Training and Events Aug 30, 2022
Master Classes in Intellectual Property
BCF is launching its Master Classes in Intellectual Property, a series of training sessions specifically designed for business leaders and innovation managers seeking to learn best practices to protect and value their intellectual property.
Starting this fall, a total of five Master Classes will be given by members of our Intellectual Property team, under the direction of Jean-Sébastien Brière, to leaders of innovative companies. The classes will address the fundamentals of intellectual property protection regimes, mainly in the area of patents, and are intended to provide participants with the required knowledge and practical tools to help them deal with all the issues that may arise in the life of their business.
These Master Classes are much more than an introduction to the topics studied; they are designed to help participants achieve a level of understanding that will allow them to make more informed business decisions.
Each class will be given free of charge to a group of about 30 participants and will feature a theoretical portion followed by a discussion with an actor from the industry who will share their personal experience of the topics covered. Classes will end with a networking lunch between participants.
Are you curious? Have a look at what we have in store for you in this first edition of our Master Classes in Intellectual Property.
First MASTER CLASS | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2022
Patent Mechanics: How to Determine the Scope of Patent Rights and Differentiate Between Infringement and Validity
How to define the patent scope in the best possible way for the company? Given by Jean-Sébastien Brière, this first Master Class is designed to introduce participants to the determination of a patent’s scope of rights and the distinction between the concepts of infringement (absence of freedom to operate) and of patent validity of a patent (or patentability of an innovation), particularly regarding improvement patents.
The theoretical portion of this first Master Class will be divided into three parts:
- The legal status of a patent and the concept of “claim” will be discussed, followed by a series of practical examples that will enable participants to understand the difference between broad and narrow claims and the significant legal and economic impacts of obtaining a patent with inappropriate claims;
- The basic legal requirements for obtaining a patent will be reviewed, also considering the claims, but this time stressing the importance of fully understanding the "prior art" relevant to any innovation; and
- The concept of improvement patents will be discussed to allow participants to understand the possibility of obtaining a patent on an innovation that will be impossible to exploit due a prior patent held by a third party.
This theoretical portion will be followed by a discussion with Marie-Hélène Rochon, Ph.D., IP Strategist at Lallemand in Montréal.
Second MASTER CLASS | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022
Strategic Innovation Positioning: How to Develop Value-Added Innovations while Minimizing the Risk of Counterfeiting?
How to strategically position the company’s innovations to maximize the return on investment? Given by Jean-Sébastien Brière, the second Master Class is designed to raise participants' awareness on the importance of knowing the "patent universe" in which a project evolves to identify opportunities, generate more value for the company and limit the risks of exploitation, and then provide them with certain tools to achieve this.
The theoretical portion of this second Master Class will be divided into two parts:
- In the first part, participants will be introduced to the risk and opportunity zones that a good knowledge of the patent universe in which a project operates can reveal, and various approaches to the identified risks and opportunities will be presented; and
- In the second part, participants will be briefly introduced to search tools and techniques that will enable them to better understand the process of searching a patent database and eventually conduct in-house patent searches.
This theoretical portion will be followed by a discussion with Sylvain Roy, lawyer and IP strategic advisor in Montréal.
THIRD MASTER CLASS | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2023
How to Draft, File and Examine a Patent Application: A Process to be Mastered
From identifying the innovations to be patented to choosing a foreign filing strategy, knowing the ropes and best practices is key. Given by Jean-Sébastien Brière, this third Master Class is designed to familiarize participants with the processes, strategies and best practices related to the preparation, filing and examination of patent applications.
The following topics will be addressed:
- Identification of patentable inventions made by the company's employees and partners (how to "extract" inventions or "patent mining");
- Analysis of patent opportunities and identification of innovations that will be advantageous to patent both from a technical and business perspective;
- Preparation of an invention “disclosure” that will allow a patent agent to do optimal patent drafting work while minimizing costs;
- Main patent application filing strategies that can be adopted and the impact of the choices made at the time of filing an application (costs, delays, etc.);
- Overview of the patent examination process in Canada, the U.S. (including the use of a continuation application) and Europe; and
- Introduction to the “PCT” process for filing an international patent application.
This theoretical portion will be followed by a discussion with Jean-Yves Pikulik, Director, Intellectual Property at Genetec.
Stay on the lookout!
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