ABA-IPL Section Focus Highlights of the 2017?18 Association Year

Pages9-12
Published in Landslide® magazine, Volume 11, Number 1, a publication of the ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law (ABA-IPL), ©2018 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved.
This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.
January
The Section wrote to congressional leadership on revising 17
U.S.C. § 108, which provides certain limited exceptions to
copyright liability for libraries and archives.
February
The ABA-IPL Section sent joint comments along with
the Business Law Section to the United Nations Commis-
sion on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) on the Draft
Practice Guide to the UNCITRAL Model Law on Secured
Transactions.
ABA-IPL sent comments to the USTR on IP rights consider-
ations during the renegotiation of NAFTA.
March
The Section provided a letter to the Chair and Ranking Mem-
ber of the House Judiciary Committee on H.R. 3945, the
Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of
2017 (Case Act).
ABA-IPL wrote to the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trade-
mark Ofce (USPTO) regarding the effectiveness of the
Ofce of Policy and International Affairs (OPIA).
April
The Section sent a letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of
the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the impact on the
USPTO’s user fees of the Department of Commerce’s shared
services initiative.
May
The Section’s letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the
House Judiciary Committee on USPTO oversight addressed sev-
eral issues including: (1) the need to amend 35 U.S.C. § 101 to
clarify patent eligibility requirements; (2) the need for procedural
reforms to improve the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB’s)
reviews; and (3) the impact of the Department of Commerce’s
Enterprise Services initiative on the USPTO’s user fees.
Advocacy
Under the leadership of ABA-IPL Chair Scott F. Partridge,
the recentAssociation Year saw great activity and continuing
strength as aleading voice for the development and improve-
ment of intellectualproperty (IP) law and in shaping these
laws that profoundly affectcommerce, innovation, and soci-
ety. The Section achieved successes inserving its diverse
membership: in offering expert content, education,and prac-
tice information, and in fullling its goals for the profession.
ABA-IPL’s volunteers and working entities—divisions, com-
mittees, actiongroups, task forces, and boards—drive the
Section’s work and products.Substantive committees in six
divisions provide analyses of statutes, regulations,current
litigation, and proposed legislation for recommended advo-
cacy.All members can participate at the committee level in
developing Sectionpolicy. Reasoned and balanced commen-
tary enables ABA-IPL to providepolicy recommendations
on federal legislation and to speak on importantlegal issues
before the federal agencies that deal with issues of IP law.
During the year, the Section was active in providing numerous com-
ments to various government agencies on IP law and related issues.
September
The Section provided comments to the U.S. Trade Repre-
sentative (USTR) regarding its initiation of a Section 301
investigation into China’s acts, policies, and practices related to
technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation.
October
Section Chair Scott Partridge testied before the USTR
Section 301 Committee in the Section 301 investigation
concerning China’s acts, policies, and practices related to
technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation
based on the Section’s September letter.
ABA-IPL provided comments to the USTR on the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations
regarding modernization of the NAFTA with Canada and
Mexico, supporting a requirement to establish use to obtain a
trademark registration, and opposing amendments to the Cana-
dian Trade-marks Act that would remove the use requirement.
From its strength within the American Bar Association, the ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law
(ABA-IPL) advances the development and improvement of intellectual property laws and their fair and just
administration. The Section furthers the goals of its members by sharing knowledge and balanced insight on
the full spectrum of intellectual property law and practice, including patents, trademarks, copyright, design,
and trade secrets. Providing a forum for rich perspectives and reasoned commentary, ABA-IPL serves as the
ABA voice of intellectual property law within the profession, before policy makers, and with the public.
ABA-IPL Section Focus
Highlights of the 2017–18 Association Year

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT