On November 3, 2017 from 8:15am – 5:3pm CT, John Marshall Law School is hosting its 61st Annual – yes 61st annual – IP, Information & Privacy Conference. It is always an excellent event with top notch speakers. The conference offers six hours of CLE credit and an impressive speaker lineup including, to
The Power of PTAB: The New Authority in Patent Law
Chicago Kent’s The Power of PTAB: The New Authority in Patent Law is a Chicago-based conference hosted by Chicago Kent Law from 8:15am until 5:30pm CT on November 3, 2017. The conference will examine the rise of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), which is on pace in 2017 to set a record of…
Understand Your District Court Before Going to the PTAB
A PTAB proceeding, such as an Inter Partes Review (“IPR”), Covered Business Method Review (“CBM”) or Post-Grant Review (“PGR”) is a powerful defensive strategy because of speed and cost. The business calculus, however, changes significantly if the petitioner has already been sued in district court and the district court judge denies a stay. Then, instead…
Federal Circuit Bar Association & IPLAC CLE: Intellectual Property Law Symposium
Next week, on March 15, 2017, the Federal Circuit Bar Association and the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago are hosting an Intellectual Property Law Symposium at the University Club of Chicago from 8:45am until 5:00pm. Register here. Speakers include Northern District of Illinois Judges Castillo, Feinerman, Holderman (Ret.), Kendall, and Pallmeyer; as…
2016 Rocky Mountain IP Conference: PTAB Year in Review
I attended the 14th annual Rocky Mountain IP & Technology Institute at the beginning of June. This panel looked at the PTAB case law and related Federal Circuit decisions over the last year. Here are the highlights:
- Institution trends
- 87% institution rate in fiscal 2013 trending downward and settling in fiscal 2015-16 around two-thirds
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2016 Rocky Mountain IP Conference: The PTAB Speaks
I attended the 14th annual Rocky Mountain IP & Technology Institute at the beginning of June. An interesting addition to this year’s Institute was the panel of PTAB personnel, including the following:
- Nathan Kelley, PTO Solicitor and former Acting Chief Administrative Patent Judge
- Patrick Bucher, Administrative Patent Judge
- Melissa Haapala, Administrative Patent Judge
- K
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Benefits of Parallel District Court Litigation and Patent Office Review
I wrote this article for IP Law360. I am cross-posting it here with permission — thank you Law360 — because inter partes review (“IPR”) is increasingly a valuable strategy for patent defendants in Chicago, as it is for defendnats across the country.
Inter partes review has become a popular, powerful tool for patent defendants.…

