AIPLA 2015: Five sessions to watch out for
Ahead of the AIPLA 2015 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC from October 22 to 24, WIPR previews five of the best sessions.
What: Opening plenary session
When: Thursday, October 22—08:00 to 09:00
Who: Lisa Jorgenson, AIPLA (moderator); Michelle Lee, USPTO
Where: Marriott Ballroom, Salons 2 & 3, Lobby level
The opening plenary session is led by the director of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Michelle Lee and American Intellectual Property Law Association executive director Lisa Jorgenson.
Lee and Jorgenson will discuss the upcoming initiatives at the USPTO.
Lee’s appearance comes after she claimed that there are not enough women named as inventors on granted patents. And she discussed the benefits of 3D printing in a recent talk (September 30) at Microsoft’s technology lab in Washington, DC.
What: Track 3 Trademark/Copyright—welcome to a new world
When: Thursday, October 22—09:00 to 12:00
Who: Kirk Damman, Lewis Rice & Fingersh (moderator); Martin Schwimmer, Leason Ellis; Allison Ricketts, Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu; Jonathan Band, Policybandwidth; Andrew Gass, Latham & Watkins
Where: Maryland Ballroom, Lobby level
The overall session is about trademark and copyright in the US and Canada, and features discussions about the well-known Oracle v Google case.
Moderated by Kirk Damman from law firm Lewis Rice & Fingersh, the first session will cover “features of winning and losing strategies to balance public interest with respect for 3D IP rights”.
In the second part Martin Schwimmer from law firm Leason Ellis will lead a discussion called “What type of IP do I need? How to figure out how best to protect 3D creations.”
After a 30-minute break, delegates will return for a discussion with Allison Ricketts from law firm Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu called: “Soft IP for the non-profit startup—counselling new not-for-profit organisations about protecting their trademarks and copyright assets and avoiding problems with offshoots and local affiliates.”
Jonathan Band from law firm Policybandwidth and Andrew Gass from law firm Latham & Watkins will take part in a discussion called: “Copyright protection for APIs—Google v Oracle cert denied: now what? A review of the details from both sides of the table and an assessment of fair use.”
Band will discuss “Fair use in software platforms and the importance of exceptions to copyright law”, while Gass will consider: “Oracle v Google: the copyright law of software platforms, incentives for innovation, and future litigation strategies.”
Oracle and Googlehave been in an IP dispute since 2010 and the latest development came in June when the US Supreme Court refused to hear the part of the case centring on whether computer programs should be eligible for copyright protection.
What: IP practice in Europe
When: Thursday, October 22—15:30 to 17:30
Who: Samir Pandya, SAP America (moderator); Niclas Morey (invited), European Patent Office; Denise Kraft, DLA Piper; Myles Jelf, Bristows; Martin Köhler, Hoyng Rokh Monegier
Where: Thurgood Marshall Ballroom, Mezzanine Level
There has been a move towards increasing the specialisation of patent jurisdictions, both national ones and the European Patent Office (EPO).
On a national level the German Federal Patent Court and the UK Intellectual Property Enterprise Court have implemented major new frameworks for deciding patent cases, while the Unified Patent Court has been created.
The major factors which govern litigation in specialised US and European courts will be discussed by the panel in this session.
The panellists are from the US, UK, EPO and German jurisdictions. Law firms represented include Bristows, Hoyng Rokh Monegier (previously called Remiann Osterrieth Köhler Haft) and DLA Piper.
What: Concurrent morning tracks: litigation
When: Friday, October 23—08:45 to 11:00
Where: Thurgood Marshall Ballroom, Mezzanine Level
Who: Paul Kitch, Nixon Peabody (moderator); Michael Chernoff, Capital Group; Hans Sauer, Biotechnology Industry Organization; David Beck, Vivai Solutions
Paul Kitch from law firm Nixon Peabody moderates this session which is called: “Shine a light: an overview of the impact of Alice across patent preparation, prosecution, litigation, legislation, and post-grant proceedings.”
In Alice v CLS Bank, the US Supreme Court ruled last year that computer-implemented inventions are not patentable.
Michael Chernoff from Capital Group leads this discussion on: “A look at the numbers: a statistical analysis and overview of metrics including allowance rates and filing volumes before and after Alice.”
Hans Sauer from the Biotechnology Industry Organization discusses what can be done by the legislature to “separate the subject matter debate from troll concerns”.
In the final track session, David Beck from optical communications company Vivai Solutions (created by JDS Uniphase Corporation splitting into two companies) will review case law to see how courts are applying Alice.
What: Track 3: Copyright
When: Friday, October 23—14:00 to 15:30
Where: Maryland Ballroom, Lobby level
Who: Hetal Kushwaha, Marks & Clerk (moderator); Brandon Butler, Glushko Samuelson IP Clinic; Ariane Newell, Microsoft; Ian Ballon, Greenberg Traurig
In this session, Brandon Butler from the Glushko Samuelson IP Clinic, Washington College of Law will discuss: “Fair use primer: teaching and legal documents in recent case law.”
Led by Ariane Newell from Microsoft, the next part of the session covers copyright and the cloud. Our sister publication TBO investigated last year what constitutes infringement in the cloud and who is accountable for it. Turn up to this session and find out more about the latest IP issues.
Ian Ballon from law firm Greenberg Traurig will then assess the latest trends and case law surrounding social media and the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
This has been a hot topic on TBO this year, where we have covered, for example, the number of DMCA notices that Twitter has received this year and the percentage of posts removed.
The AIPLA annual meeting runs from October 22 to 24 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC. WIPR will be attending so if you spot one of our team please stop and say hello!
