Patent Law

The Patent Law Committee evaluates the extent to which the constitutional purpose of Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, regarding the rights of inventors, is being achieved and reports its findings to the Board of Directors with recommendations for any changes in statute, rule, regulation, or practice which may better achieve this purpose. In performing its duties, the committee considers the points of view of: (a) Inventors; (b) The public in securing early and complete disclosure of inventions; and (c) Users of inventions and their competitors in a free economy.

Committee Announcements

	Title	Announcement Description
	Patent Law Committee Meeting on Thursday, May 10, 2012	(Austin, TX). In the afternoon on May 10, 2012, the Patent Law Committee and the Professionalism and Ethics Committee jointly presented a seminar at the AIPLA Spring meeting on “Avoiding Ethical Issues in Patent Prosecution and Patent Litigation.” Mark E. Michels, formerly Discovery Counsel at Cisco Systems, spoke on “The Risks of Failing to Preserve Patent Prosecution Files”. Kirby Drake of Klemchuk Kubasta, LLP spoke on “Ethical Issues in Discovery.” Finally, William R. Covey, the Deputy General Counsel for Enrollment and Discipline and the Director of OED spoke on “USPTO Office of Enrollment and Discipline on IP Lawyer Misconduct.” Paul R. Kitch of Nixon Peabody, LLP moderated the panel. Subsequent to the completion of the presentations by the speakers, a lively discussion ensued among those in attendance and the speakers. Mark Michel - The Risks of Failing to Preserve Patent Pros Files Kirby B. Drake - Ethical Issues in Discovery William R. Covey - Professional Responsibility for IP Practitioners
	Joint Committee Meeting Between Patent Law and Patent Relations with the USPTO Committees	Rulemaking for the America Invents Act Thursday October 20 from 3:30-5:30 in the Thurgood Marshall Ballroom, Mezzanine Level Jonathan Spadt – RatnerPrestia - Summary of the America Invents Act Nick Godici - Birch, Stewart, Kolasch & Birch – History of Rulemaking for the AIPA Vince Garlock – Deputy Executive Director AIPLA – Rulemaking Challenges for the AIA Janet Gongola - Patent Reform Coordinator, USPTO – Rulemaking Procedures for the AIA Please join us for a discussion of rulemaking under the AIA. For at least the next year, the USPTO will be conducting extensive rulemaking to implement the America Invents Act. The discussion will focus on key provisions of the AIA, challenges encountered in prior rulemaking, challenges to the Office for the current rulemaking efforts and how these challenges are being addressed. This one-hour CLE presentation will be followed by a business session in which we will organize the committee to be able to quickly respond to Requests for Comments from the Office
	Comments on USPTO Procedures to Implement America Invents Act	The Senate has just passed the America Invents Act and passed on to the President for signature. We are interested in receiving your comments on the procedures the PTO has outlined as well as on specific rules or packages of rules. Please take some time to review these materials and send us your comments. You can respond to me or Marc via e-mail or provide a comment on the Patent Law Committee blog by clicking HERE. We look forward to receiving your comments. Kenneth N. Nigon. Marc Hubbard RatnerPrestia Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP knnigon@ratnerprestia.com mhubbard@gardere.com