AGENDA: Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Organizations are pushing for more quality in their patent portfolios in an effort to avoid invalidity challenges and mitigate the IPR threat. The recent procedural and judicial uncertainty at the PTAB and USPTO is now further complicating the patent landscape. To succeed, patent counsel must continue their drive for higher quality patents while navigating an ever more complex political and business landscape. Are your portfolio management and prosecution efforts ready for these challenges?

This panel will explore:

• Prosecution with an eye towards survivability
• Portfolio evaluation – what to keep and what to kill?
• Buy-in, communication & Integration of business strategy
• Budget, cost, resource allocation & collaborating with outside counsel

As China’s IP landscape evolves, the critical issues in enforcing your IP rights are now less about local protectionism and more about the pre-trial evidence preparation in absence of discovery, the selection of jurisdiction, the choice of defensible, evidence-prone patents, and the filing strategies that give you the arsenal to attack infringers. 

This presentation will cover:

• The perception or misperception of IP enforcement/remedy in China
• What it takes to enforce or defend your IP positions using real-life litigation experience
• Patent filing strategies unique to the Chinese market, in line with enforcement and validity
• The risk of not taking IP measures or strategies in China

Even though patent lawsuits are trending down, 2018 could bring profound change within the main litigation options - and impact your defense strategy. The immediate fallout from the TC Heartland case is a shift of lawsuits away from Texas towards Delaware and California. Meanwhile, the PTAB could see a big shakeup with a new USPTO director and the Supreme Court ruling on key cases Oil States and SAS. While the ITC has seen an uptick as it provides a speedy and effective enforcement option. What does a smart litigation playbook look like in 2018?

This panel will explore:

• TC Heartland – repercussion so far:
  • Regular and established place of business
  • Multi-District Litigation
• ITC increased prominence for bigger cases
• PTAB
  • Burden of proof
  • Oil States & SAS

The one constant in a changing IP environment: Your patents are one of your company’s most valued assets. While enforcing is necessary to protect your market share and innovation, success is not guaranteed. As in-house counsel, your role is to tie back the legal risks and opportunities into business scenarios for the management team. How strong is your case? Are your enforcement goals and resources aligned? What’s the broader picture for enforcing IP?     

This panel will explore:

• Enforcement trends and latest developments
• Goals and outcomes – what does a win look like?
• Buy-in, communication & managing stakeholder expectations
• Due-diligence & pre-trial preparation
• Resource allocation

This year, the rules of IP may be rewritten for the second time in less than a decade. The Supreme Court will be weighing in on IPRs’ very constitutionality and scope. Patent owners such as universities and famously Mohawk/Allergen have looked to utilize Sovereign Immunity as a strategy to avoid IPR which has caused concern in both the legislature and IP landscape. What’s the potential scope and impact of these changes? How to build optionality into your strategy?

This panel will explore:

• State of the current IPR landscape
• Sovereign immunity: new trend university Mohawk
• Planning strategic optionality around:
  • Oil States case
  • SAS
• Motions to stay and Estoppel
• How to change or evolve your strategy
• Best practices in front of the USPTO

Three 20-minute roundtable discussions hosted by a topic expert.
(Attendance is for in-house counsel only – except moderators)

Roundtable 1: 'Foreign Filing Best Practices'
Cary Levitt, Chief Operating Officer, Dennemeyer

Roundtable 2: 'Unintended Consequences of Nautilus, Highmark, Octane & ALICE for Patent Owners'
Phil Colburn, Co-Managing Partner, Cantor Colburn LLP

Roundtable 3: 'An Insider's Guide to NPE Defense'
Brenna Legaard, Shareholder, Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C.
Cristin Wagner, Of Counsel, Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C.

Click here for more info.

The post-AIA defensive playbook is increasingly outdated: TC heartland just redrew the district court litigation map, while IPRs are no longer a sure bet with institution rates dropping from 87% to 67% for petitioners. Is your defensive strategy adapted to this changing landscape? How to move from reactive to proactive? What’s the potential impact on your budget and resources?

This panel will explore:

• Preparing your defense and aligning with organizational resources
• Scenario planning: What to do when approached?
• Anticipating enforcement strategies
• Considering the consequences - going beyond just the financials