51st Annual Conference on Intellectual Property Law
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Plano, Texas, USA
ILT Headquarters
at The Center for American and International Law
5201 Democracy Drive
Plano, Texas 75024
Online registration is closed. Please bring your completed registration form to the door.
Registrar: +1.972.244.3405
ILT: +1.972.244.3428
Fax: +1.972.244.3401
E-Mail: ilt@cailaw.org
Overview
The Center for American and International Law presented its first conference on IP Law in 1963. In the early years, D. Carl Richards chaired the Institute on Patent Law (as the conference was called then). Later on, V. Bryan Medlock chaired or co-chaired the conferences for many years. Members of today’s Institute for Law and Technology are grateful to these leaders and to the many others who co-chaired conferences, organized sessions, or made presentations.
ILT will celebrate its 51st Annual Conference on Intellectual Property Law this November. This conference is free to ILT Advisory Board Members.
Apply for ILT Membership Online
Highlights
- Differing Approaches to Patent Law - The Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit, a panel discussion featuring Federal Circuit Judge S. Jay Plager
- Cutting Edge Issues in Patent Litigation, a panel discussion featuring District Judges Leonard Davis and Lee Yeakel
- Functional Patent Claims and the Government’s Approach to Shutting them Down, Professor Dennis Crouch
- What We Can Learn from an Empirical Study of Copyright Infringement Litigation
- Growing a Brand in an Era of Globalization
- Drafting and Negotiating Technology Transaction Agreements
- Plus annual patent, copyright, and trademark law updates
- An intensive, interactive program offering insights on hot topics as well as MCLE and ethics credit
Download the Brochure (pdf)
For more details, download the online brochure.
Conference Co-Chairs

Lawrence J. Bassuk
Deputy General Patent Counsel
Texas Instruments, Inc.
Dallas, Texas

David Taylor
Assistant Professor
SMU Dedman School of Law
Dallas, Texas
Tuition
- $595 / $645 - Regular registration fee
- $0 - ILT Advisory Board Member
- $485 / $525 - ILT Supporting or Sustaining Member Employee
- $50 - Law Student (includes lunches and materials, but excludes the Monday Dinner)
- $100 - Law Student (includes lunches, materials and the Monday Dinner)
- $150 - Materials Only
Schedule and Faculty
Monday, November 11
7:45 am
Networking Breakfast
(presented by the Women in IP Task Force - State Bar of Texas: Pioneering Women in IP)
All conference delegates are welcome to attend this breakfast session presented by the Women in IP Task Force.
Our panelists will discuss ethical and professional challenges encountered by women lawyers during the last 30 plus years, what they did to address them, and what advice they would give to help other women lawyers successfully practice law with professionalism and integrity. Situations discussed will include the following:
- Maintaining professionalism and integrity in the practice of law despite situations, unprofessional comments, and questions presented to female lawyers based strictly on the fact they are women. Guidance on how to handle these situations effectively while maintaining legal and professional duties towards clients, the courts, and other lawyers.
- Common mistakes women lawyers make that diminish their effectiveness and adversely impact their professionalism, and rectifying mistakes once they are made. Strategies for maintaining integrity of the legal profession and practicing law with the highest level of professional conduct.
Moderator
Megan Dredla Hoyt, Thompson & Knight LLP, Dallas, Texas
Panelists
- Hilda Galvan, Jones Day, Dallas, Texas
- Wei Wei Jeang, Andrews Kurth LLP, Dallas, Texas
- Betty Ungerman, Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Lennox International, Dallas, Texas
Patent Litigation
Module Chair: Theodore Stevenson III
9:00 am
Stewardship of Patent Law - The Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit
This panel will explore the roles of the Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit with respect to the development of patent law in this country.
Moderator
David O. Taylor, Assistant Professor of Law, Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, Dallas, Texas
Panelists
- The Hon. S. Jay Plager, Circuit Judge, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Washington, D.C.
- John M. Golden, The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas
- Gregory A. Castanias, Jones Day, Washington, D.C.
10:00 am
Cutting Edge Issues in Patent Litigation
Our judge/practitioner panel will discuss ideas for change in processes and procedure for patent litigation.
Moderator
Theodore Stevenson, III, McKool Smith, Dallas, Texas
Panelists
- The Hon. Leonard Davis, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler, Texas
- The Hon. Lee Yeakel, District Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
- Douglas A. Cawley, McKool Smith, Dallas, Texas
11:00 am
Break
11:15 am
How to Deal with Patent Trolls
How should Congress address the increasing number of patent law suits filed by non-practicing entities? How should potential infringers deal with patent trolls? Should we feed or starve patent trolls?
Moderator
Scott Breedlove, Vinson & Elkins, Dallas, Texas
Panelists
- Scott Burt, SVP, Chief Intellectual Property Officer, Conversant Intellectual Property Management, Inc., Ottawa, Ontario
- Derek Gilliland, Nix, Patterson & Roach, L.L.P., Daingerfield, Texas
- Sharon A. Israel, Mayer Brown LLP, Houston, Texas
- Eric Olsen, Vice President, Acquisitions, RPX Corporation, San Francisco, California
- David Pridham, Co-Chairman, IP Navigation Group, LLC, Dallas, Texas
12:00 pm
Lunch
12:15 pm
Ethics Presentation: Understanding and Applying (1) the Strategies and Implications of U.S. Patent Law Amidst the Chaos Caused by the Newly Arising But Long Ranging Coexistence of pre-AIA, AIA, and Jedi-Master Mixer and (2) Post-Therasense Duty of Candor: Ethical Imperatives?
Well, here we go for at least the next 21 years. AIA, pre-AIA, and a strange hybrid of AIA and Pre-AIA that Tom Irving calls the Jedi-Master Mixer will all exist simultaneously. We will examine traps for the unwary. And we will also look hard at where we are post-Therasense, looking at recent court holdings of inequitable conduct and possible back-door approaches to 103 invalidity based on non-disclosure of prior art.
Bryan C. Diner, Finegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP, Washington, D.C.
1:15 pm
Break
Trademark & Copyright Issues
Module Chair: Allen Lineberry
1:30 pm
The Year in Copyright Law
A review of 2012-13 cases and controversies involving copyright law, including issues related to fair use, digital media, remedies, and ethical considerations facing copyright practitioners.
Kevin J. Meek, Baker Botts, LLP, Austin, Texas
2:30 pm
What We Can Learn from an Empirical Study of Copyright Infringement Litigation
What does an examination of pleadings and dockets from four hundred copyright lawsuits filed from 2005 through 2008 show? Lots. Come hear about various insights, including the success of various claims and defenses and the nature of remedies sought and awarded.
James Gibson, Professor of Law, Director – Intellectual Property Institute, University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, Virginia
3:15 pm
Break
3:30 pm
Growing a Brand in the Era of Globalization
Practical and cost-effective strategies for pursuing international protection for your client’s trademarks.
Shannon T. Vale, Pirkey Barber PLLC, Austin, Texas
4:00 pm
The Year in Trademark Law
An overview of precedential 2012-13 cases from the TTAB and important civil cases involving trademarks.
Molly Buck Richard, Richard Law Group, Dallas, Texas
5:00 pm
Networking Reception
6:00 pm
Dinner
Functional Patent Claims and the Government’s Approach to Shutting them Down
One of the most vexing problems in intellectual property law is the ambiguity in the scope and coverage of exclusive rights. In the patent sphere, claim construction is of critical importance because of the wide variance in potential rulings and in whether any district court ruling will stand on appeal. One common form of ambiguity arises when a patentee claims an apparatus by its function rather than by affirmatively listing the parts that make-up the invention. The Supreme Court first addressed this issue in the 1854 telegraph case of O'Reilly v. Morse, 56 U.S. (15 How.) 62 (1853) (holding Morse's functional claim of generally transmitting signals using electro-magnetism to be unpatentable). Since then, we have passed through a number of cycles that involve legislative or judicial shifts to limit functional claiming followed by creative responses by patent practitioners that revive that claim scope. We are once again hearing a drumbeat of approaching policy changes to limit functional and ambiguous claims with action threatened by Congress, the Courts, and the Administration (through both the USPTO and FTC). This presentation will walk through this history, but will focus primarily on the most recent rise of functional claim language during the past decade and how detractors are responding to that shift. As part of the presentation, I will also present, for the first time, a new set of empirical results that graphically chart these changes.
Featuring
Dennis Crouch, University of Missouri
Tuesday, November 12
7:45 am
Guides Ethics Roundtables
Join one of our guided roundtable discussions addressing modern-day ethical issues confronting intellectual property attorneys.
Moderator:
Bill McSpadden, Baker & McKenzie LLP, Dallas, Texas
Panelists:
- Kelly Kubasta, Klemchuk Kubasta LLP, Dallas, Texas
- Paul Lein, Locke Lord LLP, Dallas, Texas
- Paul V. Storm, Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, Dallas, Texas
Patent Prosecution: A Deeper Dive
Join our experts as they discuss some advanced patent prosecution issues.
Moderator:
Brian Carlson, Slater & Matsil, L.L.P., Dallas, Texas
Panelists:
- Jody Bishop, Associate General Counsel - IP, GENBAND, Frisco, Texas
- John R. Pessetto, Patent Attorney, Texas Instruments, Inc., Dallas, Texas
- Terry J. Stalford, Fish & Richardson, Dallas, Texas
8:45 am
Break
Patent Prosecution
Module Chair: Ira Matsil
9:00 am
The Year in Patent Law
A review of 2012-13 patent law decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit
Gale R. "Pete" Peterson, Cox Smith Matthews Incorporated, San Antonio, Texas
10:00 am
Section 101: What's a Practitioner to do?
Recent court decisions seem to have raised as many questions as they have answered. Despite this uncertainty, however, patent prosecutors must continue to draft claims with the hope that they will survive eventual challenges. Here is a discussion of how to proceed in this ever changing world.
Colin Cahoon, Carstens and Cahoon, LLP, Dallas, Texas
10:30 am
Break
10:45 am
Changing Patent Prosecution Strategies after the AIA
How are corporate clients changing their patenting and prosecution strategies and procedure in response to the AIA? What differences, if any, are being observed based on the size of the client and the technologies being protected?
Moderator:
Richard F. Phillips, Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Houston, Texas
Panelists:
- Jonathan Geld, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., Austin, Texas
- Rob L. King, Silicon Laboratories, Austin, Texas
- Michael W. Piper, Conley Rose, P.C., Plano, Texas
11:30 am
Fun with Post-Grant Proceedings
This presentation will be a detailed look into the new world of inter partes review and covered business method post-grant proceedings. We’ll cover the rules and procedures, how discovery works at the PTAB, what the PTAB judges like (and don’t like), and the inter-play between the post-grant proceedings and corresponding district court litigation.
Andrew S. Ehmke, Haynes and Boone, LLP, Dallas, Texas
12:15 pm
Pick up Boxed Lunch
12:30 pm
The World of Litigation, Some Thoughts on Where We Are Today
The Hon. Patrick E. Higginbotham, Judge, 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
1:15 pm
Break
Technology, Licensing, & IP Rights
Module Chair: Marc Hubbard
1:30 pm
Managing a Patent Prosecution Team
This program will provide best practices and relate experiences and solutions for recruiting and training patent prosecution team members, communication within a patent prosecution team, maintaining quality control and meeting client standards and expectations, and business models for scalability in patent prosecution.
- David Divine, Lee & Hayes, PLLC, Spokane, Washington
- Richard Goldstein, Goldstein Patent Law, New York, New York
- Richard LaCava, Dickstein Shapiro LLP, New York, New York
2:30 pm
Recent national and international issues affecting licensing
This presentation will focus on the latest cases involving an exclusive licensee's prudential standing to bring an infringement suit as well as bankruptcy and tax issues in IP licensing.
Xuan-Thao Nguyen, SMU Dedman School of Law, Dallas, Texas
3:15 pm
Break
3:30 pm
Drafting and Negotiating Technology Transaction Agreements
What are the key contract terms in technology and IP-focused deals? This interactive discussion reviews important key clauses that are found in technology contracts in a point/counterpoint format and provides tips for effectively drafting and negotiating them.
- Edward A. Cavazos, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, Austin, Texas
- Keith Witek, AMD, Austin, Texas
4:30 pm
Ethics Session: Avoiding Ethical Landmines in Patent Prosecution
The Patent Office has recently implemented new rules for professional conduct that align with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. This presentation will discuss the new rules, the most common ethical issues that result in discipline from the Patent Office, tips for avoiding subject matter conflicts, and other ethical issues facing patent prosecutors.
Darryl J. Adams, Baker Botts LLP, Austin, Texas
5:00 pm
Adjourn
Overnight Accommodations
The cost of housing is not included in tuition. However, rooms (in limited number) have been reserved at Dallas/Plano Marriott at Legacy Town Center, 7121 Bishop Road, Plano, Texas 75024. Registrants should advise them they will be attending the IP Law Program to receive the reduced room rate of $139 + tax. The last day to obtain this special rate is October 25, 2013.
CLE Credits
MCLE Credit
This program is approved by the State Bar of Texas for 16.5 hours, including 3.25 hour of ethics. Course ID Number: 901278630. Sign-in sheets and/or certificates of attendance will be available for ALL states.
Specialization Credit
This program is approved by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization for 16.5 hours in the following areas: Civil Appellate Law and Civil Trial Law
Other Information
Press Policy
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Nondiscriminatory Policy
The Center for American and International Law does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other protected status in educational activities, scholarship programs or admissions.
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