Happy Birthday to Us! IPWatchdog turns 19! We are just getting started!

It is almost difficult to believe that 19 years ago today IPWatchdog.com first launched. At the time I was living in Orlando, Florida, and had recently embarked upon what I had hoped would become a career as a full-time law school professor. Things didn’t quite go according to plan, and I became an itinerant full-time law professor for about six years, traveling from school to school. During this time I started teaching the PLI Patent Bar Review course in 2001 (a course I still teach today) and I met the woman of my dreams, who is now my wife and IPWatchdog business partner — Renee. I’ve gone from having my own patent law practice, to being a partner at a firm, to not taking new clients. All through this magnificent journey one thing has remained constant, and that is IPWatchdog.com.

I want to thank all those who have been readers, visitors, guest contributors and sponsors over the years.

Over the years we have had tens of millions of unique visitors. The ABA has recognized us as the top IP Blog on three occasions, retiring us from the category and inducting us into the ABA Blawg Hall of Fame in 2014. It has been extremely gratifying to receive these honors and to have had so many find IPWatchdog.com useful for one reason or another.

Times certainly change, and IPWatchdog.com has grown over the years, changing both in look and feel and in substance. For the 19 years we have provided information to individuals to help them better understand patents, copyrights and trademarks. In the early days we did a weekly newsletter that profiled every intellectual property opinion, including some non-reported cases when it wasn’t so easy to find them. As blogging platforms became popular the weekly newsletter gave way to periodic articles that would be published several times a week, and that grew to daily articles, and then to several articles a day including weekends.

There will no doubt be changes in the future. In fact, we anticipate big new things for IPWatchdog in 2019, which is when we will celebrate our 20th anniversary. With whatever changes happen, whether substantive or to the look and feel, IPWatchdog.com will continue to grow and evolve with the industry and the times. We are just getting started!

Again, thank you to everyone for joining Renee and I on this journey! Without the support of readers, the hundreds of guest contributors and our sponsors, none of what we do would be possible.

Gene Quinn Gene Quinn is a patent attorney and a leading commentator on patent law and innovation policy. Mr. Quinn has twice been named one of the top 50 most influential people [...see more]

Warning & Disclaimer: The pages, articles and comments on IPWatchdog.com do not constitute legal advice, nor do they create any attorney-client relationship. The articles published express the personal opinion and views of the author as of the time of publication and should not be attributed to the author’s employer, clients or the sponsors of IPWatchdog.com.

Join the Discussion

23 comments so far.

Night Writer
October 13, 2018 02:10 pm
What is so great about this blog is that it is oriented by the academics. The blog remains down-to-earth and practical. This is really the only large forum that isn’t hostile to patents.

My two cents is that patent law would not have been eviscerated over the last 10 years if it were not for non-practical inexperienced people taking over policy decisions. And my two cents is the way forward is to hold people accountable for unethical conduct.

Anyway, great job. You are a very powerful voice that supports practical real-world solutions.
Eric Berend
October 13, 2018 01:59 am
I wish to congratulate Gene and Renee Quinn for their good work in establishing such a widely known and respected bastion of IP property protection advocacy. Even the disparagement and hatred expressed by opponents of strong IP protections, amply demonstrates the importance of your Internet site.

Thank you, Gene and Renee, for all you do in service to the invention, musician, scriptwriting and artistic communities that depend upon such legal IP protections as copyrights, patents and trademarks. 19 years in advocacy is a truly substantial achievement.
Renee C. Quinn
October 11, 2018 03:13 pm
Kevin Rieffel,

We did away with that dog back in 2003 or 2004. LOL . That’s funny!
Renee C. Quinn
October 11, 2018 02:38 pm
Thank you Concerned, for the well wishes on both fronts. 19 years for IPWatchdog and 16 years (12 in marriage) for Gene and I. We’ve taken this journey together and are so glad to know that we’ve been such a well received resource for so many others.
Renee C. Quinn
October 11, 2018 02:36 pm
Thank you Scott. It’s funny you mention that. I’ve been telling Gene for years, and he finally agrees with me, that we really haven’t been a “blog” for quite some time. We are more of an Online Intellectual Property Journal. By bringing in so many new authors, we have really increased the points of views we share on IPWatchdog. I think it is a far more substantial publication than a typical blog!
Renee C. Quinn
October 11, 2018 02:32 pm
Thank you so much Autridge for your comment. We appreciate all of our readers and are grateful for all of the support that we get from within the industry each and every day.
Renee C. Quinn
October 11, 2018 02:30 pm
Ternary,

Thank you so much for your kind words. We are very proud of what IPWatchdog has become and continue to work on it each and every day! We appreciate all of you who read IPWatchdiog and for taking the time to comment on the posts.
Ternary
October 11, 2018 01:40 pm
Congratulation to Renée and Gene with the 19th birthday of IPWatchDog. You have created and maintained an amazing platform/forum that is important to inventors and patent professionals but especially important to independent inventors.

IPWatchdog is the most important and widely read blog that gives a reasoned and educated voice to the concerns of a significant part of the US economy. Please keep doing this.
Kevin Rieffel
October 11, 2018 10:33 am
Please revive the GIF of your logo from the old site!
http://web.archive.org/web/20001009122035/https://ipwatchdog.com:80/
Autrige Dennis
October 11, 2018 08:27 am
Congratulations on 19 years of IP education. IPWatchdog.com is the only IP law blog that not only provides insightful IP articles for Patent Practitioners and law students, but also the only IP blog inventors can feel at home with. Great couple Renee and Gene. Keep having fun wherever it takes you.
concerned
October 11, 2018 04:07 am
Mr. and Mrs. Quinn:

Congratulations on 19 years of IP Watchdog and also congratulations to your on-going marriage! I wish you many more years on both.

You are a credit to any success I might have with my patent experience. I am thankful to have IP Watchdog as a valuable resource.
Scott Anderson
October 10, 2018 10:42 pm
Congratulations Gene and Renee! It’s a wonderful blog, if that’s still the term we use, and I always look forward to reading it. Lots of great insights. Looking forward to the next chapter.
Gene Quinn
October 10, 2018 09:56 pm
Thank you all for the wonderful comments. They mean a lot to both of us.

Here’s to another 19 years!

Exciting news to follow soon!
Renee C. Quinn
October 10, 2018 07:10 pm
Pro Say,

Thank you so much for your comment. It’s greatly appreciated. Here Here to 19 more years! IPWatchdog has got some great things on the horizon and I am so excited to take this journey with my husband, best friend and business partner, Gene Quinn!
Renee C. Quinn
October 10, 2018 07:06 pm
Tesia,

Thank you or your comments. I agree with your assessment. I think Gene’s reach has far surpassed any reach he’d have had working as a professor somewhere or as part of a law firm. I tell Gene all of the time that I am so proud of him and all he has done to make a difference in the IP Community. It’s been so much fun for me to be there with him every step of the way.
Renee C. Quinn
October 10, 2018 07:04 pm
Thank you John Rogitz.
Renee C. Quinn
October 10, 2018 07:03 pm
Thank you EG. Yes, it is hard to believe. I’ve only been a part of it in some capacity since 2003, but it has been such a fun journey to watch it grow
Bemused
October 10, 2018 04:49 pm
Gene, there are professional endeavors that bring one acclaim and recognition. And there are professional endeavors that help out others and make a small corner of the world a better place. You and Renee have achieved both so I add my voice to the other commentators on here wishing you both much-continued success!
Pro Say
October 10, 2018 12:27 pm
A big, hard-earned and well-deserved congratulations to you and Renee.

Your continuing strong advocacy for the fair and reasonable treatment of inventors is unmatched and irreplaceable.

Mere words don’t do justice for all you and Renee do and stand for.

Here’s to another 19 years Gene!
Tesia Thomas
October 10, 2018 11:10 am
They should make a statue of you in USPTO.
I hope you’re archiving this blog.

Btw you’re so much more of a patent educator than academia and a law firm would’ve allowed you to be.
You’re educating more people than a law school professor would ever reach in a classroom alone.

I’m happy it all worked out for you.
John M. Rogitz
October 10, 2018 10:09 am
Thank you, Gene and Renee! Congrats.
EG
October 10, 2018 09:18 am
Hey Gene,

My best to you, Renee, and the other contributors to IPWatchdog on this milestone. Hard to believe it’s been almost 2 decades now.
Sunil
October 10, 2018 06:47 am
Congratulations on IPWatchdog turning 19 and Thank you for a great blog.