Patent Law Practice Center

Live from the 6th Annual Patent Law Institute – Inside the PTO: AIA Rule Changes

Live from the 6th Annual Patent Law Institute, I am blogging from the panel entitled, “PTO Doings I: Rules and Regs That Are/Are Not Changing for 2012″. The featured panelists include Institute co-Chair John M. White, Brian Hanlon, Robert J. Spar. This afternoon’s discussion continues the close look at the outcome of the PTO rules and policy-making apparatus.  Highlights from our faculty speakers:

Two basic triggers for 2012 USPTO activity include:

1. Office self-initiated actions: The Office moved forward with a number of efforts to improve and streamline the examination/prosecution process, and
2. The AIA, enacted on Sept. 16, 2011: Required the USPTO to take implementing actions, essentially in 3 timed phases, for items effective in:

1. Phase 1: immediately, or within 60 days
2. Phase 2: in one year, or on Sept.16, 2012, and
3. Phase 3: in 18 months, or on March 16, 2013.

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Patent Law Institute is Around the Corner!

The Patent Law Institute returns for another exciting 2 day run on March 19th and 20th in San Francisco, California. Panel discussions are designed to be of ultimate practice value to all three subgroups in the patent law community: patent prosecutors, patent litigators, and strategic/transactional lawyers.  The Patent Law Institute’s New York run was a great success, with rare frankness from the judiciary and attorney panelists. The Institute brings together hundreds of the best patent law practitioners, federal judges and PTO officials as faculty and as Institute participants. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from and network with the best!

Customize your participation to best meet your practice needs. The Institute has 6 plenary sessions of interest to all patent lawyers. Add your choice of 6 breakout sessions in 3 tracks specially designed for patent prosecutors, patent litigators and those focusing on strategic and transactional aspects of patent law. Plenary sessions include:

-Keynote Address by Robert L. Stoll, Commissioner for Patents
-A dialogue with Federal Circuit Chief Judge Randall R. Rader
-Corporate counsel divulge critical issues that keep them awake at night
-A distinguished panel of Judges from critical U.S. District Courts
-The practice impact of the America Invents Act, and recent Supreme Court and Federal Circuit decisions
-Special Feature: Earn 1 hour of legal ethics credit

If you can’t attend the Institute in person, we’ve added a webcast of the first day of the Patent Prosecution breakout track. Originally it was not webcast from New York City, however, Institute attendees said that the PTO information was too important not to webcast and archive, so we have created this special viewing for you! I will be live blogging from the Patent Prosecution breakout as well.

IPWatchdog Review of “Dialogue Between the Bench and Bar”

IPWatchdog.com recently published an article reviewing the “Dialogue Between the Bench and Bar” panel featuring Chief Judge Rader at this year’s Patent Law Institute. The article entitled, “Chief Judge Rader Takes on Lobbying White House and SCOTUS”, was written by Gene Quinn, the IPWatchdog.com blogger, Practice Center Contributor, and panelist at the Patent Law Institute.  Gene describes the interaction between the panelists who were not interested in “pulling punches” with each other. According to Quinn’s article,

The discussion was lively, perhaps even explosive.  You could nearly see sparks fly when Chief Judge Rader continued to pepper Waxman with question after question about his opinion on the propriety of parties lobbying the White House in order to obtain a favorable amici brief from the Department of Justice.  Rader zeroed in on the slippery slope and obviously is not pleased with the mixing of law and politics, saying: “this is a cause for concern… Politics and law have a divide.”

To read the article, “Chief Judge Rader Takes on Lobbying White House and SCOTUS”, click here.

Best of the 6th Annual Patent Law Institute

We here at the Practising Law Institute are pretty excited at how this past week’s 6th Annual Patent Law Institute exceeded expectations in the caliber and frankness of the featured panelists. The panels ranged from patent prosecution and litigation, to strategic and transactional discussions, to the ultimate in panels: the judges’ panel where federal & district court judges discussed the most relevant issues facing their courts along with some of the top patent attorneys in the country. If you missed this amazing institute, you’re not out of luck! The Patent Law Institute will have a second run in San Francisco, California from March 19-20, 2012, and registration is still open. Until then, here is a list of highlights, a best of the best if you will, from select panels throughout the Patent Law Institute. (more…)

PLI’s 6th Annual Patent Law Institute

PLI’s 6th Annual Patent Law Institute is on February 15-16 in New York (and via web) and on March 19-20 in San Francisco.  The Institute is designed to be of ultimate practice value to all three subgroups in the patent law community:patent prosecutors, patent litigators, and strategic & transactional lawyers. The two-day schedule includes 6 plenary sessions of interest to all patent lawyers and a separate breakout track for prosecution, litigation and strategic/transactional lawyers. Each track features six sessions focused on each of those three practice subgroups. You design the 2-day schedule that best meets your professional needs.

Do not miss this unique opportunity to sharpen your practice skills and to network with federal judges, USPTO officials, in-house counsel and outstanding outside patent lawyers.

What you will learn

Plenary sessions include:

• Keynote Address by Robert L. Stoll, Commissioner of Patents
• A dialogue with Federal Circuit Chief Judge Randall R. Rader
• Corporate counsel divulge critical issues that keep them awake at night
• A distinguished panel of Judges from critical U.S. District Courts
• The practice impact of recent Supreme Court and Federal Circuit decisions
• Special Feature: Earn 1 hour of legal ethics credit



Click here for more information about the Patent Law Institute