NYIPLA to Support Joint IPO-AIPLA Proposal on Section 101 of the Patent Act

New York, NY-- After significant consideration and discussions with members and other stakeholders in the U.S. patent community, the New York Intellectual Property Law Association (NYIPLA) has decided to support the joint IPO-AIPLA Section 101 statutory proposal as the best path forward to advance the debate on patent eligibility. 

The NYIPLA has been actively engaged in the Section 101 patentability debate.  The Association’s members actively followed and, in some cases, represented parties in the four seminal U.S. Supreme Court cases between 2010 – 2014 (Bilski, Mayo, Myriad, and Alice).  The NYIPLA participated in two U.S. Patent & Trademark Office Section 101 roundtable discussions in 2016, where the first roundtable focused on the quality of the Patent Office’s Section 101 examination guidance, and the second roundtable explored the legal contours of patent-eligible subject matter and discussed proposed legislative changes to Section 101.  

The NYIPLA also hosted a President’s Forum in March 2017 directed to the topic “Section 101 Is Broken. Is There a Legislative Fix?” and convened leaders from the U.S. patent community to discuss possible amendments to Section 101.  That forum involved numerous stakeholders in the patent system, including current and retired Federal Judges, the American Bar Association, American Intellectual Property Law Association, Biotechnology Industry Organization, Intellectual Property Owners Association, Boston Patent Law Association, and Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, United States House of Representatives (New York 8th District).  Shortly thereafter, the NYIPLA formed a Section 101 Committee to review the patent-eligibility jurisprudence and provide a definitive NYIPLA position on the Section 101 patent-eligibility standard as developed by the case law and potential legislative fixes. 

About NYIPLA

The New York Intellectual Property Law Association (“NYIPLA”) is a professional association comprised of over 1,500 lawyers interested in Intellectual Property law who live or work within the jurisdiction of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and members of the judiciary throughout the United States as ex officio Honorary Members. The Association’s mission is to promote the development and administration of intellectual property interests and educate the public and members of the bar on Intellectual Property issues. Its members work both in private practice and government, and in law firms as well as corporations, and they appear before the federal courts and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”).

For additional enquiries: 

Please contact the NYIPLA Executive Office at admin@nyipla.org or Peter Thurlow, NYIPLA President, at pthurlow@polsinelli.com.