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The Northern District of Illinois and Chicago’s Federal Bar Association chapter are hosting their Ninth Annual Awards for Excellence in Pro Bono and Public Interest Service awards program this Tuesday, May 13 beginning at 3:30 pm in the James Benton Parsons Memorial Courtroom (2525) of the Dirksen United States Courthouse at 219 South Dearborn Street. The program is open to everyone and is free of charge.
The keynote speaker will be William Neukom, the President of the ABA and partner in K&L Gates. Prior to his private practice, Neukom was executive vice president of Law and Corporate Affairs for
Microsoft, where he managed Microsoft’s legal, government affairs and philanthropic
activities.
Seven “Awards for Excellence in Pro Bono and Public Interest Service” and one “Special
Recognition Award for Public Interest Service” will be presented to the following Chicago-area lawyers for their pro bono and public interest work before the Northern District:
Sara C. Arroyo and Rosa M. Tumialán, of Dykema Gossett PLLC (presented by the Judge Coar);
Anthony J. Masciopinto, of Kulwin, Masciopinto & Kulwin, LLP (presented by Judge Manning);
Myron Mackoff, of Richardson & Mackoff (presented by the Chief Judge Holderman and Magistrate Judge Valdez);
Joshua D. Lee and Amy M. Rubenstein, of Schiff Hardin LLP (presented by the
Judge Brown);
Catherine Caporusso and Margot Klein, of the Federal District Court’s Self-Help Assistance Program (presented by Judge Hibbler);
David A. Gordon, Michael B. Nadler, and Kristen R. Seeger, of Sidley Austin LLP (presented
by Magistrate Judge Schenkier);
Lisa R. Kane, of Lisa Kane & Associates, PC (presented by Chief Judge Holderman); and
Richard J. Gonzales, Clinical Professor of Law, Chicago-Kent (presented by Chief Judge Holderman).
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Continue Reading Northern District’s Ninth Annual Pro Bono & Public Interest Awards

Chicago-Kent Professor Graeme B. Dinwoodie, an associate dean and director of the program in Intellectual Property Law, is receiving the 2008 Pattishall Medal for Teaching Excellence from the International Trademark Association (“INTA”). Professor Dinwoodie will also receive the 2008 Ladas Memorial Award for his law review article with University of Iowa Professor Mark D. Janis, Confusion Over Use: Contextualism in Trademark Law, published last year in the Iowa Law Review. The awards will be presented May 17 at INTA’s 130th Annual Meeting in Berlin.
Congratulations on both honors Professor Dinwoodie.
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Continue Reading Kent’s Prof. Dinwoodie to be Honored by INTA

I have several smaller IP-related items today, none of which warranted a single post:
The Wall Street Journal reported last Friday that the Patent Reform Act (S. 1145) will likely not reach the Senate floor — click here for the story. It was widely reported throughout the first quarter that the bill was expected to be brought to the full Senate by March or April of this year. The WSJ reported that the Act’s move out of the Judiciary Committee stalled because of a stalemate over the Act’s controversial damages provision.
Virtually Blind hosts a Blawg Review #156 focused on, no surprise, all thinks virtual and Second Life.
The John Marshall Law School is hosting a free presentation by Southern Methodist University Law School Professor Shubha Ghosh tited IP as CP: Competition Policy Norms in Intellectual Property Law. Click here for registration information.
The final edition of the 2008 Chicago IP Colloquium is this afternoon from 4:10 – 5:50 pm. The presentation will be by Professor Mark McKenna of the Saint Louis University School of Law about his paper Testing Modern Trademark Law’s Theory of Harm. It looks like it will be another excellent IP discussion.
The Lewis & Clark Law School has a new podcast up with Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Associate Dean and Director of the Program in Intellectual Property Law Graeme B. Dinwoodie. Professor Dinwoodie speaks about developing trademark defenses.
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Continue Reading IP News & Presentations

I have missed the first few presenters in the Chicago-Kent & Loyola University Chicago IP Colloquium, but the next presentation is set for tomorrow, Tuesday, April 8, in Room 305 at Kent at 4:10 pm. Professor R. Polk Wagner of the University of Pennsylvania Law School will discuss his article Did Phillips Change Anything? The article poses a question that should interest all patent litigators and I am sure there will be a lively discussion.
The Chicago Tribune ran three law-related, non-IP stories that are worth a read over the weekend:
A profile of Jenner & Block’s new managing partner Susan Levy — click here for the story;
A long story on the disparity in starting legal salaries and the consistency in law school tuition rates — click here for the story; and
An excerpt by Chicago attorney R. Eugene Pincham, who died Thursday, from Your Witness: Lessons on Cross-Examination and Life from Great Chicago Trial Lawyers, which goes on sale Monday at www.yourwitnessbook.com — click here for the story. The essay details how Pincham prepared for trial and is a must read for all trial attorneys. Pincham’s excerpt got my attention. I will be getting a copy of the book and will post a review when I am done with it. Here is how the Tribune described Pincham:
a pioneering African-American lawyer and champion of unpopular causes. His colorful oratory, which drew on personal history, made him a legend in Chicago courthouses.
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Congress enacted the Trademark Dilution Revision Act (the “TDRA”) about one year ago in an effort to resolve numerous open trademark issue.* Many believe that the TDRA has opened more questions than it answered. The University of Michigan Law Review’s First Impressions blog recently addressed those issues with a series of articles:
Dilution’s (Still) Uncertain Future
Graeme Dinwoodie, Chicago-Kent College of Law
Mark Janis, University of Iowa College of Law
Looking at the litigation history of trademark dilution.
What is Dilution, Anyway?
Stacey Dogan, Northeastern University School of Law
Considering the underlying meaning of dilution.
The Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2006: A Welcome — and Needed — Change
Dale Cendali & Bonnie Schriefer, O’Melveny & Myers LLP
Explaining why the TDRA clarifies and strengthens First Amendment protections.
The Dilution Solution: Populating the Trademark A-list
Scott Wilcox, University of Michigan Law School
Looking at the court as arbiters of fame.
* For more on the TDRA, click here for the Blog’s archives and click here for the Seattle Trademark Lawyer’s coverage of the TDRA’s first anniversary.
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Continue Reading A Look at the Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2006

Tomorrow, Wednesday, September 18, from 3:00 – 4:00 PM, the Chicago-Kent College of Law is hosting its fourth annual Federal Circuit Roundtable. The Roundtable, composed of former Federal Circuit law clerks, will address the topic, “MedImmune and SanDisk: Seeking a License Without Getting a Lawsuit.” The scheduled participants are:
Laura L. Donoghue, Sidley Austin;
Lisa A. Schneider, Sidley Austin;
Jonathan R. Spivey, Foley & Lardner,
Meredith Martin Addy, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione;
Laura A. Lydigsen, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione;
Leonard D. Conapinski, McDermott Will & Emory;
Sasha D. Mayergoyz, Latham & Watkins;
David C. McKone, Latham & Watkins;
Michael R. Weiner, Marshall, Gerstein & Borun; and
Michelle Armond, Marshall, Gerstein & Borun.
The Roundtable will be moderated by Chicago-Kent Professor Timothy R. Holbrook.
I will not be able to attend this year’s event because I am teaching an IP course at Loyola on Wednesday afternoons, but I can vouch for the program. It is an hour of excellent insight from former Federal Circuit clerks. Also, in the interest of full disclosure, my wife (Laura Donoghue) is a roundtable participant. So, I am biased, but it is still an excellent program.
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Continue Reading Fourth Annual Federal Circuit Roundtable Tomorrow

Last Wednesday the Chicago IP Alliance held its second annual Chicago IP Day at Loyola.  It was, no surprise, an excellent program providing an information-packed day.  I do not have the time to summarize all of the presentations, but I will give some highlights.  George McAndrews, McAndrews, Held & Malloy, gave a very interesting presentation outlining his views on the Supreme Court’s recent eBay v. MercExchange opinion requiring the use of the standard permanent injunction test to determine whether a permanent injunction should be granted after a patent infringement judgment.  Essentially, he argued that the Supreme Court’s ruling contradicts the constitutional grant of a limited monopoly.  His presentation led to some spirited debate at various tables during the excellent lunch in Loyola’s beautiful new conference room atop the law school.Continue Reading Chicago IP Day

Chicago-Kent College of Law and Loyola University Chicago School of Law  (where I previously served as an Adjunct Professor of Legal Writing) are jointly sponsoring and hosting the Chicago Intellectual Property Colloquium.  The Colloquium brings six nationally renowned IP scholars to Chicago to discuss their current IP research. The presentations look very interesting.  They start January 30th and run through April on Tuesday afternoons (schedule after the jump).  Each lasts just under two hours and they rotate between Kent and Loyola.  

Attendance is by invitation only.  If you would like an invitation, contact Patricia O’Neal at Kent — poneal@kentlaw.edu.  I will be attending as many as I can and blogging about them afterward.  If you see me, please say "hello."

Continue Reading Chicago IP Colloquium Presented by Kent and Loyola