Upcoming Events
Prof. Berry To Speak On Willful Patent Infringement
 Professor David C. Berry, Co-Director of the Graduate Program in Intellectual Property Law, will be the guest speaker at the October 2010 meeting of the Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association ("MIPLA"). His presentation will discuss how prevailing commercial practices for avoiding patent infringement risks affect the standard for willful patent infringement under the Federal Circuit's In re Seagate Technology, LLC decision. The meeting will be held at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School's Auburn Hills Campus on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at 12:00. For more information, contact MIPLA.
Recent News
Noted Adjunct Professor Discusses Innovation In New York Times
Prof. William J. Coughlin, Adjunct Professor and President/CEO, Ford Global Technologies LLC, was quoted in a recent New York Times article discussing a new collaboration between TechShop and Ford Motor Company to promote innovation in the automobile industry.
Prof. Coughlin will be teaching Trade Secret Law in the Michaelmas 2010 term.
Faculty, Practitioners Debate Bilski Decision Impact
At recent program organized by the Cooley Law School Student Intellectual Property Law Association ("SIPLA") titled "Patent Eligibility, Bilski, and the Future of Business Method Patents," a panel of faculty and patent practitioners discussed the effect the recent Supreme Court Bilski v. Kappos decision will have on business method patents.
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The panelists were (left to right) Prof. David C. Berry from Cooley; Prof. Gautam Singh, a patent attorney and Professor at Oakland University School of Engineering and Computer Science; Matthew Binkowski, Esq., a patent attorney with Howard & Howard Attorneys in Royal Oak, Michigan; and Michael Reid, 3L and SIPLA President. (Photo by John Meiu, courtesy of Detroit Legal News Publishing LLC.) |
“Trademarks and First Amendment” Program at Cooley
On March 22, 2010, The TMCLS Student Intellectual Property Association, together with the Federalist Society presented a program titled "Trademarks and the First Amendment: Trademarks in Artistic Works."
The panelists included Gerald Tschura, Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Graduate Program in Intellectual Property Law, and William Ford, Assistant Professor at John Marshall Law School. The event proved to be an informative presentation and discussion of how claims of trademark infringement sometimes collide with First Amendment interests.
The panel focused on the challenges courts face in deciding how to best address disputes that inevitably arise when a trademark owner's purported rights clash with an artist's interests in free expression.
Prof. Tschura Comments on Port Huron-To-Mackinac Trademark Dispute
Prof. Gerald Tschura was recently interviewed for a Port Huron Times Herald reporting on the announcement by the Bayview Yacht Club, which conducts the annual sailboat race from Port Huron to Mackinac Island, that merchants selling clothing and trinkets emblazoned with "Post Huron-to-Mackinac-Race" infringe its registered mark BAYVIEW MACKINAC RACE. Tschura noted that the success of Bayview's claim would depend on whether the use would result in confusion concerning the source or sponsorship of the merchandise. Read the March 13, 2010 article in the Times Herald online.
Prof. Berry Speaks At OU Business School
On January 29, 2010, Professor David Berry gave a presentation on the effect of the recent In re Bilski case at the Oakland University School of Business Administration, as part of the Center for Integrated Business Research and Education's Research Seminar Series. In his talk, titled "Patent Protection for Computer Implemented Methods," Prof. Berry reviewed the law relating to patent eligibility of method inventions and the current controversy concerning the patentability of computer-based technology. He also discussed the current Bilski v. Doll case, pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, and its potential impact on information technologies.
The West Michigan Business Review recently profiled Cooley alum and intellectual property attorney Daniel Girdwood, a partner in the Grand Rapids law firm Price Heneveld, Cooper, DeWitt & Litton:
 "Rebuilding West Michigan with innovation: Daniel Girdwood, 2010 Thought Leader in Law"
January 21, 2010
West Michigan Business Review
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Intellectual Property law is one of the most rapidly expanding field of legal practice. Once confined to "niche" practices, IP law now permeates the affairs of corporations and organizations of every size and description. [more  ]
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IP Notes
Supreme Court Decides Bilski v. Kappos; Fate Of Business Method Patents Left In Doubt
Posted June 30, 2010, by Prof. Berry
Since the Bilski v. Kappos case was argued in November 2009, patent attorneys and information technology companies have waited for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on whether or not so-called "business method" inventions, including computer-implemented processes, are eligible for patenting under the Patent Act. 35 U.S.C. § 1, et seq. Although the Court ruled unanimously on June 28, 2010 that the specific method at issue in Bilski was not eligible for patent protection, the Court opted for a narrowly reasoned decision. As a result, the ruling provides little guidance for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") and the courts to apply in determining patent eligibility in future cases. [read more ]
District Court Strikes Down Gene Patents
Posted April 13, 2010, by Prof. Berry
In a decision restricting patents claiming human genetic discoveries, a result that may have far-reaching effects the biotechnology industry, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently ruled that patents owned by Myriad Genetics claiming the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are associated with an elevated incidence of breast and ovarian cancers, are invalid because they fail to claim eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101.
[read more ]
Senate To Consider Compromise Patent Reform Act
Posted March 13, 2010, by Prof. Berry
Efforts in Congress to pass comprehensive patent reform took a major step forward on March 4, 2010, when a bipartisan group of senators introduced a substitute proposal, known as the Patent Reform Act of 2010, S. 515. [ read more ]
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