Patent Law

The following is excerpted from a March 26, 2010 McAndrews, Held & Malloy press release:

In a presentation to intellectual property law attorneys April 9, McAndrews, Held & Malloy shareholder Herb Hart will outline his proposal for streamlining and re-casting inter partes reexamination proceedings to create a faster, fairer and more focused process.

Hart?s presentation at the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Intellectual  Property Law 25th Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference is part of the 10:15 to 11:45 a.m. session titled ?Navigating Inter Partes Reexamination: Charting a New Course.?

Inter partes reexamination is garnering significant attention due to the rapidly rising number of requests for reexamination filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO).  Hart?s reform proposal is particularly noteworthy because it could help achieve substantive, positive change independent of, or in conjunction with, legislative change as proposed in the Patent Law Reform Act of 2010, which still is stalled in Congress.

?Inter partes reexamination proceedings already can be a valuable alternative to oftentimes costly and drawn out patent litigation in District Court,? Hart said.  ?But streamlining the process could make the proceedings even more useful by minimizing delays and focusing the issues in a way that provides both challenger and patent owner with a full, fair and timely resolution of patent validity issues.?

Other speakers joining the session with Hart will include Michael R. Fleming, chief administrative patent judge of the PTO?s Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, and Gregory Morse, director of the PTO?s Central Reexamination Unit.

At McAndrews, Hart?s IP law practice serves clients in the life science, chemical and petroleum industries.

More information about the ABA?s 25th annual IP law conference is available here.