Patent Law

The conference [to be held April 20-21, 2009 in Washington, DC] is modeled after conferences held in Washington,D.C. in 1989, 1995 and 1999?hosted by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit?and more recently in 2005?organized by IPO Education Foundation with cooperation from the Federal Circuit. Two half-days of lectures and two luncheons with keynote speakers will be held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Several networking opportunities are included in the program including a reception and dinner on Monday evening at the Supreme Court of the United States.

The four primary sessions are as follows:

LITIGATION ISSUES

Panelists will discuss current and possible future judicial collaboration in addressing discovery and settlement issues in cross-border IP disputes.

DEVELOPING JUDICIAL ISSUES

Panelists will cover the use of precedents and principles from other countries, the enforcement of trade secret protection, and specialization and training for judges handling IP matters.

TRANSNATIONAL ENFORCEMENT

A hypothetical fact pattern will be presented, in which a product will pass through multiple countries during manufacture, assembly and distribution before entry into the U.S. market. Judges will comment on remedies which may be available in their jurisdiction to prohibit or discourage infringement of IP rights in this scenario.

PATENTABLE SUBJECT MATTER

The differences in approach between the U.S. and other countries with respect to patentability of software, business methods and biotechnology will be discussed. Panelists will comment on strategies and recommendations for IP protection for companies that hold these types of patents.

A brochure and registration details are available here.