Tenth anniversary. Turning point. In a single decade, ABG Patents had expanded its professional team, sector specialty and national presence. It was even starting to be recognised internationally. These were, without a doubt, memorable achievements. But, something was missing. It still needed to share the origin story of all of its corporate milestones, which was none other than the passion that the team, led by Juan Arias, Francisco Bernardo and Vicente González (RIP), felt for the Industrial and Intellectual Property sector. The time had come to answer to that sector.
2014, the debut year
A whirlwind of preparations and nerves settled at the heart of the young ABG Patentes during 2013. After months of internal discussions, the desired quorum was achieved in order to launch the celebration of the first ten years of operation.
“Several options were considered, but we quickly saw that a seminar was the most appropriate setting to bring together our team and our clients. Thanks to this format, our professionals play an excellent informative role and our clients put names to faces of those managing their intangible assets”, Juan Arias, co-founding partner of ABG IP, stated.
“Furthermore, this type of seminar is an ideal way of bringing the field of IP closer to the interested public. Some companies and institutions continue to be unaware of our sector and there is no better way to convey to them the wide range of possibilities and benefits that it can provide them with than at such an intimate event”, Francisco Bernardo, co-founding partner of ABG IP, added.
The initiative was named IP Perspectives and its first edition took place in Madrid on 29 May 2014. Several ABG professionals and guest speakers, belonging to leading national and international companies and institutions (such as, for example, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office or the European Patent Office) shared the limelight.
The response from the attendees exceeded all expectations. It was patent (excuse the pun!) that the specialised firm had made the right decision.
Consolidation
The good feeling left by the first IP Perspectives was the driving force behind holding a second edition the following year. However, the long illness and the sad passing of Vicente González meant that the commitment to the IP sector did not resume until 2016.
ABG smashed the saying “sequels are never as good” on 16 June of that year, when the most emotional seminar of the entire series emulated both the formula and success.
As of the 3rd edition of IP Perspectives in 2017, the structure of the event varied slightly. The round tables that had been part of the first two events were removed in favour of more specialised talks and a broader range of points of view, thanks to the inclusion of professionals from academia in the programme for the first time. IP Perspectives III was also the first to have a solidarity aspect, with part of the proceeds from the registration fees going to the NGO, Theodora Foundation.
At the end of 2017, IP Perspectives was no longer just the great annual event for the ABG staff, but also the event that was beginning to establish itself as a benchmark for the Industrial Property sector.
Growth
2018 was the year of the 15th anniversary and the launch of the Legal and Litigation Department. The new department made its mark at the company’s star event. Or rather, events. Plural. That year, IP Perspectives doubled up on the calendar for the first time. In June, from Madrid (IP Perspectives IV) and, in October, from Euskadi –its office was opened in 2017.
The Bilbao seminar was the first to have an IP Clinics session where attendees were able to individually discuss their IP questions with ABG experts. Although these IP Clinics were proposed as formal meetings, they spontaneously became informal and took place during the cocktail party. The magic of Basque cuisine.
The double delivery of IP Perspectives returned in 2019 with ABG Patents transformed into ABG Intellectual Property and sporting a radically changed look. The Trademark Department made its big debut in the Madrid edition of the event (IP Perspectives V), whereas the Bilbao office proved for the second consecutive year the excellent chemistry it had with the Basque R&D sector. Once concluded, October became the major month for IP Perspectives Euskadi.
Publicising in Covid times
Everything was going according to plan when March 2020 brought the Covid-19 pandemic along with it. The virus left the debut in Celtic lands up in the air and put the rest of the editions on hold.The consolidation of the event, with its corresponding base of loyal followers, made ABG consider expanding the sphere of activity of IP Perspectives at the end of 2019. A new geographical stop was added, Galicia, and a logistical variant. The Galician conquest would be co-organised with the University of Santiago de Compostela.
When half the planet was in lockdown, ABG seminars became a Webinar Edition, which entailed the division or reduction of the event into several days or a single day, an adapted length, the launch of a platform (GoToWebinar) that was very intuitive for both speakers and attendees to connect to and use, and the conversion of the Madrid office into the “ABG central studios”, from which the rest of the national and international connections/presentations were coordinated.
IP Perspectives VI Webinar Edition passed the litmus test in June 2020 with flying colours.
The online version of the seminar was a success with the attendees thanks to the perception of closeness that was transmitted. And it was on both sides of the Atlantic, as the IP Perspectives VI held in Madrid made history as it was the first webinar edition to include an international presentation via the online connection.
The message “we are all in the same lockdown boat, but that is no reason to stop disseminating” launched by the revamped ABG seminar hit home with both clients and followers.
It was also bolstered by IP Perspectives Euskadi III Webinar Edition, in collaboration with ITP Aero and the European IP Helpdesk, and set a new attendance record.
Post-pandemic webinar edition
In 2021, the commitment to the webinar format was extended to three new monographic presentations, starring our experts in the areas of Trademarks, Biotechnology and Life Sciences and Designs during the first quarter of the year.
In the “regional format”, the firm recovered its alliance with the University of Santiago and the first IP Perspectives Galicia Webinar Edition finally came to fruition in spring. The oldest of the seminars, with Madrid as the host, completed its 7th edition in June, repeating the attendance figures of its predecessor. The year will close with the 4th event of the IP Perspectives Euskadi Webinar Edition and a debut, the first IP Perspectives Aragón Webinar Edition (coordinated with the University of Zaragoza).
But what will happen as of now? Everything indicates that the webinar format will continue as an alternative until large gatherings of people indoors are viable. The natural trend indicates a shift towards the hybrid format that combines in-person attendance and remote connection.
Until then, keep an eye out for us because we are continuing to work towards offering you the best schedule. At ABG we are only interested in spreading knowledge. Check it out at the next IP Perspectives Euskadi Webinar Edition. You can register by clicking on the following image:
Poster of the upcoming ABGstories IP Perspectives IV Euskadi. Click on the image to register
