ABA-IPL Law Student Action Group (LSAG)

On Thursday, April 11, from 10:15 to 11:45 at the 34th Annual ABA Intellectual Property Spring Conference, the speakers will discuss protecting and enforcing IP rights in the EU and UK following the UK’s anticipated exit from the European Union. While the anticipated UK was expected to occur on March 29, 2019, the EU agreed to postpone the date. The EU agreed to extend the Brexit deadline to April 12, 2019. If Parliament approves a Brexit deal, then Brexit will occur on May 22, 2019.  

Despite unanticipated changes in the timeline of Brexit, speculation about the fate of trademarks, copyrights, registered designs, geographical indications and other IP rights in the past remains as the UK prepares to depart the EU. The program will explore the agreements that are in place and at the unresolved questions regarding the protection and enforcement of EU-based IP rights that have formerly been protected in the UK, and provide practical tips how to deal with them in daily practice.

Law Student Reporters Ahkianne Wanliss, a third-year law student at Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, and Raven Robertson, a law student at Northern Illinois University will cover this CLE Program.

If you can’t make it to the 34th Annual ABA Intellectual Property Law Section Spring Conference this year, you can still follow all the action by following the tweets and blog entries of the ABA-IPL’s Law Student Reporters, who will be covering all the events of the conference on Twitter.

Speakers:

·       Rupert Knights, Dolleymores Watford, United Kingdom

On Thursday, April 11, from 8:30 to 10am at the 34th Annual ABA Intellectual Property Spring Conference, the speakers will discuss the current bench and bar issues. The CLE will be a panel discussion among four judges from tribunals that have a large docket of IP cases. This CLE will be especially beneficial for lawyers who are involved in intellectual property litigation, or those who help clients obtain intellectual property either through patent prosecution or trademark or copyright registration.

Moderator: Philip C. Swain, Foley Hoag LLP

Speakers:

·       Hon. Jacqueline Bonilla, Deputy Chief Administrative Patent Judge, Patent, Trial and Appeal Board, USPTO, Alexandria, VA

·       Hon. Clark Cheney, Administrative Law Judge, US International Trade Commission, Washington, DC

·       Hon. Maryellen Noreika, US District Court, Delaware

·       Hon. Evan Wallach, Federal Circuit Judge, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Washington DC

Law Student Reporters Ahkianne Wanliss, a third-year law student at Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, Malissa Sue Magiera, a second-year law student at IU Robert H. McKinney, and Shradha Jaiswal, student at George Washington Law School will cover this CLE Program.

Those wishing to gain a broad perspective of the legal, technological, and social issues driving development and push-back may want to attend “Artificial Intelligence and IP Rights In and From AI Around the Globe.” Moderated by Susan Anthony, speakers include Stephen Y. Chow, David K.A. Mordecai, and Mark F. Shultz.

The program will survey the accelerating global development of systems and agents that mimic or support human endeavor under the rubric of artificial intelligence and explore considerations for providing incentives, accountability and security for that development.

In-house counsel today face unique and evolving legal challenges, and an experienced panel is ready to share each of their experiences and tips on surviving these legal issues. Moderated by MaCharri Vorndran- Jones, the panelists include Kirsten Braun, Kim R. Jessum (@kimjessum), Susan E. McGahan, and Donna M. Meuth.

Some of the topics that will be discussed include common in-house IP ethical conundrum, preserving attorney privilege, crisis communication strategies, promoting diversity across in-house legal teams, tips for working with outside counsel, and some ideas for in-house pro bono service.

Blockchain, a recent technological advancement that has sparked many conversations amongst the various areas of Intellectual Property Law. However, despite the various reports, articles, and communications concerning the success of Blockchain, many people still wonder “What is Blockchain?”

Friday, April 12th at the 34th Intellectual Property Law Spring Conference, the panelist for the panel discussion “Blockchain & IP Promises and Limitations” will provide a detailed explanation of Blockchain Technology and how this technology is rapidly becoming one of the most popular public ledger applications worldwide.

Blockchain is an emerging technology with the possibility to validate, preserve and track digital data, and to provide a platform for low cost and transparent transactions on a global scale. We encourage you to attend this discussion to learn more about which sectors can best benefit from the utilization of Blockchain.

Friday afternoon at 3pm, moderators Kenneth K. Dort, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, Chicago, IL ; Samantha Kappagoda, Numerati® Partners LLC; RiskEcon® Lab for Decision Metrics @ Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York, NY ; and Robert Kasunic, Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Registration Policy & Practice, U.S. Copyright Office, Washington, DC, will lead the panel discussion to address Blockchain and its foundation.  

All levels of expertise are welcome as both Newcomers and Veterans can benefit from learning about Blockchain. Do not miss your opportunity to learn more about Blockchain, a technological advancement taking Intellectual Property by storm!

Unable to attend the Conference? No worries! If you cannot make it to the 34th Annual ABA Intellectual Property Law Section Spring Conference this year, you can still follow all the action by following the tweets and blog entries of the ABA-IPL’s Law Student Reporters, who will be covering all the events of the conference on Twitter. You do not have to sign up for Twitter to follow the Law Student Reporters. Just bookmark #IPLSPRING and revisit the link from April 10-13th 2019 to follow all the action!

Follow Panelist Kenneth Dort on Twitter @Kendort and his associated law firm at @DrinkerBiddle!

On Thursday, April 11, 2019 from 4:45-5:45pm at the 2019 ABA-IPL Meeting and 34th Intellectual Property Law Conference, Mark Privratsky will moderate a panel discussion regarding “opportunities for patent prosecution lawyers to volunteer to do pro bono, thus helping pro se inventors to prosecute their patent applications.” This CLE program will prove to be “most beneficial for any IP lawyer looking for opportunities to do pro bono work in the legal areas they are most knowledgeable.” “The three-fold goals of this panel discussion are (i) to give under-resourced inventors a chance to hire practitioners and receive help; (ii) to give patent prosecutors a chance to take up pro bono work in their areas of expertise; and (iii) to identify gaps in patent services to minorities and women.”

The discussion shall also provide a brief overview of The Patent Pro Bono Program and The Cardozo-Google Patent Diversity Project for those lawyers actively interested in taking up pro bono work in their fields of expertise. The Patent Pro Bono Program brought about a sea change in the way patent attorneys offered their pro bono services, making it more organized owing to the USPTO’s involvement. Numerous non-profit organizations help match financially disadvantaged inventors with patent attorneys under this program. Another notable program, The Cardozo-Google Patent Diversity Project was created with the goal of increasing the number of women and minorities as successful patent owners.

Keeping the current scenario in mind, this CLE program has been created to address ethical and diversity-inclusion considerations in these limited scope representations and the rewards that both inventors and volunteer lawyers experience from participation. Additionally, “the involvement of Ms. Sarah Harris, the USPTO General Counsel shows the USPTO’s commitment to these programs and pro bono overall.” We hope you will join us for this program which promises to be an interesting discussion on how patent lawyers can help pro se inventors who are not only under-resourced, but also under-served.

Law Student Reporters Shradha Jaiswal and Raven Robertson will be covering this CLE program.

Moderator:

·       Mark R. Privratsy, Ballard Spahr LLP, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Speakers:

·       Sarah Harris, USPTO, Alexandria, Virginia

·       Aaron Wright, The Cardozo-Google Patent Diversity Project, Cardozo Law School, New York, New York

·       Morris J. Newman, Patent Pro Bono Advisory Council, Birmingham, Alabama

On Thursday, April 11, 2019 from 8:30-10:00am at the 2019 ABA-IPL Meeting and 34th Intellectual Property Law Conference, Andrew Halaby will moderate a panel discussion which aims to conduct “an advanced seminar reviewing not only the historical 35 U.S.C. § 101 jurisprudence, but also to review and comment upon HP Inc. v. Berkheimer and related issues and implications.” Additionally, the panelists “will offer experiences with tips on application of the USPTO’s new 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance.” One of the panelists, Colleen Chien “will be presenting some old and new data about the impact of the courts’ decisions and the USPTO guidelines on § 101 and § 112 rejections.”

Andrew Halaby recommends that “patent litigators, patent prosecutors, and USPTO leadership and staff shall benefit” highly from this CLE program. He suggests “congressional legislators and staff charged with responsibility for the structure and substance of patent law reform efforts, and academics with interests in the substantive and procedural law affecting the disposition of patent disputes” should attend this panel discussion. “Federal judges, particularly District Court judges who are called to adapt to rapidly evolving, and many times conflicting substantive law, procedural law, and administrative guidance on what is, and what is not, patentable subject matter” must also keep this program on their radar. This panel discussion shall also provide insight to “clients in the life sciences and computer applications domains with substantial patent portfolios or patent acquisition programs, and clients with interests in the strengthening of the patent system” regarding the potential trend in subject matter eligibility. Personnel from “law media and high tech media” can also benefit from this attending this CLE program.

We hope you will join us for this program which promises to be an intense and detailed discussion on § 101 jurisprudence along with what may be expected in HP Inc. v. Berkheimer, and to receive tips on how to apply and work with the USPTO’s new 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance.

Law Student Reporters Shradha Jaiswal and Malissa Sue Magiera will be covering this CLE program.

Moderator:

·       Andrew F. Halaby, Snell & Wilmer LLP, Los Angeles, California

Speakers:

·       Colleen Chien, Columbia Law School, New York, New York

·       Tammy Pennington Rhodes, Baker Botts LLP, Houston, Texas

·       Peter Socarras, Nevro Corp., Menlo Park, California

On Thursday, April 11, 2019 from 3:30-4:30pm at the 2019 ABA-IPL Meeting and 34th Intellectual Property Law Conference, Patrick Holvey will moderate a panel discussion covering patent cases decided by the Supreme Court of the United States and US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) in the past year. The CLE program shall cover decisions by the courts involving issues such as standing, real party in interest in IPR proceedings, subject matter eligibility, foreign lost profits, and the on-sale bar.

One of the panelists, Melissa Brand mentions that this program aims to “provide a comprehensive update on the cases issued by the CAFC over the past year and the subject matter to be covered include patent-eligibility, appeals from the PTAB, infringement and associated damages, patent validity developments, and venue.” Because “the presentation is designed to cover a broad range of subject matters in an efficient manner,” a wide variety of patent practitioners can benefit from this CLE program. This panel discussion can prove to be especially “valuable to patent practitioners prosecuting patents before the USPTO, participating in PTAB proceedings, litigating in District Courts, and preparing briefing for appeals at the CAFC.”

We hope you will join us for this program which promises to be an enlightening discussion detailing the courts’ decisions, how they address the aforementioned issues, how the courts have reacted in subsequent cases, and the potential impact of these decisions on different parties in different jurisdictions.

Law Student Reporters Shradha Jaiswal, Malissa Sue Magiera, and Raven Robertson will be covering this CLE program.

Moderator:

·       Patrick C. Holvey, Department of Justice, Washington, District of Columbia

Speakers:

·       Melissa Brand, BIO, Washington, District of Columbia

·       Stephanie L. Schonewald, Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP, Boston, Massachusetts

·       Philip Warrick, USPTO, Alexandria, Virginia

·       Carlos Garcia, Eli Lilly and Co., Indianapolis, Indiana

What do grafitti, tattoos, and other visual works of art applied on property or on a person have in common? Many legal complexities and subject to an increasing number of lawsuits in recent years. This CLE program will discuss practical tips for visual artists and their attorneys in “Graffiti, Tattoos, and More: Fixation of Work on Property or People: Are They Your Source? An Alternate Look at Copyright Fixation, Rights of Publicity, and Related Issues.” The panel will be moderated by Adrienne R. Fields of Artists Rights Society, and include panelists Gregory Israelsen of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, LLP and Yolanda King of Northern Illinois University College of Law.

This panel will evaluate recent cases and explore a wide of topics including copyrights, moral rights, right of publicity, and real property owner’s rights as they relate to popular art forms including visual arts, graffiti, and tattoos. A variety of attorneys might find interest in this panel, including those that represent film makers, advertisers, building owners, tattoo artists, and artist estates. Tattoos are welcome.

The law student reporters for this event will be Melanie Rodriguez from Southwestern Law School, (@SWLawELS), Raven Robertson from Northern Illinois Law School (@RavenRo89872306)

Meet Law Student Reporter Shradha Jaiswal

Shradha Jaiswal is a Master of Laws student (LL.M) with concentration in Intellectual Property at George Washington University (GWU) Law School. She also has two Bachelor’s degrees in Pharmacy and Laws from India. Additionally, she has a Diploma in Patent Law and Practice from India as well.

Shradha has a passion for intellectual property law. She participated in the Rothwell Intellectual Property Moot Court Competition and is a member of the Student Intellectual Property Law Association at GWU. She also worked with an IP startup in India during her 3L year as an associate where she handled various intellectual property matters. Shradha also plans to take the patent bar later this year.

Meet Law Student Reporter Raven Robertson

Raven Robertson is a 2L at Northern Illinois University College of Law where she is the Midwestern Black Law Student Association and the Black Woman’s Law Society.

Meet Law Student Reporter Ahkianne Wanliss

Ahkianne Wanliss is a 3L at Hofstra Law School where she is the managing editor for the moot court board, a member of the American College of Trusts and Estates Law Journal, and a member of the Black Law Student Association moot court competition team. Notably, she was named Best Oral Advocate in the fall intramural moot court competition and is a member of the Black Entertainment & Sports Lawyer’s Association (BELSA).

Ahkianne has been a business affairs intern for Paradigm talent agent. She currently works a trademark intern for Lads & Parry in New York where she helps develop guidelines for examining class categories for trademark registrations and drafts articles related to current intellectual property issues.

Meet Law Student Report Keona Blunt

Keona Blunt  is a 2L at the John Marshall School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia where she is a member of the Black Law Student Association, the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, and a member of the Gate City Bar Association.

Last summer, Keona worked as a summer associate at Duckett Law, LLC. She also works as an Intern in the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation’s Housing Division. Prior to law school, Keona was a paralegal at Morrison & Hughes, P.C. and Monge & Assocaites, P.C.  

Meet Law Student Reporter Malissa Magiera

Malissa is a 2L and a dual degree student at Indiana University McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis, Indiana, where she is both a juris doctorate and masters in Biology candidate. Prior to law school, Malissa received her Bachelor’s of Science in Neuroscience and Biology, with a minor in chemistry from Purdue University.

Malissa currently works as a law clerk for Indiano & McConnell LLP where she helps prosecute patent and trademark application in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. She is also on her school’s moot court team where she will assist in drafting the oral argument problem for the 2019-2020 moot court competition.

Meet Law Student Reporter Emeka Madubuogo

Emeka Madubuogo is a 2L at the Villanova Charles Widger School of Law. A graduate from Ruger’s University, with a bachelor’ degree in political science and history, Emeka is engaged in the intellectual property field. He currently helps manage and counsel several musical artists under the Gain Green Management group. He also helps promote musical events in the New York and New Jersey areas.

I addition to his musical involvement, he is involved in the Intellectual Property Law Society, the Entertainment and Media Society, and the Sports Law Society. Emeka’s favorite ABA-IPL committees are the Entertainment and Sports committee, the Business Law committee, and the Human Rights Law committee. 

Meet Law Student Reporter Melanie Rodriguez

Melanie Rodriguez is a 3L at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, California. She currently serves as the President of the Entertainment Law Society and the Music Law Society.

This past summer, Melanie worked for MusicSale Corp where she analyzed various agreements for songwriters and publishers as well as handled copyright matters. During this past fall semester, she worked at the Fried Firm as a legal extern where she assisted in drafting agreements for songwriters, bands, and music producers.

Melanie also has a Master of Arts from Texas State University and Bachelor of Business Administration from St. Edward’s University.

Michael Regan will graduate in May 2019 from the Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law with an intellectual property concentration.  He is a member of the Intellectual Property Law Society.

As a Legal Intern at Eckert Seamans’ Philadelphia office, Michael conducts research on a variety of intellectual property issues, performs trademark clearance searches, and monitors trademark applications.  Michael also worked at Eckert Seamans in summer of 2018.

Michael majored in marketing at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  Prior to law school, Michael worked for Wells Fargo and a startup financial tech company.  He enjoys cooking, running, and cheering on Philadelphia sports teams.