T H E GEORGE WA SHI NGTON U N I V ER SIT Y L AW SCHOOL
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW
Perspectives
PROGRAM EST. 1895
NEWS
GW Wins Saul Lefkowitz Trademark Moot Court National Championship
FALL 2016 ISSUE NEWS 1, 11 EVENTS 1–9, 11 STUDENT RECOGNITION 10–11 UPCOMING EVENTS 12
EVENTS
Post-Grant Practice Roundtable Discussion Breaks New Ground
O Michael Wolfe (left) and Andrew Walter (right) display their awards for winning the Saul Lefkowitz Trademark Moot Court National Championship.
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he team of 3Ls Andrew Walter and Michael Wolfe won the 2016 Saul Lefkowitz Trademark Moot Court National Championship and also was selected as the Best Oralist Team. The finals were held in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The team advanced to the National Championship by reaching the finals of the New York City Regional in early February. The top teams in each of the five regionals advanced to the national championship. The prize for winning was $3,000. In addition, they also received $1,000 as the Best Oralist Team.
The team was coached by Professor Roger Schechter, who not only (obviously) did an excellent job but also was instrumental in setting up various moots for the team. Some of the attorneys he recruited to moot the team included: Douglas Rettew, a former student of his who is now a trademark partner at Finnegan Henderson; Michael Goodman, our former Marks IP Fellow; Michael DeSanctis of Jenner and Block and spouse of Professor Christy DeSanctis; and Gregory Jenner, Partner at Stoel Rives. More information on the competition can be found at www.inta.org/Academics/ Pages/SaulLefkowitzCompetition.aspx. n
n October 13, 2015, GW held an informative and innovative roundtable discussion with leaders from practice, academia, industry, and government to discuss the new post-grant practice proceedings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) created by the America Invents Act. The roundtable participants discussed various aspects of the new post-grant proceedings and how they have changed the practice of patent law. The half-day program explored current issues with U.S. post-grant review from two perspectives: first, the post-grant practice at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and, second, how the development of post-grant procedures has affected patent litigation strategies in district court. The program highlighted particular aspects of the practice that are working well and featured a thoughtful discussion of suggested improvements in certain areas of the process. The program was co-sponsored by WilmerHale, Dentons, and Unified Patents. The format was unique, but one used by GW’s IP program before. Rather than have a series continued on page 6
EVENTS
Munich Summer 2016 Continues Tradition of Success
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s we have done in the past, GW offered a study abroad program for IP students at the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center (MIPLC) from May 23 through June 17, 2016. Students could choose two out of three classes each session for up to four credits. The ABA-accredited program also included special lectures and visits to local IP institutions, such as Fish & Richardson, BMW, German
Performance Rights Organization, and the Munich University of Technology. This year, we had 14 students from U.S. law schools, and several MIPLC students attended classes as well. The students commented how much they enjoyed the small-class instruction.
Internet Law Marketa Trimble, University of Nevada William S. Boyd School of Law
COURSES INCLUDED:
International Intellectual Property Exhaustion Dan Burk, University of California, Irvine School of Law
Session I: May 23-June 3, 2016 Trade Secrets Christoph Ann, Technische Universität München, and Gintare Surblyte Specialized Intellectual Property Courts John Whealan and Randall Rader, GW Law
Munich IP students, Associate Dean John Whealan, and Professor Randall Rader enjoy a walk in the English Garden.
GW Law CoSponsors Patents and Telecoms Conference
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W Law, the UCL Institute of Brand and Innovation Law, GSMA, ITU, and ETSI held their second conference on Patents in Telecoms on November 5 and 6, 2015, in Washington, D.C.
The conference, a unique gathering of industry, the judiciary, and regulators from the United States, Europe, and Asia, was organized by Professor Sir Robin Jacob (UCL Laws), Antoine Dore (ITU), Michael Loch (GSMA), Christian Loyau (ETSI), and Professor Martin Adelman (GW Law). Key panels of the conference included: • The Future Antitrust Regulation of Telecoms • FRAND Defences and How to Determine FRAND
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Session II: June 6-17, 2016 Functionality in Trademark, Copyright, and Design Law Robert Brauneis, GW Law
IP and Global Entrepreneurship Jeffrey Manns, GW Law
For more information or to find out about next year’s Munich program, please visit www.law.gwu.edu/munich-intellectual-property-summer-program. n
A Munich IP student recreates the run with the golden ticket from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
• Patent Assertion Entities I: An Overview and Impact • Patent Assertion Entities II • Patent Assertion Entities III • Standard Setting Organisations • Injunctions • Manufacturers • Operators • Judges Panel on the Unified Patent Court The next Patents and Telecoms Conference is tentatively set for November 2-3, 2017. n
EVENTS
GW Law Hosts Giles Rich Inns of Court Meeting
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n February 23, 2016, the Giles Rich Inns of Court meeting was held at GW Law. Each year, the Inn tries to hold one of their evening sessions at a D.C.-area law school, and this year they chose GW Law. Michael E. McCabe, Jr. led the talk, “The Lawyer’s Ethical Duty of Candor to the Tribunal.” The panel consisted of: • W. William Hodes, co-author of The Law of Lawyering and Professor Emeritus of Law at Indiana University, where he taught Professional Responsibility, Civil Procedure, and Constitutional Law for 20 years; • William R. Covey, USPTO Deputy General Counsel for the Office of Enrollment and Discipline (previously USPTO’s Deputy General
GW Holds Eighth IP Symposium
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n May 10, 2016, GW held its eighth annual IP Symposium together with firm sponsors Mayer Brown and Pillsbury. When the IP Symposium first came to life, attendees paid a registration fee. This year, for the second year in a row, GW was fortunate enough to be able to offer this symposium for free to anyone who wished to attend, thanks to generous sponsorship from Pillsbury and Mayer Brown. The symposium again attracted notable speakers from administrative agencies, private practice, the judicial system, and academia. The day began with a keynote address from Nathan Kelley, the acting Chief Administrative Patent Judge of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Four moderated panel discussions followed.
Associate Dean John Whealan (far right) kicks off the Giles Rich Inns of Court Meeting.
Counsel for the Office of General Law and Deputy Legal Counsel to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff ); and • James M. McCauley, Virginia State Bar Ethics Counsel and Professor of Professional Responsibility at the University of Richmond School of Law (formerly an Assistant Bar
The first panel discussed the “Patent Trial and Appeal Board Proceedings: How the Landscape Has Changed and Where it is Heading.” It was moderated by William Atkins, Partner at Pillsbury. Panelists included the Honorable Barry Grossman, an Administrative Patent Judge at the USPTO; Steven M. Purdy, Corporate Litigation Counsel for IBM; and Jonathan Stroud, Chief Patent Counsel for Unified Patents. The second panel, “From the Bench: Litigating Patent Cases in the Federal Courts,” was moderated by Alan Grimaldi, Partner and Co-Leader for the Intellectual Property Practice at Mayer Brown. The all-judge panel included the Honorable Marilyn Huff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, the Honorable Theodore R. Essex of the U.S. International Trade Commission, and the Honorable John J. Tharp, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The third panel, moderated by Andrew J. Pincus, Partner at Mayer
Counsel for the Virginia State Bar for six years, prosecuting cases of attorney misconduct before the District Committees, Disciplinary Board, and Three-Judge Courts). The panel covered various ethical issues associated with patent law, patent practice, and patent litigation. A reception followed the program. n
The Honorable Nathan Kelley delivers the keynote address at the IP symposium.
Brown, was “Patent Eligibility: Where Do We Stand After Alice and its Progeny?” Panelists included Mark Freeman, Appellate Staff, Civil Division at the U.S. Department of Justice; Suzanne Michel, Senior Patent Counsel for Google; and Brian A. Rosenthal, Partner at Mayer Brown. continued on page 7
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW PERSPECTIVES 3
EVENTS
Spring 2016 Katz Lecture Features Judge Bryson By Ryan Travitz
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he Intellectual Property Law Program hosted the Honorable William C. Bryson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for the spring edition of its biannual A. Sidney Katz Lecture. The lecture, which is made possible through an endowment by the late Sidney Katz, JD ’66, brings notable figures in intellectual property law to share their knowledge and connect with students, alumni, and faculty. John Whealan, Intellectual Property Advisory Board Associate Dean for Intellectual Property Law Studies, started off the discussion with Judge Bryson by asking about his path to the public sector. Judge Bryson felt drawn to public service not just because of a desire to serve, but also because it gave him responsibilities and opportunities earlier than he would have had them otherwise. “I could see even from law school that the kinds of opportunities for experience that you get in the government and the satisfaction of representing the United States were things that are hard to replicate in any other form of representation,” he said. The conversation next moved to the 17 years of Judge Bryson’s career at the U.S. Department of Justice. For much of that time, he worked in the Office of the Solicitor General, which handles government litigation in the Supreme Court and approves or disapproves every appeal stemming from adverse decisions on district courts. As part of that office, he ended up in front of the Supreme Court to argue only his second appellate case. In 1994, after years of experience in criminal appeals, President Bill Clinton appointed Judge Bryson to the Federal Circuit. To fulfill his duties, he dove deeply into the subject matter of the court with the aid of his colleagues. As a new judge, he found his appellate experience helpful. “I had a good feeling for the process, and I was comfortable writing
Associate Dean John Whealan asks Judge William Bryson about his career at the Federal Circuit.
Judge Bryson (left) speaks with former law clerk and IP Fellow Michael Goodman (left center), Professor Joshua Schwartz (right center), and John Witherspoon.
opinions, which are basically briefs where you get to decide which side you’re on,” he said. Today, Judge Bryson has taken on senior status on the Federal Circuit. With the extra time he has sat by designation on around 200 cases in the Eastern District of Texas, which is known for handling a large amount of patent litigation. After covering a handful of other topics, including use of law clerks and jury instructions, Judge Bryson ended the discussion by offering his advice to the students in the audience. He encouraged them to allow themselves to make changes in their careers when
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necessary and not be tempted by factors like money at the expense of happiness. To know when to make a change, he told students to ask what he calls the Sunday night question. “On Sunday night I ask myself, ‘Am I looking forward to going back to work tomorrow?’” he said. “And if the answer to that every Sunday night is ‘no,’ and that’s the candid answer you give yourself, then it’s time for a change, folks.” n
Fall 2015 Katz Lecture Welcomes GW’s Own, the Honorable F. Scott Kieff
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n October 21, 2015, the Katz Lecture was given by the Honorable F. Scott Kieff, Commissioner of the U.S. International Trade Commission. Commissioner Kieff is also the Fred C. Stevenson Research Professor at GW Law, on leave during his tenure at the ITC. The title of his lecture was “Patents as Property: Reflections from an Independent Commission on Interface Among Trade, IP, and Antitrust.” Commissioner Kieff first explained the special structure of the ITC and how that structure enables it to conduct particularly independent analysis and adjudication, which are keys to facilitating a rules-based trading system. He then compared and contrasted the internal operations and external pressures facing the many different U.S. government entities involved in the patent system, including: executive branch agencies, such as the USPTO and the Department of Justice; independent commissions, such as the ITC and the Federal Trade Commission; and courts within the judicial system, including the Federal Circuit, the Supreme Court, and district courts throughout the country. Commissioner Kieff pointed out how the ITC functions like the courts in two vital ways. The first is the decision-making body’s own internal structures that compel independence. The second is the benefits that flow from the private party on each side of the adversarial process facing its own selfish incentives to be significantly more self-disciplined, analytical, and modest in making arguments. This self-discipline arises because each typical patent dispute before the courts and the ITC involves all four sets of issues at the same time: validity, infringement, remedy, and public
ITC
Many Agencies of the US Patent System (Increasing mix of topics & increasing political independence)
Executive Branch Agencies PTO
DoJ
Validity
Antitrust
Independent Commissions FTC
Courtesy of F. Scott Kieff
EVENTS
Courts SCT
ITC
Antitrust Validity, Infringement, Remedies, Antitrust
CADC*
CAFC
District Courts
The views expressed on this slide and the accompanying presentation are those of Commissioner F. Scott Kieff and are not properly attributable to the ITC or any of its other Members or Staff, and take no position on pending or proposed legislative or other governmental actions
interest concerns such as anticompetitive effects. This leaves each side grabbing a tiger by the tail if it overstates, such as when a patentee asserts claim breath to be massive in hopes of helping itself on infringement and remedy, only to then lose the patent itself to invalidity or some antitrust-related charge of misuse. Next, Commissioner Kieff discussed the concepts of property rights and private ordering for economic growth and diverse social engagement. He focused
on the essential role that adjudicative independence of property and contract plays in providing private parties with the incentives and abilities to engage in this socially beneficial private ordering. His focus was on how details matter. One example is predictable enforcement. Another is flexibility in the ways assets can be traded and licensed and or bundled and divided. In contrast, property rights are at their worst when there’s high continued on page 11
Commissioner F. Scott Kieff (center) gathers with GW colleagues and friends before his lecture.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW PERSPECTIVES 5
EVENTS
Professor Robert Brauneis Shares Copyright Insight in Meyer Lecture
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n November 17, Professor Robert Brauneis delivered the 2015 Christopher A. Meyer Memorial Lecture. Professor Brauneis, a copyright expert who went on sabbatical at the Copyright Office last year, spoke about “The Landscape of American Cultural Production, 1978-2012: A Quantitative Look Through the Lens of Copyright Registrations.” In his talk, he uncovered insights from copyright records about the kinds of works of authorship that have been produced in the United States over the past 35 years and by whom. n
Copyright Society Panel Explores DMCA
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n Tuesday, November 3, 2015, the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Copyright Society hosted a panel with Terry Hart of the Copyright Alliance and Matt Schruers
Roundtable Discussion from page 1
of moderated panel presentations, all speakers were seated around a large rectangular table throughout the day. Two co-moderators directed the discussion from topic to topic, and each of the speakers could signal they wanted to contribute by tilting up their respective tent cards. An audience of approximately 75 was seated close to, and around, the table. Several people commented on how effective the format was.
Professor Robert Brauneis delivers the Meyer Memorial Lecture.
of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, who placed the Lenz v. Universal decision in the broader copyright policy landscape. The event was called “Dancing Baby v. Prince: The Lenz Decision and the Rationale of Shared Responsibility under the DMCA.” In the Ninth Circuit’s 2015 decision, the court ruled that fair use is a use authorized by law, not merely an affirmative defense. Therefore, in order to comply with the notice requirements of
The speakers were representative and included: • Don Coulman • Greg Dolin, University of Baltimore • David Kelley, Ford Motor Co. • Bernie Knight, McDermott Will & Emery • Molly Kocialski, Oracle • Jeff Kushan, Sidley Austin • Kevin Laurence, Renaissance IP Law Group • Lead Judge Susan Mitchell, USPTO/PTAB • Naveen Modi, Paul Hastings • Lissi Mojica, Dentons
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the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, copyright owners must consider fair use and form a good faith subjective belief that there is no fair use before requesting that a service provider take down content. The discussion focused on whether and how this recent decision fit with Congress’ intent for copyright owners and internet service providers to cooperate in addressing online intellectual property theft. n
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Terry Rea, Crowell Moring Hans Sauer, BIO Howard Shermann, eBay Jonathan Stroud, Unified Patents Scott Weidenfeller, USPTO/ Solicitor’s Office • Moderator: John Whealan, GW Law • Moderator: Dave Cavanaugh, WilmerHale The program was very well received, and it is likely to become an annual event. It will be offered again this October 7, 2016. n
EVENTS
IP Speaker Series Brings Timely Topics to Campus
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staple of GW Law’s Intellectual Property Program, the IP Speaker Series provides a wonderful opportunity for GW Law students to hear directly from scholars who work on emerging topics in intellectual property. Last fall, several notable scholars and experts shared their work and projects with us. On October 14, 2015, Paul Gugliuzza of Boston University School of Law spoke on “Patent Trolls and Preemption.”
Paul Gugliuzza
Irina Manta
On November 11, Stephanie Bair of Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School presented her paper, “Innovation in the Firm,” which examines what motivates people to be creative. During the spring 2016 semester, two additional speakers delivered presentations. On January 20, W. Nicholson Price II of the University of New Hampshire School of Law explored the topic of regulation by discussing his paper “Trade Secrets, Regulation, and the FDA.” On February 3, Irina Manta from Hofstra University Maurice A. Dean School of Law presented her paper “Branded,” in which she asserts that trademarks serve not only the source identification function with which they are historically associated
Alexandra Roberts
Stephanie Bair
but also have evolved to serve important incentivizing purposes. This fall, we will hear from: • Wednesday, September 14: Alexandra Roberts, University of New Hampshire School of Law, “Tagmarks” • Wednesday, October 12: Laura Pedraza-Fariña, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, “Social Networks and Innovation Failure” • Wednesday, November 2 : Stephen Yelderman, University of Notre Dame Law School, “The Value of Accuracy in the Patent System” All three events will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Student Conference Center on the second floor of Lisner Hall. n
Laura Pedraza-Fariña
W. Nicholson Price II
Stephen Yelderman
IP Symposium from page 3
The last panel, moderated by Jack Barufka, Partner and Co-Leader of the Intellectual Property Practice at Pillsbury, asked “The Patent System: Where Are We? Where Are We Going?” Panelists included Owen Byrd, General Counsel at Lex Machina; 2 Ls: Tina Chappell, Associate General Counsel and Director of IP at Intel Corporation; 1 L: Philip S. Johnson, Senior Vice President Intellectual Property Policy and Strategy for Johnson & Johnson; and Timothy Loomis, Vice President and Legal Counsel at QUALCOMM Inc. A reception followed the program. We expect to hold this annual IP Symposium in May 2017. n
The judges’ panel included (from left) the Honorable Theodore Essex, the Honorable John Tharp, and the Honorable Marilyn Huff.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW PERSPECTIVES 7
EVENTS
GW Hosts IP Networking Reception
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n Thursday, February 11, 2016, the IP Program held its Annual IP Networking reception in the Marvin Center Grand Ballroom from 5 to 7 p.m. The annual program brings together many of the most prestigious legal employers to meet with students who are interested in pursuing a career in intellectual property law. This year, we had a total of 47 employers, 127 attorneys, and 121 students. Anyone interested in participating in next year’s program should contact Katherine White in the GW Law Career Center (kwhite@law.gwu.edu). Participating employers included: • Akin Gump • Alston & Bird • Arnold & Porter • Baker Botts • Banner & Witcoff • Bookoff McAndrews • Chrysler Group • Cooley • Covington & Burling
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Crowell & Moring Desmarais DLA Piper (U.S.) Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner Fish & Richardson Foley Lardner Fried Frank Harrity & Harrity Hewlett Packard Enterprise Hogan Lovells Hunton & Williams Jones Day K&L Gates Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton Kirkland & Ellis Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear Kramer & Amado Latham Watkins Lee & Hayes Maier & Maier Mayer Brown McDermott Will Emery Morrison & Foerster Norton Rose Fulbright Paul Hastings Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison Ropes & Gray Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck Sheppard Mullin Sidley Austin
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Steptoe & Johnson Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox U.S. Copyright Office U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, IP Rights Venable White & Case WilmerHale Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati n
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW PERSPECTIVES Intellectual Property Law Perspectives is published by the Intellectual Property Law Program at the George Washington University Law School. Questions or comments should be sent to: Associate Dean John Whealan jwhealan@law.gwu.edu 202.994.2195 George Washington University Law School Intellectual Property Law Program 2000 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20052 Kristen Pallmeyer Program Assistant kpallmeyer@law.gwu.edu 202.994.4692 Andrew Michaels Frank H. Marks Intellectual Property Fellow acmichaels@law.gwu.edu Connect with us: www.law.gwu.edu/ intellectual-property-law Search “GW Law IP”
SIPLA President Matthew Rosenberg (left) speaks with representatives from Foley & Lardner at the IP Networking Reception.
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@GWIPLaw
EVENTS
HNBA/Microsoft IP Institute Fosters Success
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or the fourth year in a row, the Hispanic National Bar Association and Microsoft have teamed up to create an opportunity for 25 law students from around the country to participate in an IP immersion program at no cost to the students. Statistics show that Hispanic lawyers are underrepresented in the field of IP law due to a lack of understanding about the field, a lack of role models, and a misconception about the skills needed to practice IP law. The Intellectual Property Law Institute (IPLI) seeks to change this, and the George Washington University Law School IP program does its part to help by providing classrooms and meeting space free of charge. This year’s IPLI program included a briefing on issues in an active patent ligation case, followed by attendance at live oral arguments on the same case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Students then received a tour of the court, where they were hosted by the Honorable Jimmie V. Reyna (former President of the HNBA and CAFC Judge) and had the chance to meet judges and law clerks of the court. Students also traveled to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the White House, the U.S. Copyright Office, and the U.S. International Trade Commission. They received briefings from leading IP practitioners and congressional and executive branch authorities. Students from schools across the country attended the institute, including: • George Washington University Law School • John Marshall Law School • Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law • Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law • Seattle University School of Law
HNBA/Microsoft IPLI students gather at GW for breakfast before beginning a day of visits and lectures.
Federal Circuit Judge Jimmie Reyna speaks with HNBA/Microsoft IPLI students.
• University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law • UC Berkeley School of Law • UC Hastings College of the Law • University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke Law School • UCLA School of Law • University of Houston Law Center • University of Michigan Law School • UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law • University of Notre Dame Law School
• University of Puerto Rico School of Law • University of San Francisco School of Law • Wake Forest University School of Law You can learn more about the institute, and how to apply for next summer’s program, at http://hnba.com/2016-hnba microsoft-intellectual-propertylaw-institute-ipli/. n
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STUDENT RECOGNITION
Students Receive Awards for Excellence in IP
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n 2016, GW Law distributed more awards to graduating students in IP than in any other substantive field. They included the following winners: American Bar Association/Bureau of National Affairs Award: Given to members of the graduating Juris Doctor class who demonstrated excellence in the study of intellectual property law. Diana Bae Sara Helmers Matthew Hopkins Lidiya Mishchenko Constance Lee James Whittle
James Whittle, who graduated among the top three in his class, receives the American Bar Association/Bureau of National Affairs Award from Dean Blake D. Morant.
Chris Bartok Memorial Award in Patent Law: Given to members of the graduating Juris Doctor class who exhibited excellence in the study of patent law. Our winner this year took seven IP courses and received extremely high grades in all of them. Noah Kim
Peter D. Rosenberg Prize in Patent and Intellectual Property Law: Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who exhibited excellence in the study of patent and intellectual property law. The winning student took 10 IP classes and received excellent grades in all of them, including four A+s. David Van Goor
Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck Award: Recognizes the winning team of the on-campus Giles Rich Intellectual Property Moot Court Competition. Bridgette Boyd Michael Gershoni
David Van Goor (right) receives the Peter D. Rosenberg Prize in Patent and Intellectual Property Law from Dean Blake D. Morant.
Finnegan Prizes in Intellectual Property: Given to members of the graduating Juris Doctor or Master of Laws class who wrote the best publishable articles on an aspect of intellectual property law. This year, for the first time, we had three students tie for first place. They are: Yu-Ching Kuo for her paper “Will Weakened Patent Protection Undermine Revenue of Biotechnology and
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Pharmaceutical Industry? Evidence from Firm Level Panel Data of the United States Market” Andrew T. Warren for his paper “GIF-Gaffe: How Big Sports Ignored Lenz and Used the DMCA to Chill Free Speech on Twitter” Jennifer Chiang for her paper “A Nonobvious Approach to Functional Claiming in Software Patents” n
STUDENT RECOGNITION • NEWS • EVENTS
Rothwell Intellectual Property Moot Court
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n January 14, 2016, Bridgette Boyd and Michael Gershoni won the Rothwell Intellectual Property Moot Court, GW’s internal competition as part of the Giles Rich Moot Court competition. The second place team was Matthew Rosenberg and Nicole Sharer. The three-judge panel consisted of the Honorable Paul Redmond Michel, retired Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; Matthew Dowd, Partner, Andrews Kurth and former clerk to Judge Michel; and Meredith Addy, Partner, Katten Muchin Rosenman and also a former clerk to Judge Michel. The winners for the individual awards also were announced:
Best Brief Writer 1st Place: Philip Kim 2nd Place: Nicole Sharer 3rd Place: Michael Gershoni Best Oral Advocate 1st Place: Michael Gershoni 2nd Place: Bridgette Boyd 3rd Place: Yasaswi Raparla Best Overall Competitor 1st Place: Michael Gershoni 2nd Place: Bridgette Boyd 3rd Place: Nicole Sharer
Both finalist teams represented GW at the Regional Giles Rich IP Moot Court Competition in Silicon Valley, where Matt Rosenberg and Nicole Sharer finished second and advanced to the final round in Washington, D.C. They were successful until the semi-final round, when they were defeated. Congratulations to them and to all who competed. n
Rothwell competitors (front, from left) Michael Gershoni, Bridgette Boyd, Nicole Sharer, and Matthew Rosenberg pose with judges (back, from left) Meredith Addy, the Honorable Paul Redmond Michel, and Matthew Dowd.
Bridgette Boyd, part of the winning team, won individual honors in both the Best Oral Advocate and Best Overall Competitor categories.
GW Law IP Program Welcomes New IP Fellow, Andrew Michaels
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rofessor Andrew Michaels joins the law school as Visiting Associate Professor of Law and Frank H. Marks Fellow in Intellectual Property. Professor Andrew Professor Michaels Michaels received a JD cum laude from New York University School of Law in 2010. He then served a two-year clerkship for Judge Pauline Newman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Since then, he has been in private practice with a focus on patent litigation, first at Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner in Washington, D.C., and then at Tensegrity Law Group in the San Francisco Bay area. He has published a number of academic pieces related to IP in journals, such as the Santa Clara High Tech Law Journal, the Georgetown Journal of International Law, and the Federal Circuit Bar Journal. Before embarking on a legal career, Professor Michaels worked as a software engineer at Epic Systems Corp. in Madison, WI. He received a BS in biomedical engineering, graduating cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis. n
Fall 2015 Katz Lecture from page 5
rigidity in who can own or license the assets and high flexibility in government enforcement, thereby strengthening the hand of powerful political constituents, which can concentrate wealth and power. Commissioner Kieff ended with a discussion on the concepts of patent holdup and patent holdout, how they can too often be overstated on both sides of the debate. He then took questions from the audience. n
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Law School Intellectual Property Law Program 2000 H Street NW Washington, D.C. 20052
FIRST CLASS U.S. Postage PAID Washington, D.C. Permit #593
Upcoming Events SEPTEMBER
Wednesday, September 14: IP Speaker Series
Alexandra Roberts, University of New Hampshire School of Law “Tagmarks” Noon–1:30 p.m., Student Conference Center, Second Floor, Lisner Hall
OCTOBER
Friday October 7: IPR-CBM Roundtable Discussion
Noon–6 p.m., Faculty Conference Center, Fifth Floor, Burns Hall
Wednesday, October 12: IP Speaker Series
Laura Pedraza-Fariña, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law “Social Networks and Innovation Failure” Noon–1:30 p.m., Student Conference Center, Second Floor, Lisner Hall
Friday, October 14: Design Law Symposium
Noon–6 p.m., Room 401, Lerner Hall
Wednesday, October 26: A. Sidney Katz Lecture
The Honorable Michelle K. Lee, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 5:30–8 p.m., Faculty Conference Center, Fifth Floor, Burns Hall
Thursday, October 27: GW AIPLA Reception
5:30–7:30 p.m., Marriott Wardman Park Stone’s Throw Restaurant and Bar, Chef’s Table Lounge 2260 Woodley Road, NW, Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, November 2: IP Speaker Series
Stephen Yelderman, University of Notre Dame Law School “The Value of Accuracy in the Patent System” Noon–1:30 p.m., Student Conference Center, Second Floor, Lisner Hall
NOVEMBER