IPBC Global 2019 is shaping up to be the biggest and best of the series so far

The next IPBC Global – taking place in Boston from 16th to 18^th June – is shaping up to be the biggest and best of the series, which began way back in 2008 in Amsterdam. With more than four months to go until proceedings get underway at the Westin Waterfront, we have already sold 50% of places and demand is well ahead of where it was for last year’s sell-out event in San Francisco, when over 650 delegates were in attendance.

Put simply, if you are planning to come but have not yet got around to reserving your slot you would be well advised to do so as soon as possible. This is especially the case if you are either an IP service provider or a private practice lawyer/attorney – allotted quotas for both are nearly full and will be closing soon. Once that happens, we will not be able to accept any more registrations from people working in either area.

What makes this year’s IPBC Global particularly exciting are the senior professionals from a large number of companies and institutions based in so many different parts of the world and operating in a wide diversity of industries who have already confirmed they will be there. It’s a long list, but includes:

• Amadeus
• Aon
• Axcella
• Barclays
• Battelle
• Boston Healthcare
• Breville
• Columbia University
• Cypress Semiconductor
• Dolby
• Ericsson
• Facebook
• Fractus
• Google
• Harvard
• IBM
• Johnson & Johnson
• Mastercard
• Microsoft
• Nantworks
• Nokia
• Orange
• PayPal
• Royal Philips
• Siemens
• TiVo
• Uber
• Volvo Cars
• Xerox  

I am also proud of the commitment the IPBC organising team have made to ensuring that every session at the event has at least one woman on its panel. Too often at previous IPBCs, plenaries and breakouts have been all-male affairs – a patently ridiculous situation (to coin a phrase) as we approach the third decade of the 21^st century. We will be exploring the importance of gender equality at the top level of the global IP market in our Women in dealmaking plenary.

The subject may be one of those discussed by the president of Nokia Technologies and Nokia chief legal officer Maria Varsellona in her Monday morning keynote address. The other keynote, on the Tuesday morning, will be delivered by Andy Sherman, executive vice-president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Dolby Laboratories. That’s two boardroom perspectives on IP from companies that have put it at the heart of their growth strategies. You won’t get that at any other IP event this year.

Aside from the keynotes and plenaries, we also have a wide range of breakouts, masterclasses and bootcamps to offer delegates – covering a number of subjects on the cutting edge of IP value creation. This will include the announcement of the results of 2019's IAM Benchmarking survey and a debate to discuss its findings. And, of course, there are all those networking opportunities that so many people find so valuable at every IPBC Global.

Yep, Boston 2019 is going to be a cracker. I look forward to seeing you there!

You can register for IPBC Global 2019 here.