Standards, Patents and Competitiveness Forum

Event moderator: Juliane Kotzur, Lawyer, EPO’s Observatory on Patents and Technology

1. 09.30 - 10.00 hrs CET

   Opening remarks

   • António Campinos, President, European Patent Office
   • Jan Ellsberger, Director-General, ETSI
2. 10.00 - 10.45 hrs CET Panel discussion

   Global challenges and opportunities in standardisation

   This panel explores scenarios for the future evolution of technology and standards, in light of current global challenges and opportunities.

   Moderator: Axel Ferrazzini, Managing Director, 4iP Council

   • Jan Ellsberger, Director-General, ETSI
   • Konstantinos Karachalios, Former Managing Director IEEE SA, Strategy Advisor IEEE ED
   • Claudia MacMaster, Head of Legal and Compliance, International Electrotechnical Commission
3. 10.45 - 11.30 hrs CET Panel discussion

   Industry feedback and perspective

   Business success requires informed insights into technology trends, combined with a rigorous understanding of standards and their implementation, as well as the right patent strategy. This panel provides a platform for industry perspectives from across the innovation ecosystem.

   Moderator: Axel Ferrazzini, Managing Director, 4iP Council

   • Steve Faraji, Head of Litigation, Standards, Volkswagen AG
   • Shahrokh Nayeb Nazar, VP of Technology, Head of Patent Assertion & Portfolio Analysis, Qualcomm
   • Sebastiano Toffaletti, Secretary General, European DIGITAL SME Alliance
   • Stefanie Mielert, Senior Expert Standards, IP and Innovation, Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS
4. 11.30 - 12.15 hrs CET Panel discussion

   Standards and competitiveness: shaping Europe’s industrial future

   The evolving role of standards will shape Europe’s technological future. This panel focuses on the interface between policy and competitiveness.

   Moderator: Bowman Heiden, Co-Director of the Center for Intellectual Property (CIP), University of Gothenburg

   • Martin Chatel, Chief Policy Officer, ETSI
   • Collette Rawnsley, Vice-President IP Policy & Advocacy, Nokia
   • Alexander Haertel, Cluster Lead Patents, Deutsche Telekom
   • Heinz Bernold, Partner and Director, Telecommunications, Boston Consulting Group
5. 12.15 - 13.30 hrs CET

   Lunch break

6. 13.30 - 14.30 hrs CET Panel discussion

   Standards and patents (Part I): towards a level playing field - transparency and FRAND across jurisdictions

   A level playing field is key to strengthening European competitiveness. This panel focuses on the importance of promoting transparency and accessibility, particularly where standard essential patents (SEPs) are concerned, along with fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing terms.

   Moderator: Michael Fröhlich, Director of Patent Developments and IP lab, European Patent Office

   • Pere Arque-Castells, Stream lead Legal and Innovation policies, EPO’s Observatory on Patents and Technology
   • Patrick Hofkens, Head of Global IPR Policy, Ericsson
   • Justus Baron, Director of BRELA and Research Director, Northwestern University Center on Law, Business, and Economics
   • Matteo Sabattini, Executive Head of Government Affairs, Sisvel
7. 14.30 - 15.30 hrs CET Panel discussion

   Standards and patents (Part II): beyond litigation - ADR and the future of SEP dispute resolution

   This panel offers a deep dive into the latest alternative dispute resolution (ADR) trends relating to SEP disputes, and the opportunities that expert insights into this area can deliver for stakeholders. The panel also looks at the positive impact on the ADR landscape of the inauguration in June 2026 of the Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre (PMAC) of the Unified Patent Court (UPC).

   Moderator: Juliane Kotzur, Lawyer, EPO’s Observatory on Patents and Technology

   • Simon Dack, Expert committee, Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre
   • Magali Fitzgibbon, Legal and governance director, ETSI
   • Joana Santos, Founding and Managing partner, NLP Law Firm
   • Thomas Dreiser, Chief IP litigation counsel (EMEA), Huawei
   • Steve Akerley, Head of Litigation, Interdigital Inc.
8. 15.30 - 16.00 hrs CET

   Coffee break

9. 16.00 - 16.30 hrs CET

   Rapporteurs’ summary

10. 16.30 - 17.00 hrs CET

    Closing debate and way forward

    Open exchange on follow-up actions