FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW YORK INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW ASSOCIATION SPONSORS FORUM ON LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS TO REFORM PATENT LITIGATION
February 12, 2014 -- New York
At its Second Presidents’ Forum, held yesterday at the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse in Manhattan, the New York Intellectual Property Law Association (“NYIPLA”) brought together speakers representing the judiciary, various industries and academia, to consider proposed legislation intended to address patent litigation activities some have characterized as abusive.
Consistent with President Obama’s recent call for Congress to “pass a patent reform bill that allows our businesses to stay focused on innovation, not costly and needless litigation,” legislative proposals are rapidly moving through the legislative process.
About forty participants considered the pros and cons of various solutions in the pending bills. Topics for discussion included provisions aimed at ensuring adequate pre-filing investigation, limits to discovery and fee-shifting provisions, and featured the views of twelve discussion leaders and facilitators:
- Hon. Loretta A. Preska, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York;
- Hon. Gregory M. Sleet, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware;
- Hon. Stanley R. Chesler, District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey;
- Hon. Arthur Gajarsa, (Ret.) Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit;
- Hon. Garrett E. Brown, Jr., (Ret.) Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey;
- Philip S. Johnson, Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, Johnson & Johnson;
- Daniel P. McCurdy, CEO, Allied Security Trust;
- Melissa Finocchio, Chief Litigation Counsel, Intellectual Ventures Management, L.L.C.;
- Bryan Giles, Assistant General Patent Counsel, InterDigital, Inc.;
- John Desmarais, Desmarais L.L.P.;
- Christopher Sprigman, Professor of Intellectual Property Law at New York University School of Law; and
- Christopher Hughes, NYIPLA Past President.
The NYIPLA, a professional association representing the interests of approximately 1,300 intellectual property attorneys in New York, Connecticut, Vermont and the district of New Jersey, hosted the Presidents’ Forum in an effort to solicit views from various constituencies and educate its members on the critical issues pending patent litigation reform legislation brings to the fore.
“I think it’s vitally important that our members understand the dynamic at play here,” said NYIPLA President Charles R. Hoffmann. “Voices throughout government, industry, academia and in private practice have called for change. We have heard this message and believe change in some form is inevitable. In light of this situation, it is the responsibility of bar associations like ours to put forward cogent, reasonable, thoughtful proposals on how to create a more effective system for patent litigation in this country,” he said.
The NYIPLA intends to continue the Presidents’ Forum series to periodically investigate various viewpoints on critical issues that affect the acquisition, regulation and enforcement of intellectual property rights.
Contact: Lisa Lu
Phone: 201-461-6603
E-mail: admin@nyipla.org