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The next newsletter will cover the following topics:

Japan Backs Noetra’s Robotics Initiative
Japan has allocated ¥387.3 billion in first-year funding to Noetra, a 44-member consortium, to develop domestic foundation models for robotics. The programme combines shared computing capacity with Japanese manufacturing and automation expertise, but rights in robot designs, control solutions, training data and improvements remain unclear.

Pegatron and Locus Cell Build Smart Cell Factory
Pegatron and Locus Cell have agreed to develop an AI-powered smart cell factory for cell therapy manufacturing. Pegatron will deploy its Pegaverse digital twin platform at Locus Cell’s Zhubei facility to create a virtual factory model using production data, including robot movements and manufacturing parameters, to optimise operations.

SurFunction and ZEISS Form Partnership
SurFunction and ZEISS have entered a strategic partnership to scale functional metasurfaces based on SurFunction’s patented ELIPSYS platform. The cooperation combines photonic surface processing with ZEISS’ expertise in optics, metrology, quality, and industrial systems. The partners plan to develop and commercialise photonic surface solutions.

Tempus AI Plans Personalis Acquisition
Tempus AI has agreed to acquire Personalis in a US$1.5 billion transaction. The deal would integrate Personalis’ NeXT Personal molecular residual disease technology, based on whole-genome sequencing and personalised tumour signatures, into Tempus’ AI-enabled precision oncology and data platform.

OFB Fireside Chat: Alternative Dispute Resolution

IP conflicts are rarely purely legal disputes. They can affect licensing relationships, collaborations, market access, supply chains, confidentiality and the ability to continue innovating while disagreement persists.

The Fireside Chat will examine when negotiation, mediation, arbitration or expert determination may preserve more business value than immediate litigation. It will address dispute-resolution clauses, evidence preparation, technical and valuation questions, confidentiality, escalation paths and the situations in which court proceedings remain necessary to protect exclusivity or secure urgent remedies.

OFB Fireside Chat: Workflow Automation in IP

IP workflow automation should improve more than speed. Companies need reliable systems that connect invention disclosures, portfolio reviews, contract checks, reporting and external counsel management with the strategic decisions these processes are intended to support.

The Fireside Chat will explore process design, role clarity, data quality, organisational interfaces and appropriate control points for automation. It will also examine how AI can support classification, document analysis, monitoring and reporting while maintaining confidentiality, output validation, traceability and clear human responsibility for consequential IP decisions.

The hidden risk of being “too objective”

IP experts often communicate so objectively that their distinctive value becomes invisible. Accuracy, balance and caution establish competence, but excessive neutrality can make experts appear interchangeable. Objectivity does not require avoiding interpretation; experts can explain which risks matter most, what developments mean commercially and which questions deserve attention. A recognisable point of view helps clients understand how an expert thinks, when their contribution is especially valuable and why they should be involved early. Strong positioning therefore connects facts with relevance and practical consequences across articles, presentations, profiles and pitches. Expertise becomes memorable when communication shows not only knowledge, but perspective.

What You Learn When IP Stops Being a Legal Department: The MIPLM 2025/26 in Six Modules

The MIPLM 2025/26 presents intellectual property as a strategic business function rather than an isolated legal discipline. Across six modules, participants learn to connect IP with corporate strategy, valuation, innovation management, organisational design, management control and business development. The programme covers proactive portfolio design, intangible asset valuation, technology roadmaps, patent intelligence, integrated IP processes, outsourcing, agile management, controlling and business models. Legal knowledge is embedded throughout, including ownership, enforcement, licensing, contracts, risk and international structures. The central objective is to help professionals operate effectively at the intersection of law, technology and business, turning IP into sustainable competitive advantage and value.

When AI Enters Patent Practice: Turning Efficiency into IP Governance

Artificial intelligence is transforming patent practice by accelerating research, drafting, translation, summarisation and administrative workflows. Its strategic value, however, depends on governance rather than automation alone. Used responsibly, it becomes part of a mature IP operating system; used carelessly, it amplifies professional risk.