LES BENELUX

NEWSLETTER

TWENTY FIRST ISSUE - MARCH 1998

This quarterly newsletter is written specifically for LES Benelux members and others with a professional or business interest in all aspects of technology transfer and the licensing of intellectual property throughout the world. Further copies are available on request. Unless indicated as author's copyright and subject to acknowledgement of the Society, all material may be used freely in other publications. Editorial, insert and advertising enquiries and contributions should be addressed to Saskia van Dijk-Struyk, LES Benelux, PO Box 6050, NL-2600 JA DELFT; phone +31 15 269 4923; fax +31 15 261 24 03; e-mail: saskia.dijk@wxs.nl

Dear Members

Our first meeting of 1998 had a good attendance, despite the rather new and specialised topic of "Clearing Licensing Fees for Multimedia and the Internet"; but its importance will undoubtedly increase, with the proliferation on the internet and via CD-ROMs of articles, music, images and other publications protected by copyright. We believe that this is a field where the licensing implications of this trend are not yet widely recognised, and relevant expertise is rather limited; so this is an opportunity for current members of LES to address the problem early, and to attract to our ranks others with an interest. Various aspects of the topic were covered well by our speakers; our thanks are due to them, and also to Nauta Dutilh for their hospitality, and for use of their excellent facilities.

We have a full programme of activities in 1998, with our next topic meeting in Antwerp on 22 April, plus two more later in the year. The LESI annual conference is not far away, in Edinburgh, at the end of May, for which you should have received the full programme in the December 'les Nouvelles' centre-pages: and I hope we shall see a good attendance there for what promises to be an excellent event. In addition, our Advanced Licensing Course is scheduled for 10-11 September in The Hague Meanwhile, at the international level, all members are being invited to register their interests and/or expertise in a range of technological and industrial fields. This information will be published in the 1999 Members' Directory, and should prove to be valuable in encouraging networking between members with linked interests; I would urge you all to respond to this invitation.

Since our Newsletter celebrates its "Twenty-First" with this issue, a special word of thanks is due to Saskia van Dijk-Struyk, who has edited this from the start, in addition to her many other activities for our own society and for LESI (apart from having to earn a living!): and I hope she may continue for a long time to come.

Dennys Watson, President LES Benelux

e-mail: dennys_watson@compuserve.com

New Members

  • Robert J. Carter, Shell International B.V., The Hague (NL);
  • Thierry Debled, UCB. S.A., Drogenbos (B);
  • Joost van Gaalen, Netherlands Industrial Property Office, Rijswijk (NL);
  • Anne A.G. Staal, KPN, The Hague (NL);
  • Axelle Thiry, Catholic University of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve (B);
  • Luc Van Beek, Alcatel Bell, Antwerp (B);
  • Michiel H. Verhaar, Innovation Centre for Inventions, Rotterdam (NL);
  • Ignace H.A.M. Vernimme, Laevens & Vernimme, Brussels (B).

For information on membership of LES Benelux, please contact Wil van der Voorde: phone +31 70 39068 73, fax +31 70 390 9113 or e-mail prsnl@euronet.nl.

LES Benelux Meetings 1998
22 April 1998 - Antwerp :
"Global Licensing Strategies - case studies". ;
At this meeting, which will take place at the premises of Agfa Gevaert in Antwerp, Belgium, three eminent speakers coming from Belgium, Switzerland and The Netherlands, will share with us their views and personal experiences on this matter. Program with full details on speakers and a registration form is enclosed with this news-letter or will be sent out soon.

For your diary:
7 October 1998 - The Hague :
"Establishing and Enforcing Security Rights for Intellectual Property";
25 November 1998 - Brussels :
"Impact of European Policies on Licensing".

Advanced Licensing Course
From 10-11 September 1998 LES Benelux is organising a two-day Advanced Licensing Course in Hotel Sofitel in The Hague. A brochure with full programme and registration form will be sent to all members next month.

Amsterdam 2000
The Organising Committee of the LES International Conference Amsterdam 2000 (19-25 May) is looking for companies which want to support the organisation by sponsoring. Please contact Emma van Oosterom, fax +31 70 328 08 14, e-mail:emmy.oosterom @wxs.nl.

LES Europe

  • LES France
    12 May 1998 - Paris; "Consequences of a possible international exhaustion of rights on business", For information: Elisabeth Thouret-Lemaitre, phone +33 1 44 364 436; fax +33 1 44 364 900.
  • LES Czech Republic
    8 June 1998 - Prague; Arbitration, mediation and evaluation. For information: e-mail: pats@login.cz.
  • LES Italy
    26 March 1998 - Milan; "Sport Merchandising". For information: phone +39 11 561 13 20; fax +39 11 562 21 02; e-mail: s.torta@inrete.it.

LES International Conference 1998

The organisers of the forthcoming LES International Conference "Major Advances in International Licensing" in Edinburgh (31 May-3 June 1998) can claim a first for one of the many first class licensing sessions on offer - a millennium workshop. This workshop will concentrate on analysing the legal position in the United Kingdom and abroad. In particular, it will pose the question - can a purchaser of a computer system sue a supplier should the system not be fit for the year 2000 ? Deadline for early registrations is 1 March 1998.
For more information please visit http://les-europe.org or contact Margaret Sherry: phone +44 131 556 92 45; fax +44 131 556 96 38; e-mail: inconference@cableinet.co.uk

News from EPO
The Republic of Cyprus has acceded to the European Patent Conventions and thus become the 19th member state of the European Patent Organisation (EPO) in April 1998. Mid 1998 the EPO will launch a free patent service on the web. The service will offer text and images from front pages http://www.european-patent-office.org.

Other events

  • 18 March 1998 - Zeist (AIPPI):
    14th Symposium "Intellectuele Eigendom";
    Information: Pommeline Promotions, phone +31 20 684 39 47; fax +31 20 686 70 95.
  • 30-31 March 1998 - London:
    Parallel Imports;
    Information: Euroforum, phone +44 171 878 6886; fax +44 171 878 6885.
  • 20-21 April 1998 - London:
    International Patent Litigation.
    Information: Euroforum, phone +44 171 878 6886; fax +44 171 878 6885.

Next Newsletter

Deadline for delivering a contribution to the next newsletter is 31 May 1998.

18th Newsletter - June 1997
19th Newsletter - September 1997
20th Newsletter - December 1997
LINKS to other LES Chapters