We are delighted to welcome leading judges, academics, practitioners, and industry representatives from the United States, Europe, and Japan to discuss two cutting-edge areas of contemporary patent law. The conference will explore the evolving interplay between infringement and validity, as well as the growing challenges of territoriality and cross-border patent enforcement.

Date and Time: May 23, 2026, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Hosting Institutions: RCLIP, University of Pennsylvania Center for Technology, Innovation & Competition, Munich Centre for Patent Law Research, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, the Faculty of Law, Waseda University School of Law

Location: Komatsu Centennial Hall, Waseda University Research Innovation Center

Languages: Japanese & English (simultaneous translation)

Conference Program:

10:00 – Opening Remarks: The Hon. Minoru Masuda (Chief Judge, IP High Court of Japan)‍ ‍

10:15 - 13:00 - Morning Session: Interplay of Infringement and Validity Determination

Part 1a: Recent Developments in Patent Invalidity Determination

Chair: Christoph Rademacher (Professor of Law, Waseda University Faculty of Law)

Panelists:

• Sapna Kumar (Henry J. Fletcher Professor of Law, University of Minnesota Law School)

• The Hon. Todd Hughes (Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit)‍ ‍

• The Hon. Atsuhiro Furuta (Administrative Judge & Division Director, Japan Patent Office)

• Christof Karl (Attorney-at-Law (Rechtsanwalt) & German and European Patent Attorney, Bardehle Pagenberg)

Coffee Break

Part 1b: Claim Construction and Amendment in Infringement Proceedings

Chair: Ichiro Nakayama (Professor of Law, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Law)

Panelists:

• The Hon. Renee Bumb (Chief Judge, United States District Court for the District of New Jersey)

• Polk Wagner (Michael A. Fitts Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School)

• The Hon. Florence Butin (President, Court of First Instance of the Unified Patent Court)

• Frank-Erich Hufnagel (Attorney-at-Law (Rechtsanwalt), Freshfields)

• Kei Iida (Attorney-at-Law & Patent Attorney (Japan), Nakamura & Partners)

13:00 - 14:15 - Lunch Break

14:15 - 16:50 - Afternoon Session: Territoriality and Patent Enforcement

Part 2a: International Jurisdiction / European Courts as Global Arbitrators?

Chair: Matthias Leistner (Professor of Law, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Faculty of Law)

Panelists:

• The Hon. Rian Kalden (Presiding Judge, Court of Appeal of the Unified Patent Court)

• Tilman Mueller-Stoy (Attorney-at-Law (Rechtsanwalt), Bardehle Pagenberg)

• Chris Longman (Vice President & Legal Counsel, Qualcomm)  

• The Hon. Todd Hughes (Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit)

Coffee Break

Part 2b: Cross-border Infringement

Chair: Masabumi Suzuki (Professor of Law, Waseda University Faculty of Law)

Panelists:

• The Hon. Kenji Amano (Judge, IP High Court of Japan)

• Tom Cotter (Taft Stettinius & Hollister Professor of Law, University of Minnesota Law School)

• Ralf Uhrich (Senior Counsel, Google)

• Seiji Ohno (Attorney at Law (Japan), Ohno & Partners)

16:50 - Summary and Closing Remarks:

• Christopher S. Yoo (Imasogie Professor in Law and Technology, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School)

• The Hon. Makiko Takabe (former Chief Judge, IP High Court of Japan; Counsel, Nishimura & Asahi; Visiting Professor, Waseda University Faculty of Law)

17:00 - Post-Conference Reception @ Mori no Kaze