LIDC CONGRESS 2026 BUCHAREST

InterContinental Athénée Palace Bucharest

08:30 – 13:00 – Registration of delegates

09:00 – 09:15 – Opening Session

• Opening message from the Presidential Administration – Cosmin-Alexandru Soare-Filatov, Presidential Adviser on Constitutional Affairs
• Introduction LIDC International – Zoltán Barakonyi, LIDC President and Senior Counsel, Baker McKenzie LLP 
• Introduction LIDC Romania – Anca Buta Mușat, ARCON Chair and Partner at Musat & Asociatii

09:15 – 10:00 – Keynote speeches

• Emeritus Professor Richard Whish, King’s College London 
• Bogdan Chirițoiu, Chairman of the Romanian Competition Council 

10:00 – 11:15 – Panel 1 – Regulatory Challenges to M&A Transactions

Focus on mergers, FDI and FSR.

Speakers: 

Leo Flynn (Principal Legal Adviser, European Commission)

Ioannis Kokkoris (Professor, Queen Mary University; Member of the Competition Appeal Tribunal)

Prof. Dr. George Anglițoiu (Secretary of the Romanian Investment Screening Commission – CEISD)

Gabriela Mihăilescu (Legal & Compliance Director, Penny)

Moderator: Anca Jurcovan (Partner, Wolf Theiss)

11:15 – 11:45 – Coffee Break

11:45 – 12:45 – Panel 2 – New Theories of Harm in “By Object” Agreements (parallel)

Focus will be on no-poaching agreements, and exchange of sensitive information in the digital age, signaling and algorithmic pricing.

Speakers: 

Filip Tuytschaever (Professor of Competition Law at Brussels University and Partner with Contrast law firm) 

Marek Jahudka (Senior case-handler DG COMP, European Commission) 

Vivien Terrien (Vice-Chairman, French Competition Authority) 

Cătălin Graure (Counsel, Kinstellar) 

Moderator: Silviu Vasile (Partner, Filip & Company) 

11:45 – 12:45 – Panel 3 – Protecting AI-Generated Innovation and Creativity: Patent, Trademark, Copyright and Competition Challenge (parallel)

The discussion will deal with developments in AI and AI-related technologies and their characterization under Intellectual Property and Unfair Competition Law rules.

Speakers: 

Viorel Roș (Managing Partner, Ros & Asociatii)

Alexandra Bensamoun (Professor of private law and criminal sciences, Université Paris-Saclay)

Ben Evans (Postgraduate Researcher, University of East Anglia) 

Adrian Comănescu (Member of the Plenum, Romanian Competition Council)

Moderator: Andreea Livădariu (Partner, Ros & Asociatii)

12:45 – 13:45 – Lunch Break

14:00 – 15:00 – Panel 4 – Defence Rights in Antitrust Litigations (parallel)

Organized in partnership with the National Institute for Magistracy, as continuous professional development for Romanian judges.

The discussion will focus on new developments in terms of procedural safeguards for parties to antitrust litigations, including use and misuse of presumptions.

Speakers: 

Eugene Regan (Judge, Court of Justice of the European Union) 

Diana Tămagă (President of the Administrative Division, High Court of Cassation and Justice) 

Anne-Marie Witters (President of Brussels Market Court, President of the Association of European Competition Law Judges) 

Mark Hamer (Partner, Baker McKenzie) 

Anca Diaconu (Partner, NNDKP) 

Moderator: Paul Buta (Managing Partner, Musat & Asociatii) 

14:00 – 15:00 – Panel 5 – New Developments in Copyright: Originality, Derivative Works and Limitations

Focus on developments in copyright law, especially new decisions concerning the criterion of originality for copyright protection, protection of derivative works and limitations to copyright.

Speakers: 

Andreia Constanda (Judge, High Court of Cassation and Justice) 

Justine Pila (Professor, University of Oxford) 

Dr. Anna-Kristine Wipper (Partner, PwC)

Julie Samnadda (Member of the Legal Service, European Commission)

Moderator: Luminița Olteanu (Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Warwick)

15:00 – 15:30 – Coffee Break

15:30 – 16:30 – Panel 6 – Digital Markets in the Framework of Competition Law: Difficulties in Applying Conventional Legal Concepts

Focus will be on the challenges of applying traditional competition law concepts to digital markets, including market definition, market power, data-driven advantages, platform ecosystems, network effects and algorithmic decision-making.
Speakers: 

Cristina Volpin (Expert in Competition Policy, OECD)

Alexandru Șotropa (Legal Director – Competition Law, eMAG) 

Thibault Schrepel (Professor, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

Adina Claici (Managing Director, BRG)

Moderator: Adrian Șter (Founding Partner, 360Competition)

15:30 – 16:30 – Panel 7 – Standard Essential Patents and Judicial Overreach: Towards Balanced Global Solutions

Focus will be on judicial overreach/imperialism and supra-national solutions as a response to current challenges posed by fast-paced innovation and globalized markets for IP-driven technology.

Speakers: 

Liviu Zidaru (Judge, High Court of Cassation and Justice)

Prof. Dr. Nadia de Araujo (Law Faculty at the Pontifical Catholic University, Rio de Janeiro)

Katalin Tőzsér (Judge, Munich I Regional Court)

Collette Rawnsley (Vice President, IP Policy & Advocacy, Nokia)

Moderator: Felipe Oquendo (Partner, Licks Attorneys)

18:00 – 18:15 – Meeting in the lobby

20:00 – 23:00 – Dinner at Cotroceni Palace

InterContinental Athénée Palace Bucharest

09:00 – 10:30

• Working Session: Question A
  “To what extent and in what way have the negotiated procedures — leniency, commitments, settlements and, where applicable, consent decrees — improved the effectiveness of antitrust law without unduly conflicting with fundamental principles such as the rights of defence and confidentiality?”
• Working Session: Question B (parallel)
  “To what extent does intellectual property law recognise the evolving concept of ‘art’, including in the context of AI-assisted creation, and how does this shape the limits between the different types of intellectual property rights and their role in enabling innovation, investment and the monetisation of creative outputs?”

10:30 – 11:00 – Coffee Break

11:00 – 12:00 – Extra Panel – Current Developments at the Intersection of Intellectual Property Law & Competition Law

Speakers: 

Octavia Spineanu-Matei (Judge, Court of Justice of the European Union) 

Daniel Severinsson (Judge, UPC Central Division Munich) 

Anselm Kamperman-Sanders (Professor, Maastricht University; Deputy Judge, The Hague Court of Appeal) 

Josef Drexl (Professor, University of Munich; Director of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition in Munich) 

Moderator: Anca Buta Mușat (ARCON and Musat & Asociatii).

12:00 – 13:30 – General Assembly
13:30 – 14:30 – Lunch
14:30 – 17:30 – Time to visit Bucharest
17:45 – Meeting Point – InterContinental Athénée Palace
19:00 – 23:00 – Cocktail & Gala Dinner

08:30                – Meeting Point – InterContinental Athénée Palace

09:00 – 12:30 – Guided Tour of Mogoșoaia Palace

12:30 – 14:00 – Lunch

12:30 & 14:00 – Transfer back to the hotel