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IPOwners Quarterly™ 3/31/2021

IPOwners Quarterly™ 3/31/20212021-03-31T16:58:14-04:00

IN THIS ISSUE…

Jessica Landacre, IPO Executive Director

Executive Director Welcome: New Year, New Possibilities 

Happy 2021!  I expect that most of you share my enthusiasm for welcoming a new year with new possibilities. The challenges of 2020 reminded us that necessity is indeed the mother of invention. In the last year, IPO members have demonstrated to the world the value of innovation and cross-industry collaboration to fight COVID-19. It was inspiring to collect stories about IPO member companies coming together in a crisis and making a difference.  If you missed the video celebrating our community, you can watch it here.  It was also a source of great pride to witness individuals coming together through the IPO community to engage with one another as a means of weathering the storm. IPO members made last year a success for the association, despite all the challenges, because of their commitment to innovation, IP rights and the IP community. This year, IPO builds on that success by advocating for our member’s IP policy priorities domestically and internationally and by offering new member benefits via a virtual environment that will allow you to stay connected.

In 2020, you asked for it and we listened – IPO Chat Channel™ webinars are now free to all members! Highlighting the practical experience and knowledge of thought leaders in the IP industry via webinars that are easily accessible to all members is a necessity.  In 2021, this educational resource is free to access both live and on demand.  The conversation now includes more voices and diverse perspectives.  If you haven’t yet, join your colleagues to learn about and discuss the important topics of the day by attending an IP Chat Channel for free.

Speaking of diverse perspectives, last year IPO and the affiliated IPO Education Foundation adopted new strategic frameworks. Both focus on shaping the future of innovation, in part, by fostering diverse engagement and developing a pipeline of leaders.  The two organizations are working together to accomplish their goals.  IPO’s committees and resource groups are collaborating with the IPO Education Foundation to highlight innovation created by, within, and for diverse communities. So far this year, the Hispanic IP Professionals Resource Group participated in Noche de Ciencias to educate students about careers in STEM.  The Black IP Professionals Resource Group has participated in more than one of the IPO Education Foundation’s new, free webinar series, Behind the Idea, to promote diversity and inclusion in innovation and IP. All webinars are recorded and can be found on the Foundation YouTube page. Finally, you can look forward to the foundation releasing its 4th season of the Stroke of Genius® podcast. This season will feature stories about the impact of all types of intellectual property on underrepresented communities and showcase diverse innovators.

IPO committees continue to be the workhorses of the association. So far this year, some of the important work done by IPO Committees includes:

In addition to all of that, in February leaders presented their committees’ ambitious plans for the year to the Board of Directors during a virtual Committee Leadership Conference. And just for fun and networking, IPO kicked off the conference with our first-ever virtual Committee Trivia Night, which was a hit! More than 90 individuals formed 18 teams. The Women in IP Committee team took home the grand prize—bragging rights as the winner of trivia night. Stay tuned for information about the next virtual networking event.

As we move into the second quarter, I invite you to continue to use your membership in IPO not only as a resource for information and advocacy, but also to access the IP community. IPO is listening, and with your feedback we will continue to innovate and pivot as necessary to offer our members what they need in 2021.  We look forward to seeing you virtually at our annual IPOwners Spring Summit™ on April 20-21 with keynote addresses by Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and WIPO Director General Daren Tang. To register, click here.  Thank you for your continued support and volunteerism.

Be safe, healthy and stay connected.

Register for VIRTUAL IPOwners Spring Summit™

Registration is now open for the 4th annual IPOwners Spring Summit™. This year’s conference will be held virtually on April 20-21, 2021. The conference is designed for mid to senior-level attorneys with topics directly relevant to in-house counsel while and information for outside counsel information that will enhance relationship building and productivity with corporate clients. The theme of this year’s summit is transformation. Topics will include data analytics and AI; management; effective leadership; diversity and inclusion; finding the right balance between a bespoke craftsperson and procurement; anti-counterfeiting, and IP policy. Additional information will be coming soon. The registration fee is $200 per member. IPO is offering a group discount to organizations that register 5 attendees, additional employees can register for free. For those sending 5+ employees, fill out the group registration form. IPO is applying for 5-6 CLE credits.

U.S. Intellectual Property Policy Developments

Samantha Aguayo

By Samantha Aguayo, IPO Deputy Executive Director & Chief Policy Counsel

2021 has ushered in numerous changes in U.S. IP policy, with the inauguration of a new presidential administration and the beginning of a new session of Congress with Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate. In January we bade goodbye to USPTO Director Andrei Iancu; the agency is currently being helmed by Commissioner for Patents Drew Hirshfeld, who is performing the functions and duties of USPTO Director as we await the nomination of a new director by President Biden. That nomination is not likely to be announced until late spring or summer.

In the meantime, the USPTO continues to work on drafting proposed rules to implement new expungement and reexamination proceedings created by the Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) to allow for challenging registered trademarks for alleged non-use. At a recent Trademark Public Advisory Committee meeting, Hirshfeld said that the agency intended to publish the proposed rule for public comments in late May or June. The TMA specifies that these proceedings be implemented by December 27, 2021, a year after the bill was signed into law. The TMA also allows the USPTO to promulgate new office action response periods that are shorter than the current six-month response time—but not less than 60 days—and provides statutory authority for the letter of protest practice that allows third parties to submit evidence to the USPTO prior to registration concerning a trademark’s registrability. A final aspect of the legislation that does not require action by the USPTO is the entitlement of a trademark owner seeking injunctive relief to a rebuttable presumption of irreparable harm upon a finding of infringement or likelihood of success on the merits.

2021 also brought changes to the congressional committees with primary jurisdiction over intellectual property law and policy. In the House, Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) lead the House Judiciary Committee; Chair Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) lead the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet. Early indications are that Chair Nadler and Johnson will prioritize anti-counterfeiting actions, through legislation such as the SHOP Safe Act. They will also likely address oversight of the U.S. Copyright Office and Digital Millennium Copyright Act review. Ranking Member Issa has identified PARTS Act reintroduction and addressing venue in patent litigation suits as some of his priorities, but it is currently unclear how much Chairs Nadler and Johnson will push any of those.

In the Senate, Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) chairs the Judiciary Committee and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is Ranking Member. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property is now led by Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Ranking Member Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). Chair Leahy has indicated that he intends to do a review of the American Invents Act, which will have its 10-year anniversary in September, and to continue the Digital Millennium Copyright Act review that was begun in the last session of Congress by former Chair Tillis, who as Ranking Member will continue to prioritize it as well. Ranking Member Tillis’s priorities will also continue to include reviewing the need for legislation to amend section 101 regarding patent subject matter eligibility, but it is not clear whether that will be a priority for Chair Leahy.

Both IP Subcommittees are expected to prioritize increasing diversity in the IP system, with legislation such as Inventor Diversity for Economic Advancement (IDEA) Act of 2021. IPO supports the bill, which complements IPO and IPO Education Foundation’s many diversity & inclusion initiatives. The legislation would require the USPTO to collect demographic information from patent applicants on a voluntary basis, with a goal of increasing the participation of women, racial minorities, and other groups that studies have shown are underrepresented in the patent system. IPO sent letters to the House and Senate expressing support for the bill, explaining that “disparity in opportunities to obtain patents impairs economic growth and American innovation.” Executive Director Jessica Landacre was quoted in a press release announcing the bill’s introduction, saying that “IPO and IPO Education Foundation support the IDEA Act because collecting data is crucial for measuring progress toward greater inclusion of all underrepresented groups in the patent system. We hope Congress will pass the IDEA Act as soon as possible.”

A newly created Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law will be led by Chair Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Ranking Member Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) who will likely prioritize issues such as artificial intelligence.

The IP issue currently receiving the most attention is a joint Indian-South African proposal to the World Trade Organization’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) council for a temporary intellectual property waiver on equipment, drugs, and vaccines related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Senators Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to the Biden administration supporting the proposal, as did over 100 members of the House of Representatives. IPO has reached out to every member of the House and Senate expressing opposition to the waiver, arguing that no data exists to show that waiving IP rights would further the equitable, widespread, and successful distribution of vaccines, medicines, diagnostics, personal protective equipment, and other measures necessary to meet the challenges of COVID-19.  The proposed waiver portrays IP as a barrier to rapid innovation, R&D collaboration, and ample manufacturing of COVID-19 technologies. To the contrary, incentives provided by the patent system have enabled innovators to build the infrastructure that has allowed them to devote the resources, technical knowledge, and know-how necessary to develop the solutions required to counter the pandemic. Maintaining the IP system will fuel the next generation of solutions.

Recent IP Case Law Roundup

Eric Moran and Paul Berghoff

by Eric Moran, McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP and IPO Amicus Brief Committee Co-Vice Chair Paul Berghoff, McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

Spring is upon us as we all look forward to a vaccinated nation and world returning to a sense of normalcy.  Fingers crossed!

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Arthrex on March 1.  As expected, the questions from the justices focused on whether the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board Administrative Patent Judges (APJs) are “principal officers” in violation of the Appointments Clause and, if so, is there a way for the Court to fix the statute.  While it is a fool’s errand to predict the Supreme Court’s rulings based on oral argument, a 5-4 decision finding a violation of the Appointments Clause would not be a surprise.  Perhaps Justice Kavanaugh was most pointed in his comments, noting that it is problematic that such important decisions were being made “by someone who’s [not] accountable in the usual way the Appointments Clause demands.”  As to the possible constitutional fix, none of the justices seemed interested in the Federal Circuit’s fix (sorry, Judge Moore).  Instead, the workaround proposed by the Government, i.e., severance of the provision that only the PTAB can grant rehearing, was the focus of questioning by the justices.  Stay tuned for a decision in June.

The Supreme Court granted certiorari in Minerva v. Hologic on January 8, a case squarely addressing whether the doctrine of assignor estoppel is still viable; IPO filed a brief arguing that it is.  The argument is currently scheduled for April 21.

The Federal Circuit has maintained a steady output of precedential decisions in the last few months.  Three of the more significant decisions (unsurprisingly) deal with IPRs.  Back on December 23, the Federal Circuit addressed the issue of appellate standing in General Electric v. Raytheon.  GE had filed an unsuccessful IPR seeking to invalidate Raytheon’s patent claims on a geared turbofan jet engine.  After GE filed its appeal, Raytheon moved to dismiss for lack of standing because there was no threat of future infringement.  But in an opinion authored by Judge Hughes (and joined by Judges Lourie and Reyna), the Federal Circuit denied Raytheon’s motion, finding that GE had established standing based on “GE’s specific investment in continued development of a geared turbofan engine design, its avowed preference to offer this design for sale, and its informal offer of this engine to Airbus in an ongoing bidding process.”  The panel then went on to vacate the PTAB’s conclusion that Raytheon’s claims were patentable.

On March 9, Judge Chen authored an opinion, joined by Judges Lourie and Wallach, in Uniloc 2017 v. Facebook involving a complicated set of overlapping IPR petitions.  In the most significant portion of the opinion, the Federal Circuit held that LG was not estopped from arguing the invalidity of certain of Uniloc’s claims based on its joinder to an IPR petition filed by Facebook, who was estopped.  The Federal Circuit held that mere joinder to Facebook’s IPR petition did not establish that LG was a real party in interest to Facebook’s petition or that LG was in privity with Facebook.  “The record does not present evidence that LG and Facebook, beyond their relationship as joined parties in this proceeding, have any sort of ‘preexisting, established relationship’ that indicates coordination amongst the two.”

Three days later, on March 12, the Federal Circuit issued its opinion in Mylan v. Janssen, holding that the USPTO’s discretionary denial of institution of Mylan’s IPR petition was unappealable.  In an opinion by Judge Moore (joined by Judges Newman and Stoll), the Federal Circuit held that decisions denying institution are “committed to agency discretion” and therefore are “final and non-appealable” under 35 U.S.C. § 314(d).  The Federal Circuit also denied Mylan’s request for mandamus stating that “Mylan fails to state a colorable claim for constitutional relief [and] does not identify a deprivation of life, liberty, or property, so any procedural due process challenge is foreclosed.”

Another Federal Circuit opinion worth noting is Rain Computing v. Samsung, which held that a general-purpose computer cannot supply the corresponding structure required by means-plus-function claim language where the computer “is not capable of performing the function absent specialized software” unless the specification discloses the algorithm that performs the function.  Since Rain’s patent specification contained no such algorithm, the Federal Circuit reversed the district court and found the claims indefinite (opinion by Judge Moore, joined by Judges Lourie and Dyk).

On the trademark side, Authentic Apparel v. United States involved a trademark license dispute between the U.S. Department of the Army and an apparel licensee.  In an opinion by Judge Lourie (joined by Judges Dyk and Stoll), the Federal Circuit initially ruled that because the apparel company chairman was not expressly identified as a direct, third-party beneficiary in the license agreement, he did not have third-party beneficiary standing to sue the Army for breach of that agreement separate from the licensee.  On the merits, the Federal Circuit also affirmed the Claims Court’s grant of summary judgment that the Army did not breach the license agreement when exercising its discretionary refusal to approve certain products and marketing materials.  In its ruling, the Court rejected the licensee’s argument that because the Army only approved allegedly “decorative” uses of its marks, as opposed to “trademark” uses, the Army’s interpretation would separate the marks from their goodwill and improperly turn the license agreement into an unlawful license “in gross,” thereby invalidating the trademarks.

In a likelihood of confusion opinion, in QuikTrip West v. Weigel the Federal Circuit affirmed the TTAB’s dismissal of an opposition on the ground that there is no likelihood of confusion between the W WEIGEL’S KITCHEN NOW OPEN design mark and the registered QT KITCHENS design mark.  At issue were the first and thirteenth DuPont factors—the similarity of the marks and the applicant’s alleged bad faith.  As to the first factor, in an opinion by Judge Lourie, joined by Judges O’Malley and Reyna, the Federal Circuit agreed with the Board that, in determining the similarity of the marks, “highly suggestive, if not descriptive” words such as “KITCHEN(S)” should be accorded less weight than more distinctive elements of the marks.  As to the thirteenth factor, the Federal Circuit also agreed with the Board that bad faith requires “an intent to confuse,” and here the applicant took steps, on multiple occasions, to alter its mark to be less similar to the opposer’s mark.

In a copyright decision, the Federal Circuit ruled in Bitmanagement v. United States that the United States Navy entered into a valid, implied-in-fact copyright license agreement with the plaintiff software vendor regarding the wide-spread deployment by the Navy of a graphics-rendering software program.  The Federal Circuit found, however, that despite the agreement, the Navy committed copyright infringement for failing to satisfy a condition precedent to the implied-in-fact contract.  Namely, in an opinion by Judge O’Malley and joined by Judge Dyk, the Federal Circuit held that the Navy’s failure to employ an agreed-upon license-monitoring program to tally usage of the software by the Navy “was critical to the basic functioning of the deal” and, hence, the Navy’s copying was unauthorized.  Judge Newman, concurring in the opinion, agreed that the Navy infringed Bitmanagement’s copyrights, but would have found that there was no implied license between the parties.

At the TTAB, the Board has issued seven precedential opinions so far this year.  Of note, in In re The Consumer Protection Firm, the Board found THE CONSUMER PROTECTION FIRM.COM standard character mark unregistrable generic (despite the Supreme Court’s Booking.com opinion).  In In re SolarWindow Technologies, the Board applied res judicata from a 2016 Board decision against a 2018 application for the same POWERCOATINGS mark for the same solar cell coating goods, when, according to the Board, no factual circumstances had changed during the intervening time.  And in In re Information Builders, the Board rejected an attempt by the applicant to expressly abandon its application “without prejudice” after a final, adverse decision by the Board.

That’s all for now.

IP Chat Channel™ Webinars FREE for IPO Members

IPO is providing FREE access to webinars on IPO’s IP Chat Channel™ as a benefit for IPO members. IPO hosts between 2-4 webinars per month and has more than 75 on-demand webinars available on a variety of topics that span all areas of intellectual property. Advance registration is required. IPO members — use your website username and password to login to the IP Chat Channel™ website to view and register for live or on-demand webinars. Anyone who does not yet have an IPO account through their company’s membership can create one here. CLE credit is provided for most webinars in most states.

Op-ed: Maintaining the IP System is Key to Fighting the Pandemic

Sharon Reiche and Thomas Valente

By IPO International Patent Law & Trade Committee Co-Chair Sharon Reiche, Pfizer Inc. and Thomas Valente, IPO Senior Director for Global Affairs.

When the COVID pandemic arose, the world asked our innovative industries to rise to the challenge and find solutions to help us battle COVID-19.  These industries did just that.

The world waited with bated breath for the historic moment on December 2, 2020 when the U.K government became the first country in the world to grant temporary authorization for emergency use of Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine—with the U.S. and other governments quickly following. Today, there are more vaccine options available and being supplied around the world, with more breakthrough medical treatments in the pipeline.

Industry has also met the challenges created by the pandemic in other ways.  Companies have worked together to produce needed equipment such as respirators.  They have also cooperated to provide technology to facilitate contact tracing, improve testing, and create potential treatments for COVID-19.

These efforts demonstrate an unprecedented level of collaboration, all underpinned by the intellectual property (IP) system as defined by the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)—the most comprehensive multilateral agreement on IP that sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property regulation, which was agreed to by all WTO Member States.  Most of these accomplishments were many years, decades even, in the making.  The TRIPS IP framework helped expedite them.

The IP ecosystem, which facilitated the sharing of technical information with appropriate protections, has enabled companies to build the expertise and infrastructure that allowed them to quickly mobilize and devote the resources, technical knowledge and know-how required to combat the pandemic.  It allowed these companies and organizations to retain the best and the brightest minds in their respective fields to meet this pandemic head-on.

The pandemic is not over yet.  More innovation and voluntary collaboration will be needed to combat COVID-19, and yet there are organizations and governments seeking to undermine these efforts by broadening the scope for the issuance of compulsory licenses.

While all parties support successful equitable and widespread distribution of vaccines and other measures necessary to address COVID-19, there is no data to suggest that a compulsory license of patent rights will help meet this goal.  At the same time, compulsory licenses would cast doubt on the tried-and-true system that is allowing us to see light at the end of this very dark tunnel.  Compulsory licensing would undermine incentives for investing in new technologies and innovative ideas that will help us continue to combat this pandemic and prepare us for future ones.

Discussions are happening right now at the WTO TRIPS Council, the forum that safeguards IP rights, on whether the WTO should waive Member States’ obligations to protect various forms of intellectual property, including copyrights, industrial designs, patents and regulatory data protection, for COVID-related technologies. If such a waiver were implemented, not only would it not solve the logistical and manufacturing challenges, but it would also have an immediate chilling effect on the continued research and collaboration that is needed to, for example, find solutions for special populations such as children, or overcome new variants of the virus and create improved diagnostic testing, treatments, and innovative personal protective equipment.  Without an IP framework providing confidence to investors, the private sector, and other organizations to take the necessary risks and share information with each other, how will such efforts be facilitated?

Member Perspective: Checking-in with Your Team During COVID-19

Mercedes Meyer

By Mercedes Meyer, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath.

We are taught to be perfect and show no vulnerability – this impedes us from courage.  To lead requires placing yourself at risk at times.  We may have been blessed to have a good role model along the way, but frequently, we need to figure it out on our own.  Right now, all of us are figuring out virtual leadership during a pandemic.  So, remember, no one is adept at this moment.  Don’t worry about how you are leading.  Instead ask your teammates, “What do we need as a team?” and “What do you need to help the team and to help yourself?”  Remind your team to take care of themselves so they can be at peak performance to work together.  This includes going to the dentist and doctor, even during COVID.

Your team most importantly includes the non-lawyers.  In many ways, the non-lawyers of your team are as important, if not more important, at helping you keep on top of things.  Unfortunately, the non-lawyers frequently are overlooked and ignored in some legal settings.  Yet, they suffer the same emotional and physical issues the lawyers do.

So check in with your teams and have everyone expose their human-ness.  How?  30 minutes a week of silliness, frustrations, good/bad finds, movies, creations (cooking is big right now).  Make sure everyone participates and contributes.  Make sure everyone is visible.  Topics include impulse buys, weird things found at Costco or seen on Amazon, binge TV watching, new recipes (share pictures of anything), weird animal finds (we had Hercules beetles at my house), stories about our 4-footed family members, You-Tube humor, mixology shares, life hacks, barbecue rubs, efficiency hacks, best apps, frustrations, and problems.  Create a theme for a week of what the shares will be.  I call mine ”The Insanity Meeting.”

Why?  We need humor and laughter.  We identify with people easier when we see their interests, worries, and humor.  It builds trust.  It improves a team’s feeling of psychological safety.  You find the animal lover, the person with the greenest thumb, edible delectables, who wants to kill their kids at any given moment.  It builds trust for each member that they will be taken care of if the poo hits the fan.  And, when it does, get them the information from HR they will need to handle the situation.  Because of the leadership link, we are best positioned to ask HR for what benefit would work in the situation.

In many ways for me, my insanity meetings have been the best thing to come out of COVID.  I have learned a great deal about leading in the process and the depth of my trust for my team has increased logarithmically.   You still have time (and need) to have your own insanity meeting – the pandemic marches on!

Mercedes Meyer is a partner in the Washington, DC office of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, where she helps biotechnology and pharmaceutical clients with global prosecution strategy and diligence, assists with patent ethics questions, bioethics, and compulsory licensing.  She enjoys fly fishing, playing on her Duesenberg guitar, showing and breeding dogs, collecting native American pottery, and learning.

The Special 301 Process: An Opportunity to Impact Global IP Policy

By International Patent Law and Trade Committee Immediate Past Committee Co-Chair Steve Bauer and Current Co-Chair Dean Harts, 3M Innovative Properties Co.

Where can you go to get an overview of significant IP policy issues across different countries and regions all in one place?  Either the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) annual Special 301 Report, or IPO’s annual comments to USTR for the Report can provide you with this needed resource. IPO’s Special 301 comment letter provides a roadmap for IPO’s international advocacy efforts throughout the year and offers the chance to impact global IP policy.

Read the Full Report

D&I Committee Offers 3-Part Webinar Series Focused on Allyship

Diversity and Inclusion is in the spotlight these days, but many, like members of IPO’s D&I Committee, who have long championed the issues. Emphasizing the importance of both a diverse and inclusive atmosphere, the IPO D&I Committee worked together to produce its free, downloadable Practical Guide to Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession last year. The Practical Guide provided data and practical advice on how to be a better ally for diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The guide was even broken into three parts so that in trainings or presentations, users could access the current state of their law firm or corporate legal department and build on understanding related to the concepts in the guide.

The release of the Practical Guide coincided with IPO’s 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting, during which members of the committee led a session on best practices outlined in the guide. The session was popular with Annual Meeting attendees, particularly because of the personal anecdotes provided by the panelists. The success of the Annual Meeting session and the guide itself is what led to the rollout of a webinar series in 2021. This series, titled “How Allyship Advances Diversity and Inclusion in the IP Legal Profession,” was divided into three parts and offered free to both IPO members and non-members. “IPO has a diverse body of members,” said Committee Chair Shruti Costales. “IPO’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee has a tremendous opportunity to connect with fellow IPO members and member companies to show the economic and social benefits of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.”

Part one of the series focused on personal experiences. In this webinar, the panel shared personal experiences of good and bad allyship they have seen, heard, or experienced. With that experience, they offered practical tips on how to be better allies. In part two titled, “The Necessity of White Male Allyship in the Legal Profession,” the panel consisted entirely of white, male IP attorneys. The panel discussed how as the majority – white males — in the IP profession, they can lead the way and create opportunities and recommendations to promote allyship. The third and final installment of the series, Practical Tips for Pulling It All Together, focused on recapping parts one and two and a discussion of personal and organizational or systematic issues and practical tips to combat them.

The D&I Committee has more webinar series in the works to dive deeper into different aspects of promoting diversity and inclusion. They will continue to make these webinars available to both IPO members and non-members to help push the needle on this important initiative. The committee will also be updating its FREE, downloadable Practical Guide in the coming months.

IPO Education Foundation Free Webinar Series to Promote Underrepresented Communities

In 2020, as part of strategic planning, IPO Education Foundation revised its mission to create programming that targets innovation and creation by, within, and for underrepresented communities. The Foundation seeks to provide awareness about intellectual property where creativity already exists, but IP rights do not, thereby creating economic prosperity. Each quarter, IPO Education Foundation will send out a newsletter highlighting programs and activities related to these initiatives. The first newsletter of 2021 will be published on Tuesday, April 6.

In line with this strategic priority, IPO Education Foundation launched a new program titled Behind the IDEA, a free webinar series aimed at high school and college students and free for anyone who interested in attending. The Foundation has worked closely with IPO committees and resource groups on these webinars to promote diversity and inclusion in innovation and IP. All webinars are recorded and can be found  at IPOEF.org/behindtheidea

The first webinar, sponsored by Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner, was titled “What is IP?” and taught students about intellectual property through the first-hand experience of former NFL player and entrepreneur Shawn Springs, founder of Windpact. Foundation board member and co-chair of the Black IP Professional Resource Group Richard Watkins (Medtronic, Inc.) reviewed the basics of IP and then engaged in a fireside chat with Mr. Springs. They discussed the importance of IP to starting a business and the benefits of exposing students to IP early.

The second webinar of the series, sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb Company  and in partnership with IPO’s Black IP Professionals Resource Group, was titled “Careers in STEM – All the Possibilities.” The panel was moderated by co-chair of IPO’s Outreach Committee Leanthony Edwards (Dinsmore & Shohl LLP) and speakers included:  Eldora Ellison (Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox, PLLC),  Serena Farquharson-Torres (Bristol Myers-Squibb Co.) and Christopher Williams (Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture). The panelists answered questions from the audience and shared tips for students to be successful in school and as they start their careers. Additionally, in celebration of Black History Month, the three speakers shared which African American innovators have inspired them throughout their careers. Mr. Williams mentioned Bessie Blount Griffin, most known for the invention of a feeding device that allowed injured World War II soldiers to be self-sufficient. This story and others from underrepresented communities will be included in season four of the Stroke of Genius® podcast, which launches in April 2021.

In partnership with the Women in IP Committee, IPO Education Foundation hosted the final webinar of the quarter titled “Herstory of Invention.” This webinar was sponsored by Micron Technology and featured three prolific female inventors. Moderator Sandra Nowak (3M Innovative Properties Co) led a conversation with Marian Croak (Google Inc),  Sumita Mitra (Mitra Chemical Consulting), and Lisa Seacat Deluca (IBM Corp.). The panelists spoke about their backgrounds and journeys into invention as well as the importance of diversity in innovation to capture multiple points of view. If you missed this session, or others, the recordings are all available on IPOEF.org (https://www.ipoef.org/behindtheidea/) or the Foundation Youtube page.

IPO Education Foundation is a non-profit organization and is funded by the support of donors and sponsors. Thank you to all those who support the Foundation and its programs. If you are interested in learning more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Program Manager Kristen Lurye, klurye@ipo.org or 202-507-4502.

Join IPO’s Newest Resource Group

The D&I Committee has added a new resource group for IP professionals with disabilities. The official name of the committee’s fifth resource group has yet to be finalized, however, Tom Pienkos (SmithAmundsen LLC ) has proudly accepted the role of chair. Membership is open to all IPO members identifying as having any type of disability, or health condition, along with all IPO member allies and caregivers. Show your support and join today. Visit IPO Connect, become a member of the D&I Committee, then access the Resource Groups tab and click join to become a member of this newly established resource group or any of the four existing resource groups.

Get the Most of Your IPO Membership – Make Sure Your Entire IP Team is Connected to your Company’s Account.

If you are reading this newsletter, you already know that IPO is the premier intellectual property trade association for companies and law firms. But did you know that our comprehensive membership structure means that your entire team and support staff are welcome to participate via our committees, webinars, conferences, and publications? It’s easy to see who’s connected to your company and invite anyone not connected to join through your company’s account.

Review Your Company’s Membership Roster

Use the directory on IPO Connect to see a list of IPO members in your company. (You will need to be logged into your IPO account to use this feature.)

Just fill in your company name in the search tab and voilà! See someone on the list who is no longer with your company? Just send us a quick note to membership@ipo.org and we’ll update the account.

Adding Colleagues to your Account

Maybe you noticed that your new trademark attorney isn’t on the list, or you think your in-house IP department manager would also benefit from having access to our content and resources. Fortunately, there’s an easy way they can add themselves to your company’s account. Ask them to visit the IPO website and click on “Join IPO” under the “Members” tab. From there, they will be able to find your company in our database and create their own unique member record in one easy step.

That’s all it takes. After they sign up, they are automatically subscribed to the IPO Daily News, have access to our free IP Chat Channel webinars, receive member pricing on events, and can share best practices and network through our IP committees and resource groups.

Thank you for being a member of IPO. Please contact the membership team if you have any questions about accessing your benefits.

Intellectual Property Owners Association
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