This UK-Bulgarian event will offer the UK expertise and will bring together industry and research in Bulgaria to raise awareness in intellectual property (IP) and technology transfer (TT) in biotechnology and pharma. It will be implemented by the UK S&I and Innovation Network in Bulgaria, in partnership with the Biotech Atelier, and as a follow-up of the Biotech Business (2B) workshop which took place on 15 March 2019 in Sofia Tech Park.
Approximately 50 senior participants from Bulgarian biotech SMEs, Bulgarian patent Office, Tech transfer offices of Sofia and Plovdiv Universities, Sofia Invest Agency and the Joint Innovation Centre of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences will attend. UK world recognised experts will give two 90-minutes lectures on IP and TT, followed by two interactive workshops where the Bulgarian participants will have the opportunity to practice through real-case situations.
Our UK keynote speakers will be Dr. Stoyan Radkov, founder and director of Priority IP Ltd. and Dr. Ingrid Kelly Spillmann, an UK and European Patent Attorney, currently a TT Manager at Institute of Science and Technology Austria.
Stoyan will tell us why the IP and in particular patents are the most important asset for any research and/or technology based commercial or educational organisation. The global Patent filing strategy should form part of the overall growth strategy of the organisation where professional advice should be sought at inception. The participants will learn the guiding principles on patent drafting, global filing and national prosecution of valid and enforceable patents. Post patent grant strategy will also be unveiled.
Ingrid will start with an introduction to the history of University TT, trends and shifts within Europe and worldwide. She will present an overview of the full range and variety of tasks and competencies required by today’s TT officers, and provide insights into building the right team. Then, she will dive into details in how to deal with jointly-owned inventions. Collaborating with and licensing to industry will also be a major focus of discussion. Finally, Ingrid will share some of her experiences in creating and supporting university spin-offs, from the dual perspectives of a TT office and a venture fund.
