

Join us at our Annual IP Seminar!
We’re excited to announce that the next De Clercq & Partners' Intellectual Property seminar will take place on Friday, June 13, 2025! Join us at the scenic Auberge du Pêcheur in Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium, for a day filled with thought-provoking sessions and valuable networking opportunities.
PROGRAMME
Morning session
Chaired by Andrej Michalík (Partner – De Clercq & Partners)
08.30h Registration and Coffee
09.00h Welcome and introduction
Ann De Clercq (Founding Partner – De Clercq & Partners)
09.05h Public Prior Use in Patent Disputes: Burden of Proof, Strategies and Implications of Recent Case Law
David Lesthaeghe (European Patent Attorney - De Clercq & Partners)
Sarah Thysen (European Patent Attorney - De Clercq & Partners)
09.30h SPCs and Unitary SPCs: where are we now?
Mike Snodin (Founder - Park Grove IP)
10.30h Coffee break
11.00h From Chaos to Clarity: Navigating Unity of Invention before the EPO
Sytse de Jonge (Operational director - EPO, NL)
Koen Vanhalst (Partner - De Clercq & Partners)
12.00h Walking lunch, served in Auberge du Pêcheur
Afternoon session
Chaired by Liesbet Paemen (Partner– De Clercq & Partners)
13.30h The Unified Patent Court
Christophe Ronse (Partner – Altius, BE)
Kirian Claeyé (Partner - Altius, BE)
14.30h The health of patent quality: epistemology, etiology and remedy
Filip De Corte (Head IP Crop Protection - Syngenta, CH)
15.30h Coffee break
16.00h Upcycling & Recycling of Brands in Fashian
Sarah van den Brande (Partner - Liedekerke, BE)
17.00h Closing remarks
17.05h Closing reception at the Conference Venue, Auberge du Pêcheur
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
• Practitioners involved in drafting, prosecuting and litigating patents
and trademarks
• Representatives from technology transfer offices
• Legal representatives
• Policymakers
• Inventors
• Investors
• CEOs
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
13 June 2025
8:30-19:00
Auberge du Pêcheur
Pontstraat 41
9831 Sint-Martens-Latem
BELGIUM
Registration fee (excl. VAT):
- € 200.00 for companies and private practitioners
- € 100.00 for universities and non-profit organizations
Please note that all invoices will be issued after payment of the registration fee.
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