PTAB launches programme to develop next-gen attorneys
The US Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has launched a new programme aimed at fostering the development of the next generation of patent practitioners.
The Legal Experience and Advancement Programme ( LEAP), which will give new practitioners additional argument time, is part of the US Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) goal of offering legal experience and advancement to a diverse group of practitioners.
A release from the office said: “The USPTO understands that ‘stand up’ speaking opportunities before tribunals are limited and that gaining courtroom experience is advantageous for practitioners in their career development. Additionally, having a patent bar with strong oral advocacy skills benefits clients, the USPTO, the courts, and the whole IP system.”
The PTAB will grant LEAP practitioners additional argument time, typically up to 15 minutes extra, depending on the length of the proceeding and the PTAB’s hearing schedule.
“By arguing before the PTAB, LEAP practitioners gain oral advocacy skills that will benefit them when appearing before any tribunal in the future. Likewise, they may reap the reward of drafting or contributing significantly to an underlying motion, brief, oral argument, or client position,” added the office.
The USPTO will also provide training to familiarise LEAP practitioners with oral argument procedures before the PTAB.
Late last year, the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s Bar Association urged law firms to include more women on PTAB trial teams. Of the top 500 firms appearing in most proceedings before the board, women make up half of the total attorney appearances at just 17 firms.
Statistics indicate that 20-30% of registered patent attorneys are women, but more than 1,300 of the 1,800 firms and entities appearing in PTAB proceedings have never had a woman appear for them, according to a report from the association. In total, women made up just 10% of all attorney appearances.
Diversifying IP
Expanding the innovation and IP ecosystem is critically important to ensuring America’s continued economic strength and technological leadership, said the USPTO. “New practitioners are a key element of this effort, and it is important to expand their participation. LEAP is one step in that direction,” it concluded.
While bringing new practitioners plays a key role in diversifying the IP ecosystem, the USPTO is also focusing elsewhere.
In late March, the office launched a new platform aimed at encouraging greater participation in the patent system. The prior year, the USPTO called the growth of women inventors “sluggish”, with applications listing at least one woman as an inventor increasing from 7% in the 1980s to 21% in 2016.
The office has also asked Congress for greater data-gathering powers in order to address a “dearth of information” on the participation of minorities in the patent system.
Promoting diversity
And the office isn’t the only institution taking diversity seriously. Earlier this month, Google convinced the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to delay, rather than cancel, a hearing in a video streaming technology suit over diversity concerns.
The Federal Circuit granted Google’s request to stay the case in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic for 90 days.
Google argued that “in-person oral argument in this matter would promote our profession’s goal of obtaining argument experience for junior attorneys”. Kathryn Kayali, a 2014 law school graduate and associate at Williams & Connolly, will argue Google’s appeal.
The Federal Circuit has also rescheduled another case involving Google, after the company and its representative Perkins Coie persuaded the court that the case should be rescheduled because it involves “an initiative important to our profession”.
“Google and its outside law firms, including Perkins Coie, are collaborating to increase participation by and provide opportunities to promising junior and diverse lawyers in their appellate matters,” said Perkins Coie in its motion to reschedule.
The hearing was originally cancelled, but the court will now hear arguments in the suit on May 11. Theresa Nguyen, an associate in Perkins Coie’s Seattle office, will argue her first case before the Federal Circuit.
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