Blog

The Interplay Between District Court and PTAB Litigation

Moderator: Sharon Israel, Shook Hardy & Bacon, LLP, Houston, TX

Speakers:
Honorable Alan Albright, US District Court for the Western District of Texas, Waco, TX
Honorable Scott Boalick, Chief Administrative Patent Judge, USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Alexandria, VA (invited)
William Barrow, Mayer Brown, Washington, DC

Hosted by the PTAB Trial and Patent Litigation Committees

Speakers

• Boalick, Scott

  USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board | Chief Administrative Patent Judge

  Scott R. Boalick is the Chief Judge for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). In this role, he leads the PTAB as it conducts post-grant trials, including inter partes reviews, post-grant reviews, covered business method patent reviews and derivation proceedings, and as it hears appeals from adverse examiner decisions in patent applications and reexamination proceedings.
• Albright, Alan

  US District Court, Western District of Texas | United States District Judge

  Judge Alan Albright is the federal district judge for the Western District of Texas, Waco Division. He was nominated by President Trump in January 2018, Judge Albright earned his J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law where he was a member of the Texas Law Review. He clerked for The Honorable James R. Nowlin in Austin, Texas. From 1992–99, he served as a Magistrate Judge. In 2016 he was admitted into the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is also a member of the American Law Institute. Prior to taking the district court bench in 2018, Judge Albright practiced IP litigation as a partner in the Austin office of Bracewell, LLP. He has run 26 marathons. Judge has two sons and he some day aspires to write his first novel.
• Barrow, William

  Mayer Brown LLP | Partner

  William J. Barrow is a partner in Mayer Brown’s Washington DC office and a member of the Intellectual Property Group. Bill protects and defends clients’ intellectual property rights in district courts throughout the country, and before the US International Trade Commission (ITC) and US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Having begun his career prosecuting electrical and computer software patents, Bill is often sought out for his understanding of the interplay between litigation and USPTO procedure. His experience in this regard leads to the early identification of favorable case strategies and mechanisms for implementing those strategies in concert with his clients’ business goals.
• Israel, Sharon

  Shook Hardy and Bacon | Partner

  Sharon Israel is a partner in the Houston office of Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P., specializing in intellectual property law with an emphasis in patent litigation. Sharon has acted as counsel in cases before district and appellate courts, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the International Trade Commission. Sharon is a frequent speaker on patent-related topics, and has served in leadership roles in numerous organizations, including serving as President of the American Intellectual Property Law Association.