Meet local judges and hear insights from the featured guest speaker, The Honorable Circuit Judge Jimmie V. Reyna, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Judge Reyna will discuss the current state of patent litigation and share his knowledge and experience as a judge having appellate jurisdiction over patent cases. Judge Reyna was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit by President Barack Obama in 2011. Prior to his appointment, Judge Reyna was an international trade attorney and shareholder at Williams Mullen, where, from 1998 to 2011, he directed the firm’s Trade and Customs Practice Group and its Latin America Task Force, and served on its board of directors (2006-08, 2009-11).

The registration fee of $50 for members, law clerks, and academics and $75 for non-members includes a plated 3-course dinner and open bar with wine/beer/sodas. No CLE will be provided. Space is limited.

Tuesday October 14, 2014 from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
McCormick & Schmick’s Private Dining Room

5:00-6:00 Reception Hour
6:00-7:30 Dinner
7:30-8:30 Judge Reyna’s Address
8:30-9:00 Open Discussion

For additional information and to register, please click here.
 

Over the past five years, the U.S. Supreme Court has morphed patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101 from a low-bar threshold test (e.g., anything under the sun that required the hand of man) to a substantive, complex standard that is ill-defined.

In the biotechnology area, the Supreme Court recently overturned two Federal Circuit holdings, surprising many in the IP community. Indeed, hundreds of claims in issued patents are thought to be invalid as a result of the new Supreme Court patent eligibility standards. For example, in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics (2013), the Supreme Court held that claims to isolated genes (i.e., DNA isolated from a naturally occurring biological cell) are not patent eligible. This reversed the USPTO’s approximate thirty year policy of issuing such claims.
Further, in March 2014, the USPTO issued a memorandum setting forth examination guidelines for subject matter eligibility that many believe far overreach the Supreme Court holdings. These guidelines instruct examiners to reject claims drawn to any isolated natural product, not just isolated DNA.

The Supreme Court holdings and the USPTO Guidelines threaten to restrain innovation in natural products, including pharmaceuticals (~50% of all drugs are natural products or directly derived from natural products) and consumer products.

This presentation by Harry Guttman, Senior Counsel at Calfee, will discuss the Supreme Court holdings, the USPTO guidelines, and some possible strategies for protecting natural products in light of these recent developments.

For more information, and to register, please click here