Juergen Dressel, head of global patent litigation strategy at Novartis Pharma talks with us about the new Unified Patent Court and how it will change the patent litigation strategy in the pharmaceutical industry. Trisha Volpe of Barnes & Thornburg gives us an overview of the legal implications of Drones. And the European Patent Office recently threatened a Munich Staff Union Leader.

 

IP FRIDAYS

 

Co-Presenters:

Rolf Claessen and Kenneth Suzan

 

Episode 37 – September 18, 2015

 

RC =   Rolf Claessen

KS =    Kenneth Suzan

TV =    Trisha Volpe

JD =    Juergen Dressel

 

 

Hi!  My name is Juergen Dressel and I am the Head of Global Patent Litigation Strategy at Novartis Pharma AG in Basel, Switzerland and here I am speaking on a podcast for IP Fridays.

 

KS:      Hello and welcome to this episode of IP Fridays.  Our names are Ken Suzan and Rolf Claessen and this is THE podcast dedicated to Intellectual Property.  It does not matter where you are from, in-house or private practice, novice or expert, we will help you stay up-to-date with current topics in the fields of trademarks, patents, design and copyright, discover useful tools and much more.

 

RC:      Welcome to Episode 37 of IP Fridays.  Today we have an interview with Juergen Dressel who is head of Global Patent Litigation Strategy at Novartis Pharma, Tricia Volpe of Barnes & Thornburg LLP tells us about the latest developments in the field of drones, and then we also have the very latest on the conflict between the Staff Union and the President at the European Patent Office.

 

This Monday, September 14, 2015, an important IT magazine, IX, had an article about the European Patent Office threatening the leader of the Staff Union of the European Patent Office in Munich.  Supposedly she was summoned to the Investigative Unit that was established by the President of the European Patent Office and this summons to the hearing before the Investigative Unit was somehow leaked into the public so now the European Patent Office is threatening the leader of the Munich Staff Union to fire her and threatening other legal steps for disclosing confidential information about the summons to the hearing before the Investigative Unit.  If you want to read the full story, unfortunately it is in German, you can head over to www.ipfridays.com/staffunion.

 

Now. Trisha Volpe of Barnes & Thornburg LLP has the latest about the legal implication of drones.  Take it away….

 

TV:      Technology once reserved for the military has the potential for exponential commercial growth. But drone technology has become a kind of technological intersection of debate – where intellectual property, economic impact, issues surrounding security and privacy meet.

 

Earlier this month members of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet examined the policy and legal implications of commercial drones.

 

We’ve seen their use expand already - and in some cases, attract headlines.  Recently, a drone crashed on the White House lawn.  Another crashed into the stands at the U.S. Open.  Amazon has proposed delivering packages by drone.  The potential seems limitless.

 

Currently, the FAA has in place temporary guidelines and grants permission to use drones for commercial purposes on a case by case basis – requiring users to apply for an exemption called the Section 333 Exemption.

 

Chris Polychron, President of the National Association of Realtors told subcommittee members the real estate industry represents a good portion of those exemptions…urging lawmakers to support the expanded use of commercial drones.

 

Chris Polychron:  “The potential applications for UASs in real estate are plentiful and will grow.  Currently UASs can provide the opportunity for real estate practitioners to offer photographs and videos of properties that would otherwise be difficult to obtain.