Yannis Skoulikaris

PatentMind (Netherlands)

Yannis Skoulikaris has worked for 30 years at the European Patent Office (EPO, Germany and The Netherlands), initially as a patent examiner (1989 to 2002) and from 2002 to 2019 as Director Patent Granting Process in Information and Communications Technology. He has a background in Physics (Aristoteles University of Thessaloniki), Computer Science (University of Hamburg, with specialization in cognitive systems and artificial intelligence) and holds a PhD in Law from the University of Maastricht, on the interface between AI and patent law.

Yannis is the founder of a group of companies branded “PatentMind”, a synergistic network of distinguished IP professionals (https://patentmindnetherlands.com, https:/patentmind.eu). Under this platform he operates as an independent IP consultant specializing on IP strategy, valuation and monetization, especially in the software and AI technology. In parallel, he operates a “rescue service” for difficult patent cases that risk going the wrong way. Technical expertise and expert court testimony are within the offerings as well. Yannis is also a founding member and director of TTN (Trusted Technology Network LTD, https://trustedtn.com ), a London-based IP consultancy providing bespoke IP expertise to innovative entities and investors.

Beyond his degrees in Physics and Computer Science, Yannis has completed a training as a Technically Qualified Judge for the European Unified Patent Court with CEIPI in Strasbourg. He is an accredited mediator with CEDR (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, London). He is a guest lecturer for European Patent Law, in particular patenting of software and AItechnology at the Law School of the Maastricht University and the Washington University, St. Louis. He has presented the European practice in patenting software and AI technology in various fora in Europe, North and South America and Asia. He is a Life Senior Member of IEEE (the US professional Institute of Electrics Electronics Engineers), and a member of the IP Commission of ICC (International Chamber of Commerce), of LESI (Licensing Executives Society International), AIPPI (Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle) and AIPLA (American Intellectual Property Law Association).