It was wonderful to see many of you at the Boston Intellectual Property Law Association’s 5th Annual Symposium in April! Our committees put together an excellent two days of programming – we heard from many interesting panels and speakers, including a fireside chat with David J. Kappos, former Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. We also had wonderful opportunities to connect with many members and colleagues from Boston and beyond.
BIPLA’s active 2025 continues with our annual Celebration of the Judiciary in June. Please join us for dinner at the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse on Thursday, June 26, 2025 as we celebrate this year’s Honoree, The Honorable Leo T. Sorokin of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. After dinner, keynote speaker Dr. Traci Cipriano will speak on optimizing well-being and performance in the legal profession utilizing her Multidimensional Model of Well-Being. Special thanks to all of our event sponsors!
It is always a pleasure to connect with so many of our fellow intellectual property practitioners. BIPLA again has many exciting opportunities for you to get involved this year, from our larger events to committee meetings. We welcome everyone’s participation to help us continue BIPLA’s role in advancing intellectual property discourse and building community among intellectual property practitioners throughout the First Circuit.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions or suggestions. You can reach me atpresident@bipla.org.
Emily R. Whelan President, Boston Intellectual Property Law Association
Editor's Notes | The Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court | Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court Competition |
The BIPLA had an exciting spring program headlined by our 5th annual symposium. Our spring program had a strong focus on international practice, including a brown-bag event sponsored by the In-House Practice Committee on international patent prosecution and a panel discussion including a Technically Qualified Judge at the Unified Patent Court. The BIPLA also sponsored the regional round of the AIPLA Moot Court Competition. | The introduction of the Unitary Patent (UP) and the Unified Patent Court (UPC) marks a significant milestone in the landscape of European patent law. Since its inception on 1 June 2023, the UPC has provided a centralized forum for enforcing and challenging Unitary Patents and opted-in European Patents across Europe. This article delves into the key aspects of the UPC, its impact on patent litigation, and strategic considerations for both claimants and defendants, with a focus on what this means for US-based companies. | In March, the BIPLA successfully hosted the Northeast Regional section of the AIPLA Giles S. Rich Memorial Moot Court Competition. Law students from all over the northeast came to Suffolk Law School to present oral arguments in Pygmalion Inc. v. Wonderland, Inc. The student teams presented arguments on whether Pygmalion’s patent directed to systems and methods of reducing motion sickness in virtual reality headsets was valid under 35 U.S.C. ยง101. |
Batman v Superman v Copyright v Trademark | InHouse Practice Committee Roundtable Discussion | Panel Discussion with UPC Technically Qualified Judge |
The public domain has been the subject of recent headlines as famous characters such as Winnie the Pooh (2022), Mickey Mouse (2024), and Peter Pan (2024) have been made available to the public for their own use. Fans and creators have wasted little time crafting their own stories. “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey,” a horror movie based upon the world of the titular character, was released in January of 2023, grossing $5 million dollars on a $100,000 budget.1 From the same studio, “Peter Pan: Neverland Nightmare” is set to release in October of 2024.2 Similarly, the trailer of a horror movie using Mickey Mouse was released in early 2024 and the famous episode “Steamboat Willie” has been edited to “make it sound as if Mickey is using profanity.”3 | On February 27, the In-House Practice Committee hosted a virtual discussion about how to manage foreign counsel. A lively group of both in-house and law firm-based attorneys discussed the advantages and disadvantages of working directly with local associates in different countries versus having international prosecution managed by an outside US attorney. The group also discussed variations in trademark practice around the world and how to optimize both cost and accuracy when translating technically complex patent applications into the local language for filing. Many thanks to co-chairs Lydia Olson of Canon USA and Jane Hsu White of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals for organizing the discussion. | On February 12, the BIPLA presented a panel discussion titled “Essential Strategies for U.S. Patent Counsel at the EPO and UPC” featuring Michael Fleuchaus, a Technically Qualified Judge at the Unified Patent Court, along with Craig Smith and Tom Sullivan of Lando & Anastasi, Ken Thompson, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Cantor Fitzgerald, and Kent Robbins, Senior Director at TransPerfect IP. The audience learned about recent developments at the nascent UPC as well as practice tips for proceedings at the court, followed by a networking reception at the University of Massachusetts Club in Boston. The BIPLA thanks Lando & Anastasi and TransPerfect IP for co-sponsoring the event. |