REGISTER FOR SVIPLA’S INAUGURAL 2004-2005 MEETING YEAR: SEPTEMBER 23
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Westin Hotel, Santa Clara (Great America Parkway east of Tasman)
6:00 p.m., cocktails and registration; 7:00 p.m., dinner and program
SPEAKER: David Bohrer, Partner, Dechert LLP
David C. Bohrer is a partner in Dechert\'s intellectual property litigation group resident in the Palo Alto office. He has a national practice in intellectual property litigation, and has served as lead trial counsel in high-exposure patent, trademark and trade dress infringement, and false advertising cases during his 21-year career as a trial lawyer.
In January 2003, he was featured in The National Law Journal\'s \"Verdict of the Week\" for his $7.4 million jury verdict on behalf of a client-inventor in a patent infringement suit involving computer software claims. The case, Itron, Inc. v. Benghiat, United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, Case No. 99-CV-501, also involved a finding of willful infringement on behalf of his client.
TOPIC: \"Knocking The Eagle Off the Patent Owner’s Shoulder: Chiron Holds That Jurors Don’t Have To Be Told That Patent Is Presumed Valid\"
Mr. Bohrer’s presentation should be of keen interest to all inside counsel who are concerned with their company’s patents as well as outside counsel working with their clients patent ownership. The presentation discusses a current trend in patent law that will have a significant impact on how businesses value, exploit and defend their patents. The long-standing assumption of legislators, judges and lawyers was that the Patent Office “gets it right” when it issues a patent. Accordingly, it has traditionally been difficult for a challenger to invalidate a patent. Pro-patent owner presumptions and a high burden of proof have favored the patent-holder. However, this is changing. The patent reform movement spearheaded of late by the FTC and the NAS has focused upon a growing body of literature demonstrating that an unduly high percentage of invalid (aka “questionable,” “bad” or “poor quality”) patents are slipping through the system.
His presentation will focus on the Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Chiron Corp v. Genentech, 363 F.3d 1247 (Fed. Cir. 2004), which manifests the same loss of confidence in the Patent Office that gave rise to the proposed patent reforms, and will explain the current, real-world ramifications of the Chiron decision and the proposed patent law reforms.
Bucking decades of jurisprudence, Chiron held that the district court was not required to instruct the jury that a patent is presumed valid, thus approving of a situation where the presumed correctness of the government’s action and the presumed validity of the patent are not transparent to the jury in the trial of a patent infringement case. Chiron effectively denies the jury the explanation for the heavier burden of proving invalidity that is imposed upon the challenger, and thereby makes it much easier to prove that a patent is invalid. Not only does Chiron “knock the eagle off the patent owner’s shoulder,” the Federal Circuit’s apparent loss of confidence in the quality of the patents issued by the Patent Office is likely the harbinger of future judge-made laws reversing pro-patent owner rules.
To register (in the RSVP email message, please include attendee name(s), company name, email address and any special dietary needs): CLICK HERE
Cost: Member - $50 Student - $25
Bring your check for dinner payment to the meeting on September 23, payable to: SVIPLA.
PLEASE DO NOT MAIL YOUR CHECK - BRING DINNER PAYMENT TO MEETING.
If your system will not allow you to click on the registration email above, you can send your registration to: svipla@yahoo.com.
DEADLINE FOR RESERVATION OR CANCELLATION: Noon, Tuesday, September 21. Please make your reservation by the deadline as there are only a few extra spaces allotted at the meeting. The hotel may not be able to serve meals beyond the guaranteed number expected for the meeting.
YOU CAN ALSO BRING YOUR 2004-2005 MEMBERSHIP DUES PAYMENT TO THE SEPTEMBER MEETING (see renewal/new member information below). Attendees will receive a grace period for the September meeting and be charged at the member rate for this meeting.
MCLE: This activity has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of California in the amount of 1.0 hour. SVIPLA certifies that this activity conforms to the standards for approved education activities prescribed by the State Bar of California governing minimum continuing legal education.
PRESIDENT\'S MESSAGE
Welcome to the 2004–2005 year of SVIPLA. I look forward to an exciting year of interesting programs and interactive meetings with our IP brethren. I would like each of you to encourage your fellow practitioners to join SVIPLA to make the meetings a richer more interactive opportunity for us all. I look forward to seeing you at the meetings and serving as your president for this upcoming year.
Robert Q. Guillot, SVIPLA President
SVIPLA 2004-2005 RENEWAL/NEW MEMBER DUES! NEW MEMBERSHIP YEAR BEGINS THIS MONTH (September 2004 through June 2005)
To renew membership dues or join SVIPLA, complete the application by clicking on this link: www.svipla.com/application.html.
Mail completed application with your check to the address indicated on the application.
CALENDAR OF IP-RELATED PROGRAMS
SILICON VALLEY SEMINARS - 2004 WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
U.S. Patents & the Patent Process - October 28, 2004 - San Francisco Area (for Secretaries, Paralegals, New Patent Attorneys/Agents)
Patents & Patent Claim Drafting - San Francisco Area - October 29, 30, 2004 - San Francisco Area (for new Associates/Agents)
FOR DETAILS - VISIT: www.patentseminars.com or contact: Steve Shear at steve@patentseminars.com.