Subscribe to AIJA updates
The latest events, news, articles, and resources, sent straight to your inbox
Event Overview
Connect to your MyAIJA account to discover who from your network is attending this event.
Frankfurt is not only the banking capital of Germany, but it is also home to many other industries, including life sciences, biotechnology, logistics or IT and telecommunications. This has inspired a strong concentration of R&D and innovation activity across high-tech industries as well as traditional enterprises looking to revolutionise their business practices.
AIJA’s 7th Annual Competition Conference: R&D and Innovation - Protection through or despite Antitrust Law?
In today’s competitive markets, innovation and R&D are vital to the survival of companies. Consequently, businesses develop various strategies to protect their R&D and know-how which can lead to complex agreements and challenging court trials. During the 7th Annual Competition Conference, we will discuss the current state of play, the impact of competition policy on innovation and share an outlook into the future. Speakers at the Conference will include officials from enforcement agencies, academics, legal practitioners and industry representatives.
IP/TMT seminar: Internet of Things
The surge in innovation has also enabled a myriad of innovative Internet of Things (IoT) applications. These open vast opportunities for businesses but bring challenges as well. On the side-lines of the Conference, AIJA will host a Seminar that will cover emerging legal issues related to IoT, such as:
• ownership and intellectual property rights in IoT devices and data;
• legal and regulatory issues in big data;
• interoperability standards;
• pressing security issues surrounding personal data, cyber security and national security risks;
• IoT and the supply chain (in collaboration with the AIJA TRADE Commission).
The joint working session with the AIJA’s Antitrust Commission will cover Standard Essential Patents and FRAND. The seminar is also perfectly timed for IP/IT practitioners to discuss the impact of GDPR, taking place less than a month after GDPR enters into force across the EU. Speakers will include academics, legal practitioners and industry representatives.
AIJA is looking forward to welcoming you to Frankfurt!
AIJA Commissions involved
- Antitrust
- Intellectual Property, Technology, Media, and Telecommunications
- T.R.A.D.E. (Trade, Retail, Agency, Distribution, E-commerce)
Gold
Silver
7th AIJA Annual Competition Conference: R&D and Innovation - Protection through or despite Antitrust Law?
18:00
Registration at the Fleming's Selection Hotel Frankfurt-City
18:00 - 20:00
Welcome cocktail at the Ambassador Club (Fleming's Selection Hotel Frankfurt-City)
20:30
Address: An der Hauptwache 15, D - 60313 Frankfurt am Main
Not included in the registration fees, payable locally
08:00 - 09:00
Registration at the Fleming's Selection Hotel Frankfurt-City
09:00 - 09:15
Introduction to the seminar by the Organising Committee
09:15 - 09:30
Wiebe de Vries, AIJA President, BloomTax B.V., the Netherlands
09:30 - 10:30
Google, Netflix, Airbnb, Uber – in recent years, the global economy has faced an unprecedented level of disruptive innovation, often driven by technology and involving enterprises with new business models. However, contrary to popular beliefs, disruptive innovation is not a new phenomenon and not limited to internet platforms. Only think of IKEA or Microsoft. How does competition law deal with disruptive innovation? Do competition authorities have the analytical framework and tools to get enforcement right?
Moderator:
Evelyn Niitväli, RCAA, Germany
Speakers:
Karen Ruback, Grinberg Cordovil, Brasil
Sebastian Janka, Noerr, Germany
Riccardo Falconi, Uber, France
10:30 - 11:00
Coffee break
11:00 - 12:30
The consumer is no unknown creature in the realm of competition law. Ultimately, competition law and consumer protection aim for the same thing: consumer welfare. Enforcement of consumer interests within the framework of competition law is already immanent in certain abuse of dominant cases. But is any violation of consumer protection laws by a dominant company, e.g. by excessive terms of service, inevitably to be equated with an abuse of dominance? The panel will focus on this and further interesting issues in the intersection between competition law and consumer protection.
Moderators:
Christoph Weinert, Commeo LLP, Germany
Jens Steger, Simmons & Simmons, Germany
Speakers:
Stephan Schweikardt, Bundeskartellamt, Germany
Yolanda Martínez Mata, Rating Legis, Spain
Manish Bahl, Fieldfisher, Netherlands
Zoltán Marosi, Oppenheim, Hungary
12:30 - 13:30
Lunch
13:30 - 15:00
The structuring of agreements on research and development remains a challenging task. Territory or customer restrictions, exclusivity agreements and agreements on exploitations are typical clauses which require a careful analysis. The aim of this session is on the one hand to discuss and explain the pitfalls of research and developments agreements. On the other hand we will take a closer look at the challenges of in-house-lawyers handling such global agreements.
Moderator:
Isabel Oest, Commeo LLP, Germany
Speakers:
Sophie Lawrance, Bristows LLP, UK
Sebastian Hack, Osborne Clarke, Germany
Gereon Backmann, CSL Behring, Germany
15:00 - 15:30
Coffee break
15:30 - 17:00
The possible reduction of “innovation competition” between competitors has also become a focus in merger control decisions. The strategy of companies may be to “shop for” new ideas by acquiring companies with particularly successful innovations or promising pipeline projects (e.g. in the biotech, chemicals and media industries). In other highly innovative markets, there may be less competitive concerns and reduced barriers to entry the market due to the competitive pressure of young innovative companies. This panel looks at legal developments and recent case law as well as the underlying economics to analyse the approaches of relevant competition authorities when assessing mergers.
Moderator:
Beatrice Stange, Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek, Germany
Speakers:
Sebastian Beller, Panasonic Europe Ltd. , Germany
Judith Feldner, Eisenberger & Herzog, Austria
Paul Fort, Bayer, Germany
Mario Strebel, Meyerlustenberger Lachenal, Switzerland
20:00 - 23:00
Address: Schweizer Strasse 71, D - 60594 Frankfurt am Main
Departure from hotel lobby:
19:15 on foot
19:40 by public transport
23:00
Not included in the registration fees, payable locally
09:30 - 11:00
Standard agreements, having a positive impact on the economy by contributing to innovation and the development of better products, can, however, also have anti-competitive effects. With its landmark decision in Huawei vs. ZTE, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has outlined a new general framework for FRAND licensing of standard-essential patents (SEPs). As a wide range of questions remain unanswered, such as the question of market dominance of the patent holder, courts are still being kept busy with FRAND litigation. This panel will discuss how antitrust rules apply.
Moderator:
Stephan Dittl, Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner Rechtsanwälte, Germany
Speakers:
Claudia Zeri, BarentsKrans, the Netherlands
David Henry, McDermott Will & Emery, Belgium
Fabio Babey, Agon Partners, Switzerland
11:00 - 11:30
Coffee break
11:30 - 13:00
Financial Technology (Fintech) is a new and innovative technology that aims to compete with traditional methods in the delivery of financial services. It is shorthand for new digital technologies used in the financial sector to facilitate day-to-day management, lending, online payments and money transfers; Blockchain acts as a shared digital ledger, secured by cryptography. There is a lack of certainty about how competition law applies to these types of digital technologies. Competition Authorities around the world are (re)thinking the competition law approach towards this new technology. Our Session within one of the centers of the Financial Industry in Europe will shed light on the dark whether the existing competition rulebooks are sufficiently flexible to address potential concerns about collaboration in the Fintech space or through the use of blockchain.
Moderator:
Jens Steger, Simmons & Simmons, Germany
Speakers:
Marc Roberts, General Counsel, Raisin, Germany
Peter Broadhurst, Simmons & Simmons, UK
Koichiro Hanamoto, TMI Associates, Japan
Luciana Martorano, Martorano Law, Brazil
13:00 - 14:00
Lunch
15:00 - 19:00
Departure from hotel lobby: 15:00
Not included in the registration fees, payable locally
19:00
Address: Parkhaus Konstabler, Carl-Theodor-Reiffenstein Platz 5, D - 60313 Frankfurt am Main
Not included in the registration fees, payable locally
IP/TMT seminar: Internet of Things
18:00
Registration at the Fleming's Selection Hotel Frankfurt-City
18:00 - 20:00
Welcome cocktail at the Ambassador Club (Fleming's Selection Hotel Frankfurt-City)
20:30
Address: An der Hauptwache 15, D - 60313 Frankfurt am Main
Not included in the registration fees, payable locally
08:00 - 09:00
Registration at the Fleming's Selection Hotel Frankfurt-City
09:00 - 09:15
Wiebe de Vries, AIJA President, BloomTax B.V., the Netherlands
09:15 - 09:30
Introduction to the seminar by the Organising Committee and the IP/TMT Commission
09:30 - 10:30
What is open platforms/collaboration? How does it work in practice? How do we get the machines to “talk” to each other? Do we need to develop new standards to meet the needs of this new area?
Moderator:
Adi Seffer, Prime Partners, Germany
Speaker:
Karolina Miksa, WKB, Poland
10:30 - 11:00
Coffee break
11:00 - 12:30
With a blockchain patent database being advertised what role does blockchain have in managing the “trust economy”? How will IP rights, specifically trade marks, have to change or be impacted by the growth of smart devices? For example, can a smart device be “confused” between two similar trade marks for identical or similar goods? Does the smart device care about counterfeits?
Moderator:
Robert Griffiths, Kemp Little, UK
Speakers:
Dr. Donata Störmer, IRLE MOSER, Germany
Thomas Nägele, NÄGELE Attorneys at Law, Liechtenstein
Lara Elder, Carpmaels & Ransford, UK
12:30 - 13:30
Lunch
13:30 - 15:00
The first of two sessions on data security looks at the impact of the GDPR one month after it enetered into force. How does it work with IoT? What privacy do we have when Alexa, Google, or Siri are always listening? What about at work? What is being collected – and why?
GDPR - one month on: An overview of the key data protection issues in IoT
- Personal data in children’s toys
- Video/voice collection, “always listening” devices
- Over-collection of data
- Poor anonymization
In the second one of our two sessions on data security we will be looking outward, to our devices. Could ransomware prevent you from boiling a kettle (and bring the UK if not the rest of the world to a stand-still!)? Is security taken seriously enough? The deadline for implementing the EU’s directive on Network and Information Systems (NIS Directive) will have just passed: how are countries dealing with it? What about commercial attacks: Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, Botnet? Taking things even further outside our homes – what are the national security issues at play in IoT? Can rogue states or terrorists use IoT to attack nation states? What balance should there be between openness and security?
Moderator:
Árpád Geréd, Maybach Görg Lenneis Geréd, Austria
Speakers:
Philip Nolan, Mason Hayes & Curran, Ireland
Hannibal Özdemir, Greenfort, Germany
Arne Bleeker, Palo Alto Networks, the Netherlands
15:00 - 15:30
Coffee break
15:30 - 17:00
News of connected tractors being licensed rather than owned by their farmers brings the question 'what do we really ever own'? What IP rights are there or should there be in Data and intelligent devices? What can we learn from open source softwares and open platforms regarding potential ownership issues?
Moderator:
Chloe Taylor, Carpmaels & Ransford, UK
Speakers:
Kaj Seidl-Nussbaumer, PROBST PARTNER AG, Switzerland
Ilja Czernik, SKW Schwarz, Germany
Marek Porzezynski, WKB, Poland
20:00 - 23:00
Address: Schweizer Strasse 71, D - 60594 Frankfurt am Main
Departure from hotel lobby:
19:15 on foot
19:40 by public transport
23:00
Not included in the registration fees, payable locally
09:30 - 11:00
Standard agreements, having a positive impact on the economy by contributing to innovation and the development of better products, can, however, also have anti-competitive effects. With its landmark decision in Huawei vs. ZTE, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has outlined a new general framework for FRAND licensing of standard-essential patents (SEPs). As a wide range of questions remain unanswered, such as the question of market dominance of the patent holder, courts are still being kept busy with FRAND litigation. The first panel will discuss how antitrust rules apply, the second panel will focus on the IP perspective and standardization in IoT.
Moderator:
Stephan Dittl, Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner, Germany
Speakers:
Claudia Zeri, BarentsKrans, the Netherlands
David Henry, McDermott Will & Emery, Belgium
Fabio Babey, Agon Partners, Switzerland
11:00 - 11:30
Coffee break
11:30 - 13:00
Exploring and pushing on with some of the themes discussed in Dublin and Bratislava last year, we will deepen our discussions about geoblocking but in this case specifically in relation to IoT technologies. We will also be considering how IoT will impact supply chain dynamics through the use of automated and predictive ordering.
Moderator:
Ben Rohrßen, Taylor Wessing, Munich, Germany
Speakers:
Diego Conte, Studio Legale De Berti Jacchia Franchini Forlani, Italy
Francesco Gozzo, Veronalegal, Italy
Giorgia Carandente, Taylor Wessing, Germany
13:00 - 14:00
Lunch
15:00 - 19:00
Departure from hotel lobby: 15:00
Not included in the registration fees, payable locally
19:00
Address: Parkhaus Konstabler, Carl-Theodor-Reiffenstein Platz 5, D - 60313 Frankfurt am Main
Not included in the registration fees, payable locally
Fees & General Info
There are currently no registration fees available.General terms and conditions
By registering you have to accept the general terms and conditions and accept that your registration is considered binding immediately, but participation to the event is possible only after full payment of the registration fee.
Please note that any arrangements related to the participation of the participant in an AIJA event, including but not limited to booking or cancellation of accommodation or flights, as well as respecting the cancellation deadlines indicated in the general terms and conditions, are the sole responsibility of the participant. AIJA shall not be held liable for any expenses the participant may suffer as the result of participant’s failure to comply with his/her obligations.
It is recommended for each participant to purchase a cancellation and travel insurance.
Please note that in-house counsel registrations are subject to review and confirmation by AIJA. AIJA considers in-house counsel professionals who hold a university degree in law allowing access to a bar association and practicing law as an in-house counsel in private, public, or non-profit companies, institutions or organisations. Please note that in-house counsel who are at the same time active as fee-earning lawyers or consultants are not eligible to the discounted in-house counsel fee.
Please read the general terms and conditions applicable for AIJA events.
Scholarships
If you are a lawyer under 35 years old and meet the requirements, apply to our Scholarship Programme for this event. You can check more details here.
Practical Information
Accommodation
Please book your accommodation at the FLEMING’S Selection Hotel Frankfurt-City Hotel prior to 24 May 2018. After this date, rates will be subject to availability.
Flemings Frankfurt Hotel Booking Form
A cancellation free of charge is possible until 2 weeks before arrival. In case of non-arrival, late cancellation or early departure the hotel will charge 90% of the agreed rate per room/night.
Alternative hotel option:
Turm Hotel
Eschersheimer Landstr. 20
60322 Frankfurt am Main / Germany
Tel. +49 (0) 69 - 15405 - 195
Fax. +49 (0) 69 - 15405 - 557
Organising Committee
Stephan DITTL
Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner mbB Rechtsanwälte (GERMANY)
Árpád GERÉD
MGLP Rechtsanwälte (AUSTRIA)
Robert GRIFFITHS
Deloitte LLP (UNITED KINGDOM)
Evelyn NIITVÄLI
Niitvaeli Competition Law (GERMANY)
Isabel OEST
COMMEO Rechtsanwälte PartGmbB (GERMANY)
Benedikt ROHRSSEN
Taylor Wessing Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB (GERMANY)
Beatrice STANGE
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek PartmbB (GERMANY)
Jens STEGER
K&L Gates LLP, Berlin (GERMANY)
Chloe TAYLOR
Carpmaels & Ransford LLP (UNITED KINGDOM)
Christoph WEINERT
COMMEO Rechtsanwälte PartGmbB (GERMANY)
National Representatives
Caroline PLUTA
PLUTA RechtsanwaltsGmbH (GERMANY)
Sponsors
Gold
Silver
Personal Protection
The personal data that you communicate to us shall be processed by the International Association Of Young Lawyers (AIJA), with its registered office at Avenue de Tervueren 231, 1150 Brussels, Belgium (Tel: +32 2 347 33 34 - office@aija.com), in accordance with Act No. 78-17 of January 6, 1978 relating to data, files and freedoms and Regulation No. 2016/679 on data protection, as of its entry into force on May 25, 2018.
Your data will be managed by AIJA's General Services, Events and Accounts Section:
- For the purpose of administering your registration for the event and your on-site access to the event;
- In order to pay for the selected services - your bank details will be deleted after receipt of your payment;
- In order to communicate information messages from AIJA.
To the extent necessary for the execution of their respective tasks, our subcontractors in charge of our seminar organisation, our IT infrastructure, our management, the production and maintenance of our website and extranet, are likely to gain access to your data from time to time. Their servers are located in the European Union.
Data relating to your participation in the event shall be stored for a period of 10 years. We are obliged to archive billing data until the end of the period required for our tax and accounting obligations, i.e. for 7 full tax years.
We shall store your contact information to keep you informed until you ask us to stop. You have the right to access your data and have it corrected if necessary.