Noncompetition agreements have historically offered powerful protection against misappropriation of trade secrets. But noncompetes have fallen out of favor with many judges, state legislators, and even our new President, all of whom decry these agreements as being unfair to workers and improperly restrictive of their mobility in the labor market. This panel will discuss these challenges and potential solutions.

Trade secret disputes are the messy divorces of the IP world. Strong emotions abound on both sides. Helping our clients get the best result is not just about winning at trial, but about digging in to know what’s going on and leading the parties to a business solution. This session will address the dynamics of settling trade secret fights, whether company to company or departing employees.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been employed in most industries. Often, for instance, a predictive AI model is used to infer meaningful information from complex datasets. A predictive AI model can be trained to infer the optimal treatment of a disease for a given patient or to detect the existence of a disease in the patient. This webinar will discuss the unique data protection risks that arise out of employing predictive AI models in various industries. This webinar will also discuss techniques for safeguarding against the unintentional leakage of sensitive training data by these predictive AI models.

On February 23, 2021, AIPLA filed comments in response to the USPTO’s Notice regarding the National Strategy for Expanding American Innovation. AIPLA's comments include suggestions for the support of individuals, including the implementation of shared workspaces, hubs, and labs, workshops, internships, and promotion of meetings and clubs, among other ideas. Some of AIPLA's comments regarding lowering the barriers to innovation in underrepresented groups include adjusting internal culture and increasing representation in leadership. READ MORE

On February 22, 2021, AIPLA filed comments in response to the USPTO’s Sovereign Immunity Study: Notice and Request for Public Comment, 85 Fed. Reg. 70,589 (November 5, 2020) (Docket Number: PTO–T–2020–0043). With respect to patent and trademark infringement, AIPLA believes that the record of reported cases provides support for abrogation of state immunity. With respect to trademark infringement, however, there are critical differences between those cases and patent and copyright infringement actions. READ MORE

AIPLA provided feedback to the USPTO on the implementation of the Trademark Modernization Act (TMA). The feedback three aspects of the TMA: general comments, comments on flexible response times, and comments regarding ex parte expungement and ex parte reexamination proceedings. AIPLA continues to advocate for a shorter response period to Office Action refusals that include only ministerial or procedural objections. AIPLA also provided feedback on a number of subsections regarding ex parte expungement and ex parte reexamination proceedings.

AIPLA’s Patent Prosecution Boot Camp is a comprehensive, CLE-accredited virtual seminar that includes instructional lecture-style sessions with practical tips on US and international patent preparation and prosecution, as well as hands-on interactive workshops that will walk you through drafting claims and responding to office actions.

Join a diverse, global community of law firms, companies, and institutions involved in the practice of patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, and other unfair competition laws at AIPLA's 2021 Spring Meeting. This year's Spring Meeting will be virtual and will take place from May 10-14 2021. We have rescheduled our program in Seattle for May 2023.

Join us at the Gaylord National Harbor for our Annual Meeting, bringing nearly 2,000 professionals together to learn, grow, and share all things intellectual property law.

On October 13, 2020, the Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, as created by the AIA, violates the Appointments Clause in Article II of the Constitution. The Court granted certiorari in three consolidated cases (United States v. Arthrex, Inc., et al. 19-1434; Smith & Nephew, Inc., et al. v. Arthrex, Inc., et al., 19-1452; and Arthrex, Inc., v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., et al., 19-1458), but limited its review to two specific questions

In this edition of AIPLA Direct Live, AIPLA President Barbara A. Fiacco asks the Honorable Chris Coons, United States Senator from Delaware, about the state of the intellectual property landscape.

Senator Tillis speaks on his tenure as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary IP Subcommittee, the need for strong intellectual property protection, Section 101 reform, DMCA review, oversight over the USPTO and the Copyright Office, and more.