A biennial conference brought to you by the Oregon Patent Law Association

2024 Salishan Conference

The Oregon Patent Law Association is pleased to host a weekend of networking with patent professionals and a curation of speakers presenting on topics within Patent Law.

The OPLA Board hopes you enjoy the 5 presentations and panel which features speakers from academia, in-house, and private practice. The OPLA will be applying for CLE Credits for each presentation, including credits that apply towards Access to Justice, Ethics, as well as General Credits.

Your registration includes meals, as well as access to the OPLA CLE programing and social events.

The OPLA Board gives a special thanks to each of the speakers and the administrative support the Oregon Patent Law Association received from Megan Goodier from Klarquist Sparkman, LLP & Lara Enriquez from McCoy Russell LLP. We appreciate everyone’s time and support in bringing back Salishan to the Oregon Patent Law community.

Megan Goodier

Lara Enriquez

Agenda

  • 3:00pm Badge Pick Up/Check In Time

    4:00pm Presentation 1 - Karen Sandrik - The Impact of Amgen

    5:15pm Presentation 2 - Berggren attorneys Mariella Massaro & Michael Nielsen - 2023: The Most Significant Year for IP In Europe

    6:15pm OPLA Conference Opening Reception and Networking mixer

    7:00pm Dinner

  • 8:00am Breakfast

    9:00am Presentation 3 - Nika Aldrich - Exploring The Impact of Recent Developments in Design Patent Law

    10:15am Presentation 4 - Marie Weiskopf - ADAPT.legal – Advancing Diversity Across Legal Teams: An Industry DEI Collective

    11:30am In-House Panel - Mike Willardson, Andy Harrington, Hugh Pasika, Marie Weiskopf (Paul Focke moderator) - Driving Alignment between In-House and Law Firms

    12:30pm Lunch

    2:00pm Presentation 5 - Emil Ali - Hot Topics in IP Ethics

    End early-mid afternoon

    OPLA Meet Up Networking (optional)

  • 9:00 - Breakfast and Closing Remarks

Speakers

  • Professor Karen Sandrik

    Willamette University College of Law

  • Mariella Massaro

    Berggren

  • Michael Nielsen

    Berggren

  • Nika Aldrich

    Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt P.C.

  • Marie Weiskopf

    Meta

  • Mike Willardson

    Daimler Truck North America

  • Andrew Harrington

    Tektronix

  • Hugh Pasika

    Thermo Fisher Scientific

  • Emil Ali

    McCabe & Ali, LLP

Presentation Summaries

The Impact of Amgen

Professor Karen Sandrik

Over the past twenty-five years, the Federal Circuit has set a high bar for patent applicants and patentees in the chemical and life sciences, particularly as it relates to genus claims. When the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Amgen, Inc. v. Sanofi, the genus claim was quickly the hero and the villain. Is the genus claim “the central feature of patent law in the life sciences,” or does a genus claim only serve to bar scientists from the building blocks of invention? Ultimately, the Court affirmed the Federal Circuit’s holding that Amgen’s functionally claimed genus of nonclonal antibodies were invalid due to lack of enablement. This decision reflects a continued trend towards the tightening of patentability standards and more narrowly drafted claims.

This talk will first discuss the impact of Amgen at the district court level. The talk will then shift to argue that while many of the amici briefs and post-decision commentary highlighted various potential downstream impacts of Amgen, one has been missed. In short: competitors can now strategically cite Amgen in IPR proceedings before the PTAB, thereby indirectly asserting lack of enablement and written description.

The Most Significant Year for IP In Europe

Mariella Massaro & Michael Nielsen

The presentation will include (1) statistics and trends of the new European patent system, (2) early cases and lessons learned from the Unified Patent Court and (3) the implications of the new system on licenses and co-ownership agreements.

Exploring The Impact of Recent Developments in Design Patent Law

Nika Aldrich

Design patents have long been the benchwarmers of patent law. For 140 years, a design patent case scarcely made it to the Supreme Court. All of that has changed recently. As utility patent protection has weakened, interest in design patents has flourished—as have cases raising important questions. But design patent jurisprudence is decades behind its utility patent brethren.

In this session, attendees will delve into evolving precedent in the field of design patents over the past 20 years, centering on the landmark Columbia Sportswear case against Seirus Innovative Accessories, Inc. Lead attorney Nika Aldrich—who argued the case at the Federal Circuit Court—will provide insights into the practical implications of that case and developing trends in the field.

ADAPT.legal – Advancing Diversity Across Legal Teams: An Industry DEI Collective

Marie Weiskopf

ADAPT.legal (Advancing Diversity Across Patent Teams) was founded in December 2021 when patent professionals from different companies came together to brainstorm ways to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion within the IP profession. Marie will discuss the work that ADAPT is doing to achieve ADAPT’s mission and ways others within the Oregon patent professional community can contribute and participate in DEI.

Driving Alignment between In-House and Law Firms

Panel: Marie Weiskopf, Mike Willardson, Andrew Harrington, and Hugh Pasika

Moderator: Paul Focke

The panel of in-house experts will discuss the ways in which outside counsel can better align with the goals and strategy of in-house counsel. Topics of discussion will include the use of data analytics to guide prosecution decisions, the role that AI can play in the relationship between in-house and outside counsel, and general expectations of in-house counsel with regard to outside counsel.

Hot Topics in IP Ethics

Emil Ali

Patent and trademark lawyers are subject to special ethics and substantive rules which differ from traditional law practice. This course is presented by a registered patent attorney who focuses his practice on ethics matters and aims to guide attorneys and remind them of their unique obligations under the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Rules of Professional Conduct, which are based upon the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. He will also explore a comparison of which rules apply—the Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct, or the USPTO’s rules. Attorneys will come away with a better understanding of best practices in patent and trademark prosecution, as well as litigation before the USPTO. Topics include artificial intelligence, candor, conflicts, and best practices in representing clients before the USPTO.

Thank you all for attending OPLA’s 2024 Salishan Conference

We hope to see you at the next Salishan conference in 2026.