AIPLA Committee Report and Workplan
DATE: January 21, 2017 MEETING: 2017 AIPLA Mid-Winter Institute
COMMITTEE NAME: Patent Agents Committee
COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP: Brian Stanton (Chair), Angie Sebor (Vice Chair)
BOARD LIAISON: Brad Pederson
AIPLA LIAISON: Chen Wang
SUBCOMMITTEES:
· Policy & Initiatives Subcommittee: Rachel Kahler
· Microsite Master: Rushi Sengupta
· Outreach & Communications Subcommittee: Meghan Gupta
· Programming Subcommittee: Stephen Farris & Linda Anderson
· Quarterly Newsletter: Open
DISCUSS THE OVERALL MISSION OF THE COMMITTEE AS IT RELATES TO AIPLA’s VISION, MISSION, and VALUES, STRATEGIES & GOALS:
VISION: To become global leader at connecting Patent Agents to education, outreach, professional development, and advocacy services.
MISSION: To create and provide educational resources and professional development opportunities to Patent Agent members and the broader AIPLA community with the aim of (1) developing a better understanding of the role played by Patent Agents in all aspects of acquiring and managing a patent portfolio; and (b) advocating for Patent Agent member’s interests within, and valuable contributions to, the intellectual property community.
VALUES: The Patent Agents Committee will be known for our accountability, commitment, entrepreneurial spirit, our well rounded understanding of acquiring, using, managing, and litigating patents, our focus on relationships, and for having a positive team attitude.
· Passion About Intellectual Property: We foster and encourage a passion for intellectual property by and in our members, extending beyond the walls of patent preparation and prosecution.
· A Strong Community: We build, enhance and mature our relationships with our committee members, with the members of AIPLA’s other committees and with the broader IP community.
· Committed and Visionary Professionals: We challenge the current way of thinking and look for new ways to inspire AIPLA, our members, and ourselves.
STRATEGIES & GOALS:
· Member Service: We provide educational and professional development opportunities for our members through a cost-sensitive and inclusive approach, offering patent agents the opportunity to develop leadership skills, expand their knowledge base, and participate in the organization, regardless of location or financial and time resources.
· Advocacy: We advocate for patent agents within the organization and within the intellectual property community, and we advocate for intellectual policy and decision-making efforts by contributing the unique perspective of patent agents as intellectual property practitioners.
· Global Outreach: We contribute to global intellectual property initiatives within and outside the organization through our unique perspectives on the development of sound global intellectual property standards, laws and policies.
PROJECTS:
Plans for stated meetings:
· 2017 Mid-Winter Institute: On Friday, February 3, from 4:30-5:30pm at the AIPLA MWI in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the Patent Agent Committee is co-sponsoring a joint one hour committee meeting with the Patent Relations with the USPTO Committee, with a presentation on the USPTO Ombudsman program entitled “Navigating Challenges during Patent Prosecution: The USPTO Patent Ombudsman Program and More”. Anthony Knight, Director of the Office of Stakeholder Outreach and Patents Ombudsman, USPTO, will speak, as well as Adam Stephenson and Trent Ostler from the PTAB subcommittee of AIPLA’s Patent Law Committee, who will present on outcomes and issues of aggregate appealed decisions in ex parte PTAB proceedings. Following this meeting, the Patent Agents Committee has teamed up with the New Lawyers and Law Practice Management Committees to host a dinner at Truluck’s, which is located at 2584A East Sunrise Blvd in Ft. Lauderdale.
· 2017 Spring Meeting: The Patent Agents Committee is partnering with The New Lawyers Committee to present the following 2-hour CLE Session:
Company Communications in a Litigation-Driven Environment
A discussion of best practices for establishing proper communications around IP matters within a company that operates in an environment that necessarily involves (or will likely involve) litigation. Panelists (corporate and outside counsel) will discuss programs and practical guidance for IP practitioners on how to train/coach company personnel to properly communicate with each other, and with internal and external patent practitioners, about patent matters, when litigation is likely or imminent. Topics will include best practices for shielding communications from discovery, preserving privilege, and effectively conducting patent prosecution or preparation for litigation in a company that makes regular filings/statements to other government entities that might impact IP (SEC, FDA, etc.).
· 2017 Annual Meeting: The Patent Agents Committee plans to conduct a Committee meeting, with the topic to be determined. Various programming ideas are currently under consideration.
Plans For Coordination Between Stated Meetings:
· Monthly Committee Teleconferences: Our committee hosts a monthly teleconference that serves as a continuing education series. The topics are selected based on the diverse interests of our membership and rotate from month to month. Listed below are the meeting times and subjects we plan to discuss, followed by a list of topics under consideration.
o January 19, 3pm Eastern: “How AIPLA can maximize the value of Patent Agent memberships and improve on providing Patent Agents with useful tools, opportunities, and experiences”. A member from AIPLA’s Membership Committee, Jess Ergmann, and AIPLA’s Membership Manager, Leigh Mcguire, participated. This was an “open discussion” topic with the membership; 22 people were on the call and the participation level was terrific.
o February 16, 12pm Eastern: Recap of important news for Patent Agents from the AIPLA Mid-Winter Institute, and a reprise of “Navigating Challenges during Patent Prosecution: The USPTO Patent Ombudsman Program and More”. Anthony Knight, Director of the Office of Stakeholder Outreach and Patents Ombudsman, USPTO, or a member of his staff, has been invited to participate.
o March 16, 3 pm Eastern: TBD
o April 20, 12 pm Eastern: TBD
o May (skip for AIPLA Spring Meeting)
o June 15, 3pm Eastern: TBD
o July 20, 12pm Eastern: TBD
o August 17, 3pm Eastern: TBD
o September 21, 12pm Eastern: TBD
o October (skip for AIPLA Annual Meeting)
o November 16, 3pm Eastern: “2017 Case Law Update – Patent Agent Take-Aways for the Year”; speaker TBD
o December (skip for Holidays/End of Year)
· Leadership Calls: The Committee leadership (including the Chair, Vice Chair, Subcommittee chairs, and our Board Liaison) conducts a monthly telephone conference on the second Thursday of each month to discuss various activities and plans. In addition to the Leaders telecons we coordinate and communicate with our membership by email, Facebook and LinkedIn. The current Leadership teleconference schedule for 2017 is (all meetings are from Noon-1pm Eastern): January 12, February 9, March 9, April 13, May 11, June 8, July 13, August 10, September 14, October 12, November 9, and December 14.
Plans For Communication With The Committee Clusters/Board Liaisons:
· Our Committee invites our Board Liaison, Brad Pederson, and our AIPLA Liaison, Chen Wang, to participate and join on all Leadership and Committee calls
· Our Chair and Vice Chair intend to attend the scheduled Patent Leadership calls of our Committee Cluster
MEMBER SERVICE: These activities relate to regular educational programming geared for AIPLA members, networking events, publications, case law summaries, communication (newsletters), etc. that are used to provide members benefits. Be sure to include coordination with other committees as appropriate.
· Monthly Committee Teleconferences: See above
· Quarterly Newsletter: The Committee would like to launch, if feasible, a quarterly newsletter for patent agents during 2017. The newsletter would communicate pertinent information regarding upcoming AIPLA events and activities and include one or more short articles communicating information, case law, and/or other commentary relevant to patent agents. This project will require additional committee member activity and input, but may be possible as membership grows and interest is identified.
ADVOCACY: If there are legislative, judicial, or agency related factors that may impact your practice area, please address how the committee plans to handle such issues. Be sure to include coordination with other committees as appropriate. Examples of work in this area include resolutions, comment letters, white papers, etc.
· Target Substantive Committee (TSC) Liaison Program: Following a conference call with Board Liaison Brad Pederson on November 8, 2016, the Patent Agents Committee plans to submit an AIPLA Board Resolution to (1) request the addition of the Patent Agents Committee to the list of committees to be included in the TSC Liaison Program, and (2) to modify the language in the current TSC Guidelines document to read “Patent Practitioners” instead of “Patent Lawyers”. A call to discuss this process with our AIPLA Liaison, Chen Wang, was conducted Monday, November 14, 2016. The Committee will identify a specific member to “own” this project and shepherd it through the AIPLA process.
· Patent Examiner Production Goals: Our committee gathered and submitted comments on the Federal Register Notice regarding Patent Examiner Production Goals in November 2016.
· Privilege: The Patent Agents Committee has been asked by the AIPLA Board to be actively involved in discussions and communications regarding AIPLA input into the ongoing USPTO efforts directed to the issue of privilege for Patent Agent communications. Brian and Angie will facilitate this involvement with other selected committees as the work proceeds, and Rachel has facilitated comments on a related Federal Register Notice in December 2016.
· Subject Matter Eligibility: The Committee requested comments on the most recent Federal Register notice from the USPTO regarding subject matter eligibility. Rachel Kahler, chair of the Policy & Initiatives Subcommittee, attended the USPTO Roundtable November 14, 2016 on this topic.
· Duty of Disclosure: Our committee gathered and submitted comments in December 2016 on proposed rule changes to the Duty to Disclose information in patent applications and in reexamination proceedings, pursuant to a Federal Register notice.
GLOBAL OUTREACH: These activities relate to any initiatives that would have global reach, delegation trips, international educational programs, international legal issues/review. Be sure to include coordination with other committees as appropriate.
· AIPLA International Patent Harmonization Efforts: Our Committee sends 1-2 representatives to the by-invitation meetings of the AIPLA International Harmonization Committee and offers input from our Committee’s perspective as requested
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