Posts Tagged: "Gene Quinn"

Earlier today, U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the Ranking Member and Chair of the Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee, introduced a pair of bipartisan bills that the Senators say are aimed at improving the participation Americans from all backgrounds in the patent system and ensuring that the public knows the true owners of patents. If enacted, the Unleashing American Innovators Act (UAIA) would require the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to establish another satellite office within three years somewhere in the Southeastern region of the nation, which the bill specifically defines as Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Of course, given that the main campus of the USPTO is located in Alexandria, Virginia, it would seem unlikely that Virginia would be the final destination of any Southeast Region satellite office. The UAIA would also require the Director to determine within two years whether any additional regional satellite offices are necessary to— in the words of the bill— “achieve the purposes described in section 24 23(b) of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act… and increase participation in the patent system by women, people of color, veterans, individual inventors, or members of any other demographic, geographic, or economic group that the Director may determine to be underrepresented in patent filings.”

Now that the 10th anniversary of the America Invents Act (AIA) has passed, we can look back not only at the past decade, but also the reactions of various interested parties and how they responded to that anniversary. There were two revolutionary amendments to U.S. patent laws enacted on September 16, 2011; one relating to the U.S. changing from first-to-invent to first-to-file, the other relating to the creation of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and three new procedural mechanisms to invalidate issued patents. While from a philosophical and practical point of view, the change from first-to-invent to first-to-file had the largest impact on patent practice, it has essentially become a footnote in patent history. Yes, the United States had a bizarre system that allowed the second filer in some instances (i.e., the first to invent) to obtain a patent over the first-to-file, but that almost never happened. And now, the United States has a strange, hybrid first-to-file system that still theoretically allows the first-to-invent to prevail in even rarer circumstances, but that change became easily baked into the system, because overwhelmingly, the first-to-invent did file first. The real story of the change to first-to-file is that much more is now prior art, including foreign filed applications as of their foreign filing date, typically, which continues the theme of the last 15+ years of making it harder to obtain and keep patent rights in the United States.

What happens when the United States Patent and Trademark Office does not want to give an inventor a patent? We can all recite what is supposed to happen, but what if the Office really does not want the person to get a patent to the point that the Office simply refuses to move prosecution forward, or constantly reopens prosecution even…

On day three of IPWatchdog LIVE in Dallas, Texas, former Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Makan Delrahim, who is now a Member of the Board of the Directors at Osiris Acquisition Corporation and a Lecturer in Law at the University of Pennsylvania, told attendees of the event that it’s unfortunate that antitrust [and its interaction with intellectual property rights] has become a partisan issue when “it doesn’t need to be.” Delrahim recalled during a Luncheon Fireside Chat with IPWatchdog Founder and CEO Gene Quinn that, 20 years ago, when he was detailed to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), “the approach to strong IP was a unifying issue, and something that was not questioned, nor its value.” He added that he has become a bit discouraged by the “echo chamber” that has been created about IP to “devalue its actual impact on economics and on society”—particularly when our trading partners, like China, have realigned to recognize the value.

Day one of IPWatchdog LIVE 2021 in Dallas, Texas, kicked off on Sunday, September 12, with a fireside chat between David Henry of sponsor Gray Reed and Judge Alan Albright of the United States’ most high-profile district patent court; panels on patent monetization and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) post-Arthrex; and IPWatchdog’s first ever Paul Michel Award, which went to David Kappos of Cravath Swaine & Moore.

Throughout its history, the United States has led the world in protecting intellectual property (IP) rights.  On that foundation, we have also led the world in artistic, commercial, and scientific innovation, particularly with life-saving medicines and vaccines. Yet patent rights are under increasing assault, with anti-patent activists charging pharmaceutical makers with “antitrust” violations for utilizing and building upon their patents…

At today’s Heritage Foundation event in Washington, D.C., titled Restoring American Leadership in Patent Law and Innovation Policy, former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director (USPTO) Andrei Iancu began by lamenting the failure of decision makers to make the connection between intellectual property and innovation. Increasingly, policy makers think innovation just happens, Iancu explained, with too many believing monetization happens after the fact, rather than driving innovation. “Without IP, the free market does not participate, or does not participate to scale,” Iancu told the Heritage audience. Laurie Self, Senior Vice President and Counsel, Government Affairs, Qualcomm, agreed with Iancu and added that, without a strong patent system, there is no opportunity to maintain a strong innovation leadership position. Presumably alluding to developments such as the Biden Administration’s support for waiving IP rights under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) related to COVID-19 inventions and the recent Executive Order on Competition, Self said: “We are seeing a series of policies that if implemented would undermine our system… this cognitive dissonance is a threat.”

This week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that it would be implementing an interim rule at the agency in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s late June decision in Arthrex v. Smith & Nephew. Today, the Office held a Boardside Chat with Drew Hirshfeld, Performing the Functions and Duties of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO; Scott R. Boalick, Chief Administrative Patent Judge; Jacqueline W. Bonilla, Deputy Chief Administrative Patent Judge; and Scott C. Weidenfeller, Vice Chief Administrative Patent Judge to explain how the interim process will work and answer questions submitted by the public. Janet Gongola, Vice Chief Judge for Engagement at the PTAB, moderated the panel.

Patent infringement risk can cost companies hundreds of millions of dollars and carries with it the threat of triple damages in cases of willfulness. And while in recent history the possibility of large verdicts seemed unlikely, over the past year the industry has seen a sudden increase in billion-dollar mega-verdicts, some with willfulness enhancements. With an overabundance of data, new…

What does a “typical” career in IP entail, and how are women faring as IP professionals? These are a few of the important questions that will be addressed by our panel of successful women who have made a mark in the IP field by taking risks and pursuing career paths that are bold and visionary.  With Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion…

Earlier this year, the Federal Circuit issued a precedential decision in Bayer Healthcare LLC v. Baxalta Inc. in which the court affirmed rulings from the District of Delaware finding that Baxalta’s hemophilia treatment Adynovate infringes patent claims owned by Bayer, that the asserted claims were enabled, and that Baxalta did not commit willful infringement as a matter of law. Relating to the question of damages, the court explained that an expert need not select a specific royalty rate for the jury to adopt, and that a jury may adopt any royalty rate within the range offered during testimony by the expert provided the methodology used by the expert is sound.

The transformation of intellectual property (IP) management within commercial companies is driving the adoption of new practices and technologies to more closely align IP objectives with growth strategies, unlock greater portfolio value, and support strategic decision-making across enterprises. Nowhere is that more critical than at the nexus of IP and Research and Development (R&D), where organizations are applying IP insights…

Your business name, logo, and overall brand is how people will identify with your goods and services, so you want to have one, clear identity.  That identity and brand should be shared and viewed consistently around the world to the greatest extent possible. Just like domestic U.S. trademarks are not only for large multinational corporations, international trademarks and brand protection…

Covid-19 and the Digitization of Intellectual Property (IP) In June 2021, Dennemeyer published a detailed study informed by the extensive individual experience of more than 50 experts coming from IP law practice, academia, government, industry, and IP offices worldwide. The deepest insight from the study shows that the changes thrust upon the world during an unprecedented year of 2020 were the catalyst for…

Much of what IP lawyers do can be facilitated and streamlined with technology, but most law firms are not well prepared for widespread digital transformation. To address this problem, forward-thinking firms are placing their growth in the hands of Chief Executives who know the legal business but are adept at running and growing an increasingly agile enterprise that is required…