Making the world better through... LESI YMC
Reported by Dr. Philipe Kutschke
"Making the world better through licensing" – this ambitious claim of this year's annual LES conference in Moscow in a slightly amended version may also serve to nicely explain LESI YMC's continuous and successful efforts in encouraging young professionals, irrespective of their specific sector and profession, to actively participate in shaping the IP landscape and simultaneously internalize the spirit of LESI. Our YMC family is growing fast and getting more and more active all over the world.
Over the past years YMC developed a certain routine in contributing to LES conferences: A well balanced mix of noteworthy social events and stunning hands-on workshops, assisting young professionals to easily get in touch with experienced practitioners and likeminded people.
Thanks to our local friends, this successful mix could also be continued during this year's annual conference in Moscow. On the first evening, after the official welcome reception for the about 400 conference attendees, YMC held another, rather informal reception at the "Rockstar". Indeed, the name of this bar very much explains the venue and evening program. In a separate area of the club about 70 young conference attendees met old and new friends and received first hand information about local and foreign Vodka brands. Insofar, it is worth mentioning that "young members" may continue as (honorary) young members even after having passed the official YMC age limit of 40 years. Consequently, "YMC & friends" is also continuously growing.
This intense first evening could not prevent the group from attending the outrageous workshops on the next days, basically dealing with various aspects of challenges in the field of licensing in Russia and the CIS countries, comparing Russia/CIS countries with selected other countries (e.g., Italy, Germany, USA). Many presentations were held in English, some in Russian, whereby interpreters allowed the attendees to instantly follow and understand all presentations. By allowing presentations in Russian, attendees probably obtained an even more direct insight in the present situation and expected developments in Russia/CIS countries. The speakers of the workshops covered a colorful mix of different sectors, inter alia Green Technologies, Car Industry, Sports, Health Care and Food. Further to that, there were special workshops focusing on the situation and concerns of universities and start-ups. In addition to these workshops, YMC organized special events allowing young members to closely discuss with the experts in a more intimate group and surrounding. In these workshops attendees had for instance the opportunity to gain an insight to the innovation and patent strategy of Quoros Automotive, Siemens, L'Oreal, Canon and LG Chemicals. Furthermore, we had the unique opportunity to discuss IP issues in the field of Russian aerospace, listening to and discussing with cosmonauts, official representatives and representatives from private entities in Russia.
Despite this very comprehensive conference program on legal issues, one afternoon was at free disposal, allowing attendees to explore fascinating Moscow on their own. Again, a great opportunity to get in touch with other conference attendees to share with them this wonderful experience.
Altogether, the conference was a great success, combining legal education with joyful networking.
Finally, we would like to thank everyone who helped in organizing the Moscow Conference, in particular we would like to thank our local Russian friends for their tremendous support – Сердечное спасибо!