The Intellectual Property Law Section of the Dallas Bar Association offers monthly lunch-time CLE seminars typically on the fourth Friday of each month (excluding November).  The seminars are held at the Belo Mansion of the Dallas Bar Association, 2101 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75201.  We also host CLE breakfast meetings and other events.  Please click on the CLE Calendar link above for more information.

Dallas Selected as Site For a Satellite Office

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has selected Dallas to be the location of one of its four regional offices (see the official press release).  The DBA IP Section played a central role in gathering and coordinating local support and submitting information for the selection process.  The letter submitted to the USPTO by the IP Section can be found here.  Headnotes recognized the IP Section's effort in a recent article.

The Patent Pilot Program

in the Northern District of Texas

Dear Members,

It is hard to believe that it has been a year since the Patent Pilot Program went into effect in the Northern District of Texas. But, indeed, it has been.

And, as such, it is time for us to provide feedback on the program to the Northern District of Texas courts. We plan on doing this in several different ways. This will allow us to provide as complete a picture as possible of our bar's feedback on the Patent Pilot Program.

First, we are asking that you immediately send any general feedback you may have about the program to dbaipsection@gmail.com. We will use this feedback, in part, to forumlate questions for the survey discussed below. If you would like to remain anonymous, please indicate that in your email or send a letter to me at the address listed below. This phase of the process will be completed by Wednesday, September 26.

Second, we will be sending a survey to all members of the IP Section as well as any users or potential users of the Patent Pilot Program in the Northern District of Texas. The answers will be compiled and analyzed by a group of patent litigators based in the Northern District of Texas. The survey will be distributed by Wednesday, October 3.

Third, we will conduct a section meeting in order to discuss your feedback and address any other issues that may arise in connection with the Patent Pilot Program. The date for such a meeting will be announced after we have received the survey results. Finally, we hope to have a section meeting with one or more of our Patent Pilot Program judges -- Judge Lynn, Judge Godbey, Judge Kinkeade--to discuss the feedback and the Patent Pilot Program as a whole. I strongly encourage you to participate in all phases of this process. It is an important part of our obligations as members of the IP Bar.

I hope that our email box (dbaipsection@gmail.com) will be filled with your feedback by the end of the day and certainly by the end of the week.

Sincerely,

Hilda C. Galvan 

Immediate Past Chair

DBA IP Section