Promoting the importance of IP
● Shaping the future of the global IP ecosystem
○ Developing balanced and effective international normative frameworks for IP
○ Convening leading discussions on IP
○ Building respect for IP
○ Engaging with the United Nations (UN), other IGOs and non-governmental stakeholders
● Providing high quality IP services, knowledge and data
○ IP management platforms and tools are increasingly digital
○ The productivity and service quality are improved
○ Knowledge transfer and technology adaptation is facilitated
● Supporting governments, enterprises, communities and individuals to use IP as a tool
for growth and sustainable development

5. New Ways of Working at the EPO (Daniel)
Visible to users:
● Oral proceedings held via video-conference as a default
Internal Changes:
● Full new toolchain for an end-to-end electronic workflow
● New Hardware: Desktop + Thin client -> Laptop + IPad
● Flexible home working with 60 days/year minimum at the office
● Move away from fixed workplaces to shared desks
EPO Staff Engagement Survey 2022:

6. Ip trends Elisa Buoso LL.M.
1. Increase in the interest in IP (SME)
2. Increase in the case filed
3. Internal changes: interest for professional with high specialization

7. US IP Trends Larry Bond
Sandbox Legal Practice
Trend toward clients being much better informed about IP issues
Continuing absence of supplemental services:
Tax planning, valuation and commercialization.
No apparent increase of interest of expanding cross border qualifications to practice.

8. Shift in ways of working in private practice (Jacob)
● Recent shift to more videoconferencing and remote working
○ Covid-19
○ Increased social awareness/reducing emissions
■ Sustainability is profitability
● Internal changes
● Change in offering to clients
○ EPO hearings
○ More flexible
○ Easier to keep records
○ Importance of in person meetings?
■ Trend report noted that face to face meetings were ranked as
important by less than a quarter of respondents (23%)
● Less important or just less frequent?

9. Southeast Asia need more diverse IP skill sets (Guy)
Current States of IP Firm Practices in Southeast Asia:
- More IP firms locally and from overseas, especially regional firms in presence
in many Asian markets, e.g. Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc. as
well as China and Japan.
- Most are still offering the same type of services (i.e. IP-Legal) with little
differentiation, leading to intensive cost-cutting amongst themselves.
- Very small number are offering IP-business consultancy services such as
valuation, licensing, and commercialization services.
Skills and Job Scopes for the Future IP Practitioners in Southeast
Asia:
- More patent attorneys are only legally trained with little or no technical
backgrounds. The language of science & technology will become more
important for them to understand the nature of the technology and to have
fruitful conversation with R&D and Corporate IP managers.
- More need of non-IP legal practitioners to bridge the gap between protection
and commercialization. Jobs like IP valuators, licensing strategists, tech
transfer specialists are increasingly more important as more IP owning
entities are looking for ways to commercialize their IPs, not just protecting

10. TRENDS IN THE PHILIPPINES (John)
● IPO PH is holding on-line hearing or court processes, even after the
pandemic, absent presentation of evidence,
● An increasing training and re-orientation activities are happening in
IP PH processes, as well as updating of knowledge involving science
and technology - at least in the field of patent;
● There is still an insufficient conveyance from the IP authorities in the
local economy that there is substantial development in the intangible
assets, as a result of progress in the knowledge economy.

11. Common trends for IP law firms, which hold true for Russia:
● Adapting to work online/remotely without lost of efficiency
● Increased importance of software and data processing tools for law firms
(e.g. AI-machine translation for patent application)
● Promoting the importance of IP and developing IP strategy: the most challenging
and complex part of IP work
Russia’s specific trends as a result of war with Ukraine and international sanctions:
● IP law firms adapt to new reality: decrease of business activity of western
companies, the increased role of the Eurasian (regional) patents, positive IP litigation
trends involving foreign IP owners

12. Overlooked trends (Lionel)
Ever faster technological progress
● Metaverse - still unclear approach by various IP offices, as well
as from the holders
● NFTs - similar problematic as for the Metaverse with additional
technical complexity
● AI - questions regarding ownership of works created by AI (e.g.
designs) and even their capacity to be protected