PATLIB Conference 2025

Event moderator: Haider Al-Taie
Haider began working at the EPO in 2015 as a patent examiner in electric vehicles before then becoming a team manager in the patent granting process. Since January 2024, he has led the Patent Information User Services department, bridging the gap between patent data, the complex patent landscape and our users. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Cambridge University.

Speaker: Luke Incorvaja
Luke Incorvaja is the European Institute of Innovation and Technology Innovation Officer responsible for the implementation of its regional innovation scheme. The scheme is a key EIT instrument that aims to advance the innovation performance of countries in Europe classified as moderate or modest innovators in the European Innovation Scoreboard.  

Speaker: Andrew Czajkowski
Andrew Czajkowski graduated in nuclear engineering from Queen Mary University of London in 1987. He subsequently joined the EPO where he held various posts over a period of 20 years: search and substantive patent examiner; the EPO's liaison officer in Italy; technical assistance project manager for Central and East European countries; project administrator for the Trilateral Offices. Since October 2007, he has been working for the World Intellectual Property Organization and is currently Director of the Technology and Innovation Support Division, responsible for establishing Technology and Innovation Support Centers.

Speaker: Růžena Štemberková
Růžena Štemberková, PhD, MPA, is a specialist in international patent law and technology transfer. She leads the Technology Transfer Office at the University of South Bohemia and has served on the board of Transfera.cz, becoming its Vice-President in 2019. She is active in several European and international IP and tech transfer networks. Since 2022, she has been an EU ROADMapping ambassador for the Czech Republic. In 2025, she received the World IP Woman Award.

Speaker: Victor Arribas Martinez
Victor Arribas Martinez is the Stream Leader for Diversity and Transformation at the EPO's Observatory on Patents and Technology. The Observatory serves as the EPO's gateway to discovering innovation insights and future technology trends. As Stream Leader, he co-ordinates projects focusing on the role of startups, universities, and public research organisations in patenting and innovation. Victor is an economist, having studied at Sciences Po Paris, UCL, and the College of Europe, Bruges. He has also worked at INSEAD and Ashoka Changemakers, conducting research in innovation and entrepreneurship.

Speaker: Didier Moné
Didier Moné, Senior Legal Counsel at UMONS, has over 13 years of experience in IP law, research valorisation, and tech transfer. He advises on contracts, spin-offs, and IP strategy, manages UMONS VENTURE SA, and supports SMEs via EUIPO's SME Fund. Active in PATLIB and KT2A, he promotes innovation in Europe and Africa. Author of three books, he is deeply involved in education and access to knowledge initiatives.

Speaker: Robert Pocklington
Robert Pocklington Vicente is an Intellectual Property Consultant and Advisor at the Latin America IP SME Helpdesk. In the past, he has worked for the European Patent Institute (epi) and as a trainee at the EPO in Munich. In his current job, he is responsible for co‑ordination and matchmaking events in Europe and Latin America and IP content creation, among other areas.

Speaker: Kieran Donnelly
Kieran is a business partner at the European Patent Office, driving digital transformation through MyEPO services for applicants, opponents, and representatives. Since 2014, he has drawn on extensive business and IT consulting experience to modernise workflows and strengthen online user engagement.

Session moderator: Enrico Luzzatto
Enrico studied chemistry at the University of Rome "La Sapienza." He joined the European Patent Office (EPO) in 1989 and successfully passed the European Qualifying Examination in 1998. In 2010, he was appointed as an operational director. Throughout his career, he has been actively involved in the training of EPO examiners and has delivered numerous lectures on patenting and procedural matters.

In 2018, Enrico joined the European Patent Academy as a Senior Advisor. From 2020, he continued in this role within the directorate for Patent Knowledge Promotion. Since April 2023, he has been part of the “Innovation Networks” unit within the directorate Patent Academy, which has been renamed “PATLIB” as of April 2025.

Session moderator: Tom Whithnell
Tom joined the EPO in August 2021 and brings a focus on technology transfer and SME-related matters. Prior to joining the EPO, he led a university Technology Transfer team and has experience in project management. His background is in electrical power engineering and superconductivity, and he has achieved RTTP (Registered Technology Transfer Professional) status.

Session moderator: Elizabeth McDonald-Maier
Lisa joined the European Patent Office in 1992. Over the years she has been heavily involved in the area of training and the PATLIB Network as well as acting as application manager and user representative for Espacenet. Lisa managed the unit of user support coordination and tools for patent information products and services from 2013 - 2023. She was responsible for the training and continued development offerings in the PATLIB 2.0 project and took up the lead in the Knowledge Transfer to Africa initiative in November 2022.

Speaker: Rainer Kaysan
Rainer Kaysan joined the EPO in 2006 as a patent examiner, where he performed a variety of tasks ranging from prior art searches to chairing opposition proceedings. Since October 2023, Rainer has been Head of Innovation Networks, now called “PATLIB” since April 2025. The department is responsible for promoting business and technology commercialisation, connecting and dynamising the network of innovation support centres (PATLIBs), the High Growth Technology Business initiative and future knowledge transfer initiatives. He holds master’s degrees in aerospace engineering and business economics.

Speaker: Yann Ménière 
Yann Ménière joined the EPO as Chief Economist in 2016. He leads the team responsible for preparing economic studies, patent analytics and digital tools within the EPO's Observatory on Patents and Technology. Yann was previously a professor of economics at Université Paris Sciences et Lettres where he was head of the Chair on IP and Markets for Technology. He has many years of academic and field experience of issues relating to the economics of patents, innovation, technological change and economic growth.  

Speaker: Michael Fröhlich 
Michael Fröhlich is Director of Patent Developments and IP Lab at the EPO and a fully qualified German lawyer with a PhD in intellectual property. With over 20 years of experience, he leads teams shaping European and international patent law, including for the Unitary Patent. He previously held senior roles at BlackBerry, ETSI and Nokia, and had leadership positions at AIPPI, GSMA and LES, focusing on patents, standards and IP strategy. 

Speaker: Mouna Marrakchi 
Mouna Marrakchi is the Director of the Higher Institute of Applied Biological Sciences and leads the Student Entrepreneur Hub at the University of Tunis El Manar. She is Associate Professor in Biological Engineering, and a mentor and innovation advocate in biotechnology, entrepreneurship and technology transfer. 

Speaker: Marco Cantagallo 
Marco has over 17 years of experience at the EPO, initially as a patent examiner then as technical application owner. He works on the Office's digital transformation, supporting the design and development of applications for both internal employees and external users.

Speaker: Sofia Vairinho
Sofia holds a PhD in Law and a Master’s in Business Law. She is a guest faculty member at the University of Algarve and leads the Unit for Industrial Property Promotion, an EPO PATLIB Centrewithin the Division of Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer. With extensive expertise in intellectual property protection and knowledge valorisation, Sofia previously served as Manager for Business Development and Licensing at Carnegie Mellon University.