Business leaders from across all industry sectors in the U.S. and Canada met this week for the Licensing Executives Society Winter Meeting in Silicon Valley, California.
The nearly 300 participants met to discuss the emerging intellectual property, innovation and technology challenges and opportunities that currently face global markets, particularly those in Canada and the U.S.
The meeting embraced an "open space" format, in which attendees could engage in a more interactive and customizable conference experience.
"There has been a pent up demand at LES for interactive meetings rather than more talking heads," said Tanya Moore, general manager of Outbound IP Licensing for Microsoft. "We decided to undertake this grand experiment at the Winter Meeting because it focused on high tech, which is a group that tends to be early adopters. It was enormously well received."
In response to a recent report showing a struggle among Canadian manufacturers to maintain sales, the Business Development Bank of Canada recommended this week that businesses begin focusing on innovation in the emerging information-based global economy.
