Posts Tagged: "IPWatchdog LIVE"

The third annual IPWatchdog LIVE conference opened with panels examining global trends in IP policy and a review of U.S. Supreme Court case law, as well as the presentation of the third annual Paul Michel Award, which each year honors a respected industry leader and advocate for fairness in the IP community. On a panel that detailed some of the most recent U.S. Supreme Court’s IP decisions, retired U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) Judge Paul Michel described the arguably contradictory holdings in Google v. Oracle and Warhol v. Goldsmith as “useless” in terms of substantive guidance from the Court. “These two cases represent a failure on the part of the Supreme Court to provide meaningful guidance to users who need it now,” Michel said. Professor Llew Gibbons of the University of Toledo College of Law explained the holdings in each of the cases and concluded that “I couldn’t find a principled reason other than ‘we want to come out differently’” for the Court’s ruling in Warhol, considering the Google decision.

On the Monday of IPWatchdog LIVE, a panel of trademark experts discussed “International Trademark Rights: Best Practices for a Trademark Global Presence,” moderated by vice president of law firm strategy for Anaqua, Jayne Durden. The speakers included Mark Leonard, general counsel for the Jelly Belly Candy Company, and Heather Antoine, partner at Stubbs Alderton & Markiles and chair of the California Lawyers Association IP Section. Kicking off the discussion, Jayne Durden informed the audience that the value of brands has massively skyrocketed in recent years. For instance, the top ten brands over the last ten years, most of which include tech brands such as Apple, have grown on average four times in value, thus leading to a greater need for trademark protection. In the last quarter alone, said Durden, the filing of trademark applications has increased a whopping 49%.

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.

Mark Snyder, who has served as Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Litigation at Qualcomm since 2016, during his Luncheon Keynote on Day 2 of IPWatchdog LIVE 2021 suggested that the United States needs a new innovation policy. The current innovation policy consists of the following 18 words on the U.S. State Department website: “The State Department is committed to removing barriers overseas, protecting intellectual property, and maintaining U.S. technological edge.” Snyder said he was “blown away that we did not have something more meaningful than that.” Further, only three of those words – “protecting intellectual property” – are actually concrete policy, and the United States is arguably flouting them, Snyder said.

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.

Intangibles, and particularly intellectual property, are curious assets. By some estimates, intangibles comprise a large overall percentage of the S&P 500’s total value. Yet – as most IP-rich companies know – leveraging the value of intellectual property to secure a financing has traditionally been very hard to do. Yes, the litigation finance industry offers capital to intellectual property owners who need to finance the tremendous expense of intellectual property enforcement litigation. And yes, some litigation finance deals provide for operating expenses. But many IP-rich companies have financing needs that do not center around litigation or jive with the litigation finance industry’s cost of capital.

We are proud to announce that our much anticipated Conference, postponed several times due to COVID-19, will  take place at the Renaissance Dallas Richardson from September 12-14, 2021. Onsite registration will begin on Sunday, September 12, followed by an opening General Session, and then an Opening Cocktail Reception. A premium will be placed on networking, with two Networking Breakfasts, five Networking Breaks, three Networking Receptions and facilitated one-on-one meetings. We will conclude with an ethics CLE prior to our Closing Reception.

Live and In-Person: Virtual programs have been a tremendous lifeline during the pandemic. IPWatchdog will continue weekly webinars, but we are ready to get back to in-person meetings! How about you?  Join us in Dallas, Texas for IPWatchdog LIVE 2021 from Sunday afternoon, September 12 through late in the evening on Tuesday, September 14. More than 90 Industry Experts: Whether…