June 2018

It's Time To Up Our Game On Collaboration

Creating An IP Culture Open For Business

By François Painchaud, President, LES International

In the past years, we have brought back to the forefront many elements of importance that, all put together, shape the great LES attributes: Being visible to the outside world, business and NGO's alike (Jim Malackowski); Improving the value proposition on education, outreach and mentoring (Kevin Nachtrab); Become stronger together in "Joining Hands" (Yvonne Chua); Maintaining an international approach (Arnaud Michel); Reviewing and understanding our core value proposition (Jim Sobieraj); the four C's of Patricia Bunye (Consolidation, Competition, Community and Connections); and Centering our focus on business and developing partnerships (Peter Hess).

Today, it is obvious that in our companies, organizations, professional societies and even within the LES family, we are facing all kinds of pressures, including renewal (reshaping) of membership and changes in the business models. Even if not new, it is more and more persistent and seems more and more intense year after year. Global realities are reshaped, regionally and locally.

That's why we need to gather our strengths to anticipate the next revolutions and their challenges. To continue to do what we do best, but we need to do it even better: we need to incorporate the tools of today's reality to assist us in maintaining, if not increasing our understanding of each other, foster even more openness to each others' reality as LES Societies and individually as members. It's time for us, at LESI, to "Up our game!"

To reach our goal, three core projects have been teed up for this coming year:

1. Feature articles of our National and Regional Society in LES Global News and in all local (or regional) National Society Newsletters with a summary for les Nouvelles next Spring;
2. The Long-Range Planning Committee will be tasked to give us an outlook into the future. What will LES look like in five to ten years? During their work, they will reach out to LESI Committees and National/Regional Societies. They will assess the reality of the new platforms and what is needed to make it easier to embrace those changes;
3. Go on adapting the functions of the committee structures, on the model the Life Science Committee and the Patent Licensing Committee). This work will enable to foster the development of global issues, to disseminate the information and content to the National Societies through their liaisons and to be the link to help National Committees find each other and share experiences.

Starting with the example of LES (U.S.A.and Canada)'s Life Sciences Royalty Rate Surveys (RRS Team) and its current iteration, LESI's work is to facilitate the efforts of the RRS Team to connect all the Societies to help the RRS Team achieve their goal. It is providing a platform to facilitate the various contacts.

We will carry on promoting the LESI family, the wide diversity of the LES National/Regional Societies and the strength of the whole. LESI is the glue that binds us all, a facilitator of process and progress for the National/Regional Societies and in turn for the individual members.

LESI needs to be at the center of global initiatives to open up the dialogue, to be proactive, to serve its members and the LES family.

This new LESI year begins with a wide-open horizon of opportunities: what can LESI do to help you?

Reception at the LESI Annual Meeting in San Diego.