Patent Litigation 2008

Overview

Why You Should Attend

Patent litigation is very expensive, damage awards can be very large and business disruption is a critical risk. Rapid changes in patent law make it necessary, whether you are plaintiff or defendant counsel, to ensure that you are up-to-date on the current state of the law and on how to develop successful litigation strategies and tactics. Patent litigation is a potent tool to protect patents. Damage awards, attorney fees and associated costs can easily run into millions of dollars, potentially closing business operations overnight.

This course is taught by a faculty of judges and lawyers who have earned national reputations in patent litigation by trying a wide variety of bench and jury patent trials, and provides comprehensive coverage of every phase of a patent lawsuit. The program schedule has been revised, based on comments from prior year attendees at this popular annual program.

What You Will Learn

• New! An expanded opening session focusing on the impact of new case law on patent litigation, including recent Supreme Court and Federal Circuit decisions
•  Understand the evolving issues in claim construction and their effect on proof of infringement
• How to successfully handle discovery, including e-discovery, in patent litigation
• How to obtain, and defend against, preliminary and permanent injunctions and declaratory judgments in patent cases post-eBay
• Opinion Letters, representation issues, the impact of Knorr-Bremse, and willful infringement after Seagate
• Proving damages and issues to consider when pursuing and defending the damages case in the wake of Microsoft v. AT&T
• Prosecuting a patent that holds up in litigation
• The impact of KSR v. Teleflex on obviousness
• New! One hour of ethics credit for patent litigators

• Direct and cross-examination of a technical expert contending for obviousness
•  Closing argument: tips from a patent trial lawyer and a jury consultant

Who Should Attend

Patent litigators and lawyers in patent firms who advise clients in disputes that may lead to litigation; general business litigators whose practice includes patent trials; patent prosecutors whose actions in preparing and prosecuting patents are critical in providing support for the proper claim construction; corporate counsel who will have the responsibility for supervising patent litigation, interpreting its progress to management and pursuing opportunities for settlement.

Special Features

Live Webcast - Simultaneous live webcast of the San Francisco session is available for individual viewing. Webcast participants will receive streaming audio and/or video of the program, view and print the Course Handbook, and have the ability to submit questions electronically. 

For more information click on the link to the Live Webcast at the top of the page.

Special Bonus to all Registrants

All attendees will receive a complimentary copy of PLI's comprehensive Course Handbook. This softcover, bound volume was written to augment the program and to stand alone as a permanent reference. PLI's Course Handbooks represent the definitive thinking of the nation's finest legal minds, and are often the standard reference in the field.

Please Note: Webcast attendees will receive a downloadable version of the Handbook one business day prior to the program.

PLI Group Discounts

Groups of 4-14 from the same organization, all registering at the same time, for a PLI program scheduled for presentation at the same site, are entitled to receive a group discount.  For further discount information, please contact membership@pli.edu or call (800) 260-4PLI.

PLI Can Arrange Group Viewing to Your Firm

Contact the Groupcasts Department via email at groupcasts@pli.edu for more details.

Cancellations

All cancellations received 3 business days prior to the program will be refunded 100%. If you do not cancel within the allotted time period, payment is due in full. You may substitute another individual to attend the program at any time.

Schedule

Please plan to arrive with enough time to register before the conference begins. A continental breakfast will be available upon your arrival.

First Day: 9:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.

Morning Session: 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

9:00  Program Overview

Nagendra (Nick) Setty, Mitchell G. Stockwell

9:15  Recent Developments in Patent Law and Its Impact on Patent Litigation

Business method patents in the wake of In re Bilski; patent exhaustion after Quanta v. LG Electronics; an update on patent reform.

Robin L. McGrath

10:15  Break

10:30  Claim Construction and Proving Infringement

Evolving issues in claim construction and their effect on proof of infringement, including an analysis of Phillips v. AWH and the interplay between ordinary meaning, intrinsic evidence and disclaimers. Practical tips for proving infringement literally and under the Doctrine of Equivalents and other special considerations in presenting your infringement case are explained.

Matthew C. Gaudet

11:30  Demonstration of a Direct and Cross-Examination of a Technical Expert Contending for Obviousness

Obviousness retains its position year to year as the most frequently tried invalidity defense against a patent. Usually it is highly dependent on the effectiveness of the testimony of the defendant's technical expert, and on the skills of the trial attorneys who must present and attack this witness. This segment of the program will present the mock direct and cross-examination of a technical expert for an infringer asserting an obviousness defense and the impact of KSR v. Teleflex.

Ruffin B. Cordell, Nagendra (Nick) Setty

12:30  Lunch Break

Afternoon Session: 1:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

1:45  Discovery Issues in Patent Litigation

Recent studies have shown that in patent litigation, discovery is time-consuming and a significant cost driver due to heavy documentation, the confidential nature of research and development activities, and the electronic recording and storage of much of this information. Learn how to craft effective multi-tiered protective orders, properly designate documents, manage electronic discovery, and tackle other discovery issues common to patent litigation, especially in light of the recent amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure specifically addressing issues relating to “electronically stored information”; an analysis of the sanctions in Qualcomm and how to avoid the pitfalls.

Jeffrey C. Morgan

2:45  Break

3:00  Preliminary and Permanent Injunctions and Declaratory Relief in Patent Cases

Temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions, and factors affecting the outcome of patent cases, including evidentiary hearings, treatment of licensed patents, consolidation and trial on the merits, and whether ownership of a patent by an IP holding company impacts the ability to obtain preliminary injunctive relief. The impact of eBay v. MercExchange and its progeny on permanent injunctions is explained. The impact of MedImmune v. Genentech and its progeny on declaratory relief is discussed.

Lawrence K. Nodine

4:00  Section 337 Litigation at the ITC and Other Rocket Dockets

The recent increase in Section 337 cases has rekindled interest in litigation at the ITC. All patent holders contemplating litigation should at least consider the ITC as a potential enforcement tool. Who should sue in the ITC, coordination with district court litigation, how to file a complaint, Temporary Exclusion Order proceedings, accelerated discovery, the importance of expert witnesses and how to avoid the ten most common pitfalls in fast-track litigation.

F. Leslie Bessenger III, Virginia L. Carron

5:00  Adjourn

Second Day: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. 

Morning Session: 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

9:00  Opinion Letters, Representation Issues and the Impact of the Knorr-Bremse Decision

The Federal Circuit in the Knorr-Bremse decision eliminated the adverse inference previously applied to the failure to obtain or produce an exculpatory opinion of counsel creating new and different issues related to obtaining an opinion and determining willful infringement. This segment will also address the proof of willfulness post-In re Seagate Technology, the scope of waivers of privilege, advising clients regarding whether and when to obtain an Opinion Letter, and considerations in producing such opinions.

Malvern (“Griff”) U. Griffin III, Moderator; Bill Clemmons, Michael J. Kline

10:00  Demonstration of a Closing Argument: Tips from a Patent Trial Lawyer and a Jury Consultant

A demonstration of a closing argument, including some tips on jury persuasion, as well as a critique from a jury consultant.

A. James Anderson, Daniel Cooper

11:00  Break

11:15  Prosecuting a Patent That Holds Up in Litigation

This is not about complying with statutory requirements for disclosure or duty of disclosure that you will have to do anyway. This is about the discretionary things that patent prosecutors sometimes do, with the best of intentions, which can then turn around and bite back in court. For example: 

• Failing to present claims that cover the on-the-shelf product that the client sells injuror-friendly words versus claims drafted so abstractly that jurors can not relate them to what is at stake, or find easy to read on prior art from other fields
• Drafting claims that require multiple actors to infringe 
• Speculating in the specification, beyond what the inventor invented, in ways that throw away non-analogous art distinctions, raise inoperativeness defenses, or invoke the contributions of unnamed inventors.

Afternoon Session: 1:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

1:45  Proving Damages and Issues to Consider in Pursuing and Defending the Damages Case

Whether and why you should pursue a lost profits case; sources and importance of documents and information you need to pursue in discovery; working with the damages expert to insure all the nuances of infringement and validity issues are considered in the damages proof; tips for success in defending a damages case; how to avoid and address limitations on IP holding companies. The transactional implications of the Supreme Court's decision in Microsoft v. AT&T is discussed.

J. Donald Fancher, Holmes J. Hawkins III

2:45  Break

3:00  Ethical Issues in Patent Litigation

The bounds of zealous advocacy; the Medtronic cases; lawyer sanctions in Qualcomm; inequitable conduct issues; Rule 11 issues.

ATL: Mitchell G. Stockwell

4:00  Adjourn

Faculty

Co-Chair(s)

Speaker(s)

Program Attorney(s)

CLE Credit

Travel Information

Atlanta Seminar Location

AMA Executive Conference Center, 1170 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30309 (404) 892-7599.