2021 CLE Calendar

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January 28, 2021 (Noon, Belo) 

“Sense You’ve Been Gone: An Update on the Protection

for Sensory Marks at the PTO”

Speakers: 

Reshaun Finkley, Townsend & Lockett, PLLC
Lee Hunt, Brackett & Ellis, P.C.
Sophilia Wu, BakerHostetler

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February 25, 2021 (Noon, Belo) 

Topic: "Doo Doo Do They Have Rights in “Baby Shark”?: Copyright Law in the Sharing Economy.”

Speaker: Julie Albert, Baker Botts

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March 25, 2021 (Noon, Belo)

Topic:  Federal Circuit Update: Notable Cases and Topics 2020-2021

Speakers:
Natalie Bennett, Morgan Lewis
Pauline Pelletier, Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox PLLC
Deirdre Wells, Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox PLLC

 

April 22, 2021(Noon, Virtual Belo Zoom)

Topic: The Brexit Divorce - Who Got to Keep the IP Kids/House? 

Speakers: Barker Brettel IP, UK; John Lawrence, Carrie Johnson, Lucy Walker 

This CLE will cover the implications of Brexit on Trademark, Design, and Enforcement practice on the EU and UK.

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May 27, 2021 (Noon, Virtual)

“IP Implications of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021: Trademark Modernization Act and CASE Act”

Speaker: Robert Johnston, Hubbard Johnston, PLLC

On December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ("CAA") was signed into law.  The CAA includes provisions that impact trademark, copyright, and patent law.  This presentation addresses the IP implications mainly with respect to trademarks and copyrights. In particular, the implications of the Trademark Modernization Act and the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (“CASE”) Act of the CAA will be addressed.

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June 24, 2021 (Noon, Virtual)

"Assessing the Impact of Defend Trade Secrets Act on Trade Secrets Litigation 5 Years After It Went into Effect"

Speaker: Elisaveta (Leiza) Dolghih, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP

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July 22, 2021 (Noon, Virtual)

"Topic: COVID-19 Vaccine Shortages: Are Intellectual Property Waivers the Answer?"

Speaker: Sapna Kumar, University of Houston Law Center

This CLE will address COVID-19 vaccine shortages and whether IP waivers waivers are the answer to this problem.

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August 26, 2021 (Virtual Zoom, Noon)

“The Implications of Google v. Oracle”

 Speaker: Professor Pamela Samuelson, UC Berkeley School of Law

The decade-long titanic battle between Oracle and Google over whether copyright law forbids unlicensed reimplementations of parts of the Java Application Program Interface (API) in a smartphone platform is finally over. In a blockbuster opinion for a 6-2 majority for the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Stephen Breyer decisively supported Google’s fair use defense. This talk will explore the reasoning behind the historic decision and its implications on copyright law.  Click here for CLE PPT presentation and related article.

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September 30, 2021 (Virtual Zoom, Noon)

"Arthrex, Minerva, and the Future of Patent Validity”

Speaker: Professor Saurabh Vishnubhakat, Texas A&M School of Law

The Supreme Court’s October Term 2020 included two significant patent law decisions.  In Arthrex v. Smith & Nephew, the Court held that the USPTO’s administrative patent judges were improperly appointed principal officers, and imposed a judicial remedy to fix the constitutional defect.  In Minerva Surgical v. Hologic, the Court substantially narrowed—but did not abolish—the ability of patent owners to block past assignors from challenging patent validity.  Professor Saurabh Vishnubhakat from Texas A&M University will summarize these decisions and discuss what they mean for patent rights going forward.

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October 28, 2021 (Noon) CLE Credit:  1.00 (Ethics)

"HOW I BECAME AN FBI INFORMANT"

Speaker: Ashley K. Yablon  

Ashley Yablon, the then General Counsel for the US entity of ZTE China (the third largest telecom company in the world) found himself caught in an international scandal when he discovered his multi-billion dollar company was selling billions of dollars of spying technology to the embargoed countries including Iran.

Left with an ethical dilemma, Ashley made the difficult decision and turned into a whistleblower working with the FBI, Department of Commerce and Justice Department. But when his cover got leaked, the drama and life-threatening nature of this John Grisham real life story really began.

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December 2, 2021 (Noon) CLE Credit: 1.00 hr

“Design Patents – Latest from Federal Circuit on Claim Scope and its Effects”

Speakers: Vera Suarez, Angela Oliver, and Alan Herda, all of Haynes Boone

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