In the last week of April, I was thrilled to host a visit from Commissioner Insil Lee of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and six members of her team. Commissioner Lee is the first woman in her role in Korea and shared her career journey with us. We also learned about some of the initiatives of the KIPO, including the PCT Korea Center in Virginia that provides information to applicants using Korea as an international search authority (ISA) during the PCT phase. Thank you Vice President Emily Whelan and Wilmer Hale for sharing your conference space with us for this special event!
The next day, I represented biotech patent practitioners in a Korea-US Cluster Round Table event hosted by the South Korean government. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his delegation visited Boston for a series of events centered on biotechnology and innovation ecosystems. President Yoon led a conversation with a small group of academic leaders, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists. I shared my perspective on the contribution of patents to the biotech ecosystem here in Boston. I invite you to read my remarks and the BIPLA and Korean American Intellectual Property Bar Association (KAIPBA) joint press release. President Yoon is leading an initiative in South Korea to develop a K-Bio Lab Hub in Songdo, Incheon by 2025. He and his team are looking for ways to establish long-term connections with Boston. If you are interested in this effort, please reach out to me.
The first week of May, we held our third annual BIPLA Symposium, this time over two days and in person! Thank you to President Elect Josh Dalton and everyone at Morgan Lewis for hosting this event. Thank you for welcoming so many of us to your offices and sponsoring and hosting a lively celebration reception the first evening. Thank you to all of our cochairs and speakers for such excellent programming and so much CLE credit! We have already announced that the next Symposium will be held at Morgan Lewis on April 10-11, 2024. Mark your calendars!
We have more opportunities for you get involved this year! I’m looking forward to our annual Celebration of the Judiciary. We will be returning in person for dinner at the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse on Wednesday, June 21, 2023. We are giving our Public Service Award to the Honorable Kara Farnandez Stoll of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Navy SEAL and Paralympian Dan Cnossen will give our keynote address. Dan believes some leadership principles come naturally to certain people, other principles can be learned, and all principles can be continually developed. I look forward to hearing from him and seeing many of you in person. Thank you to all of our sponsors to date for this event including:
Gold Sponsors: McNeill Baur; Finnegan
Silver Sponsors: McCarter; Choate; WilmerHale
Bronze Sponsors: Latham & Watkins; Goodwin
Individual Sponsors: Parabellum Capital; Worldwide IP Solutions
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to our association. Please continue to remain active, invite your friends and colleagues, and take advantage of the opportunities our association provides for you. I look forward to hearing from you. You can reach me at president@bipla.org.
Rebecca M. McNeill
President, Boston Intellectual Property Law Association
Editor's Notes | BIPLA and KAIPBA Joint Press Release | KIPO Commissioner Insil Lee’s Visit to the BIPLA |
Welcome to the Spring 2023 Edition of the Boston Intellectual Property Law Association Newsletter. Our second newsletter of 2023 provides updates from exciting recent BIPLA events and activities, including our first in-person two-day BIPLA Symposium and meetings with a delegation from the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), offering insights on IP-related happenings in the US and internationally. From the BIPLA subcommittees, the Legislative Committee discusses a recent seminar. We also look ahead to our Celebration in Honor of the Judiciary on June 21, 2023. | Joint Press Release from Boston Intellectual Property Law Association (BIPLA) and Korean American Intellectual Property Bar Association (KAIPBA) on the visit to Boston from South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his Delegation and the Korea-US Cluster Round Table | On April 27th, 2023, the BIPLA had the pleasure of hosting Commissioner Insil Lee of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and six members of her team at WilmerHale’s office in Boston. Commissioner Lee’s visit included thoughtful round-table discussions regarding IP in Korea, career journeys, and a presentation on KIPO’s PTC services available to US applicants who select KIPO as the International Search Authority (ISA). |
BIPLA Third Annual Symposium | BIPLA Legislative Panel - IP Legislative Process, Priorities and Updates | G2/21 – “Plausibility”: Using Post-Published Evidence in Europe |
The Boston Intellectual Property Law Association (BIPLA) held its third annual symposium on May 3-4, 2023. The symposium was hosted by Josh Dalton, President-Elect, and his team at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP. With over 70 attendees, this first in-person BIPLA symposium turned the vision of Michael Bergman, BIPLA President 2019-2020, into a reality. It brought together intellectual property professionals from a variety of practice areas for two stimulating days of panel discussions and networking. | The panelists, all current or former counsel in Congress, were: Brad Watts, former Republican Chief Counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Intellectual Property; John Lee, Chief Counsel for Intellectual Property of the House Judiciary Committee; Franci Rooney, Counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee on Immigration, Citizenship and Border Safety Subcommittee and IP Counsel to Senator John Cornyn; and Philip Warrick, former USPTO IP Counsel Detailee to U.S. Senator Chris Coons. | Reliance on post-published evidence of an unexpected effect used to require “plausibility” at the EPO: a threshold test the Technical Boards of Appeal applied to many cases over the years, often leading to refusal or revocation due to a lack of inventive step. Recently, the EBA (Enlarged Board of Appeal), the EPO’s highest authority, stepped in and issued decision G2/21 in response to a perceived divergence in the case law. |
Patent Office Practice Committee Update | A Notice from the Diversity & Inclusion Committee |
The USPTO recently issued two Notices promulgating and proposing revised rules related to practice before the Office – both consistent with positions for which the Boston Intellectual Property Law Association Patent Office Practice Committee advocated in its January 2023 Response to USPTO Request for Comments. | The Patent Pathways Program is looking for mentors for its next Patent Bar training program. Patent Pathways is a 501(c)(3) organization committed to improving diversity in patent law by providing qualified Black women with free virtual education, practical exercises, and financial support to study and register for the U.S. patent bar. Patent Pathways hopes to have 50 women in the next class, and is looking for mentors to support the women on this journey. |