Navigating the Future of IP
With more than 70 sessions across three thematic tracks and three curated series featuring a range of thought leaders from business and the IP world, this is the largest and most pertinent Annual Meeting program to date, as Maura O’Malley finds out.
The intellectual property (IP) profession is evolving. “As a trademark practitioner myself, I’m not just focused solely on trademarks anymore,” says 2026 Annual Meeting Co-Chair Tanya Fickenscher, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Major League Baseball (USA). “Today, we oversee complex mixed IP portfolios, and we’re expected to not simply understand the legal aspects of IP but the business, the regulatory landscape and, of course, the rapidly evolving impact of emerging technologies and AI.”
At the same time, IP professionals are facing unprecedented challenges as political agendas, economic instability, and regional innovation strategies reshape global IP frameworks.
“We’re navigating a time of geopolitical and economic volatility, and we understand the global shifts taking place. Trade policies are evolving, tariffs are being imposed and enforced, and these changes impact our industry,” notes Lara Kayode, Managing Partner and Founder of O. Kayode & Co. (Nigeria), and co-chair of the Annual Meeting with Ms. Fickenscher.
Designed to help IP professionals navigate this rapidly changing legal landscape and integrated global marketplace, this year’s Annual Meeting Project Team has put together the most ambitious and far-reaching educational program yet.
With more than 70 sessions, including CLE offerings, across three thematic tracks, the program is intended to equip registrants with the knowledge and skills to operate and thrive in this rapidly changing environment.
"We’re navigating a time of geopolitical and economic volatility, and we understand the global shifts taking place. Trade policies are evolving, tariffs are being imposed and enforced, and these changes impact our industry."
-Lara Kayode | O. Kayode & Co. (Nigeria)
Stay on Track
“I have never seen such a robust educational program that speaks to the times we’re living through,” notes Ms. Fickenscher. “Of course, we have cutting-edge sessions with legal updates and discussions in the track on Law and Policy. But we also have a track on the Business of Intangibles and another on Technology Shaping the Future of IP. And from my perspective, those two could not be timelier and more relevant.”
The Law and Policy track focuses on the legal and regulatory foundations of IP, with an emphasis on how law and policy are evolving globally.
As part of this track, eminent UK IP judges from the Royal Courts of Justice—Sir Richard Meade, Justice of the High Court, Head of the Patents Court; Sir Colin Birss, Chancellor of the High Court; and Sir James Mellor, Justice of the High Court will speak at the session UK Judges on the Frontline: AI, Litigation Trends, and the Future of IP on Tuesday, May 5, 10:00 am to 11:00 am.
“It’s always interesting to talk to judges from around the world, and particularly if you’re litigating here, or you’re from a legal system based on the English legal system … then what the English judges have to say, about procedure, about IP, is fascinating,” says David Stone, Partner at White & Case LLP (UK), noting that this encompasses common law jurisdictions, including Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, and the United States.
These leading judges have ruled on many influential UK cases, including Unwired Planet v Huawei, where a national court for the first time set a global fair, reasonable, and non‑discriminatory (FRAND) licence rate when licensing standard essential patents (SEPs) and the SkyKick case, about overly broad specifications and bad faith filings.
Registrants are also encouraged to “get your seat in the courtroom” to hear from expert IP judges on recent cases of interest in the session All Rise: News from INTA's IP Court (Monday May 5, 11:30 am–1:00 pm), which will feature judges from China's Jiangsu High Court, India’s High Court of Delhi, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, and South Korea’s Intellectual Property High Court.
The Business of Intangibles track looks beyond doctrine to how IP functions as a business asset—and how brands, data, and innovation drive enterprise value.
Helen Brocklebank, CEO of Walpole, the official body for the UK luxury sector will join Future Africa CEO and Founding Partner Iyinoluwa Aboyeji (South Africa) and Brand Finance Managing Director Richard Haigh (United Kingdom) in a daily keynote session moderated by MF Brands IP Director Zeeger Vink (Switzerland) and titled A C-Suite Perspective: Investing in What You Can't Touch but Can't Ignore (Monday, May 4, 10:15 am–11:00 am). They will explore, among other things, the significance of communicating the importance of intangibles to the business, something that is central to the role of IP professionals.
“You’re pushing on a really open door with luxury, because luxury CEOs really understand the value of their brand and the need to protect it,” says Ms. Brocklebank. “Without that intangible value of that brand—luxury is all intangible, really—the business can’t succeed.”
Likewise, for the business to succeed, in-house teams must be able to communicate the value of IP to the C-Suite. Learn how this is done in IP Value at C-Suite Level: Communicating Strategic Importance on Sunday, May 3, 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm.
Technology such as AI is extending into many aspects of practice. The Technology Shaping the Future of IP track will help registrants scan the horizon for emerging technologies transforming IP creation, protection, and enforcement. In Code & Culture: Indigenous IP Rights in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (Saturday, May 2, 10:00 am–11:00 am), speakers will explore the intersection of indigenous rights and AI.
Session moderator Lorraine Takaendesa, Partner at Honey & Blanckenberg (Zimbabwe), notes: “Effective governance ensures that AI benefits communities rather than exposing them to misappropriation. It is therefore essential that Indigenous communities actively participate in shaping the future of AI.”
"If you’re litigating here, or you’re from a legal system based on the English legal system … then what the English judges have to say, about procedure, about IP, is fascinating."
-David Stone | White & Case LLP (UK)
Follow a Curated Series
To deliver a more curated learning experience, the educational program also features three focused programming series: the Patent Series, the In-House Practitioners Series, and the Professional Development and Career Advancement Series.
Together, these series complement the Meeting’s core educational tracks by addressing the expanding scope of IP practice, the practical realities faced by in-house teams, and the growing demand for leadership, skills, and career-focused programming across all stages of the profession.
The Patent Series stretches over two days covering seven general sessions running from Tuesday, May 5, through Wednesday, May 6, spanning European Patent Office (EPO) reform, AI inventorship, SEPs, cross-border and UK litigation, geopolitics, and practical portfolio strategy.
IP professionals are increasingly expected to expand the scope of their role to include the whole gamut of IP rights. “I’m not a patent attorney myself, but I’m thrilled to sit in on those sessions, hear insights on patents from a trademark perspective, and engage directly with colleagues on the other side,” says Ms. Kayode.
Titled From Idea to Impact: Quality, Scale, and the Bundle of Rights (Tuesday, May 5, 2:45 pm–3:00 pm), the series features a Daily Keynote address by António Campinos, President of the European Patent Office.
“My keynote will focus on two themes,” he explained in a recent interview with the INTA Bulletin. “The first is accessibility: ensuring that the patent system is easier to use and more accessible to innovators of all sizes. The second is scale. Europe is strong in research but too often struggles to translate excellence into scale.”
With geopolitical concerns increasingly influencing business decisions, Gwilym Roberts, Partner at Kilburn & Strode (UK), is moderating a timely session titled Power, Patents, and Politics: IP Rights in a Geopolitical World. The session takes place Wednesday, May 6, 12:15 pm to 1:00 pm.
He says: “IP has become a geopolitical issue and particularly so in the world of patents. In a time of super-national injunctions, IP-related sanctions, and question marks over global parity, this panel of academics, attorneys, litigators, and regulators examines the existing landscape and considers the implications not just for global trade and innovation, but for the practitioner as well.”
The In-House Practitioner Series includes seven sessions designed by and for in-house practitioners. As AI tools reshape the legal landscape, in-house IP teams are navigating a changed workflow: adopting automation to streamline operations leaving—in theory—more time for judgment, risk assessment, and strategy.
“AI is reshaping in-house legal teams, but many practitioners are struggling to move beyond talk into action,” says Welly Tantono, Executive Head, Legal, Compliance & InfoSec at Secretlab (Singapore), who is moderating the session, AI-First Legal Leadership in In-House Teams: Myth or Necessary Reality? on Saturday, May 2, 11:30 am to 12:30 pm, as part of the In-House Practitioners Series.
“This session brings together senior in-house IP leaders from 3M, Expedia, Moderna, and Secretlab for a candid discussion about what it really takes to become an ‘AI-first’ in-house team,” adds Ms. Tantono.
This year, we are fortunate to welcome more than 70 distinguished speakers from leading corporations, featuring prominent British IP owners such as BAE Systems, British American Tobacco, Johnston of Elgin, Maybourne Group, Rolls-Royce, and Vodaphone. Their participation is further enhanced by the support of the UK Intellectual Property Office and key UK IP associations, including the IP Federation, the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys, the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, and the Anti-Counterfeiting Group.
What do you want your career to look like? Where do you want to be in five years’ time? The Professional Development & Career Advancement Series is designed help you answer these questions and offer new ways to envisage and plan your legal career, with sessions on pro bono work and thriving outside the partnership path and leadership.
Nicole Smalberger, Partner at Adams & Adams (South Africa) is moderating the session Thriving Outside the Partnership Path: Legal Careers Reimagined (Saturday, May 2, 2:15 pm–3:15 pm).
She says: “The session will explore the reality that partnership is just one of the many rewarding and fulfilling career path options at law firms today.”
“We plan to highlight alternative roles, share insights from attorneys who have successfully navigated non-traditional trajectories, and provide guidance on mentoring attorneys to identify and pursue a career path that best aligns with their strengths, ambitions, and personal sense of what a fulfilling career and life in law could be,” she adds.
There is also a forward-looking session examining what IP practice will look like in 2030, entitled Future Proofing: Skills and Strategies for a Tech-Driven IP World (Sunday, May 3, 2:00 pm–2:45 pm). Including a panelist who will speak through a neuroscience lens, it will explore how IP professionals can stay agile, curious and relevant, ensuring they are equipped to advise clients in a increasingly technology-focused world.
"I have never seen such a robust educational program that speaks to the times we’re living through."
-Tanya Fickenscher | Major League Baseball (USA)
Hear from Thought Leaders (in Business and IP)
“Throughout the educational program are daily keynote speakers and an incredibly high-calibre of notable speakers, including senior in‑house practitioners, business leaders, policymakers, legal authorities, and public officials—decision‑makers who sit at the intersection of business, innovation, and policy,” says Ms. Fickenscher.
Among the daily keynotes are Kanishka Narayan MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (UK); Daren Tang, the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization; Anna Jardfelt, Director General, Swedish Intellectual Property Office; John A. Squires, Director, United States Patent and Trademark Office; Kurtis Lindqvist, CEO of ICANN (Switzerland); and Zhenyu Guo, Deputy Director General, Trademark Office China National Intellectual Property Administration.
The future of IP is bright but there are challenges—and opportunities—on the horizon and beyond. No matter your role, region, or level of experience, the 2026 Annual Meeting educational program is designed to help you navigate this terrain now and into the future.
From the impact of global geopolitics on patents to the integration of AI into legal practice, and the reimagining of legal careers beyond traditional paths, the program offers a broad spectrum of sessions that tackle the evolving landscape of IP.
By featuring thought leaders, distinguished keynote speakers, and hands-on discussions led by senior practitioners, the program empowers IP professionals to make informed decisions, adapt to change, and advance their careers.
Ms. Kayode offers one final piece of advice for registrants: “Take some time to explore the whole program and add sessions to your schedule as early as possible. Then fill your calendar with meetings around the sessions. This way you won’t miss out on the education or have to deal with rescheduling meetings to avoid conflicts.”
