News reports have never been as science-oriented as they tend to be these days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Testing capacities, hospital medical equipment, potential treatments, and vaccine research are front and center. And as a consequence, pharmaceuticals and life sciences stakeholders—major intellectual property (IP) rights holders—are suddenly expected to deliver solutions to solve a major, worldwide health crisis.

Our guests today, Marc Holtorf and Emmanuel Gougé are partners at the law firm Pinsent Masons in Munich, Germany, and Paris, France, respectively. Mr. Holtorf has been working for the life sciences practice of international law firms for over 20 years, and he is now the Head of IP and Life Sciences for Germany at Pinsent Masons. Mr. Gougé also has over 20 years of experience as an IP attorney, with experience in the UK, Belgium, and France, where he leads the firm’s IP department.

They share with us their perspective on the very unique situation the life sciences sector finds itself into these days, in between the private market dynamics and the imperatives of global health policies and the public interest.

Audrey Dauvet co-hosts this special episode with Eli, 11. They welcome David Bernstein, Partner, and Megan Bannigan, Counsel, at the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, in New York, N.Y., USA.
The two trademark attorneys, who are also adjunct professors, give kids some clues about what intellectual property, or IP, means, with a lot of practical examples.  And they explain why IP is so important for society and the economy. They rise up to the challenge of making IP law not only accessible to children, but also fun!

Related Resources

To go further:
About Marc Holtorf
About Emmanuel Gougé

Also of interest:
MIT COVID-19 Open Research Dataset
Pinsent Masons—Coronavirus9: patents rights and the public interest
Forbes: Innovation Imperatives from COVID-19