Spotlight on the Colorado Ipamerican Inn of Court

• Publication year: 2023
• Citation: Vol. 52 No. 10 Pg. 48
• Pages: 48

Spotlight on the Colorado IP American Inn of Court Vol. 52, No. 10 [Page 48] Colorado Lawyer December 2023

BAR NEWS HIGHLIGHT

BY JAMES JUO

The Colorado Intellectual Property (IP) American Inn of Court was honored to be featured in the November/ December 2023 issue of The Bencher, the flagship magazine of the American Inns of Court. The article, titled 'Roots in Raising Colorado's IP Community,'' discussed the formation and evolution of the Colorado IP Inn and how it reflects the traditions of the English Inns.

Inspired from the English Inns of Court, the American Inns of Court is an association of lawyers, judges, and other legal professionals dedicated to professionalism, ethics, civility, and excellence. The American Inns of Court arose from discussions in the late 1970s among lawyers and judges, including US Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger. Today, there are about 400 chartered American Inns of Court,^[1]with nearly 30,000 active members nationwide, including federal and state judges, lawyers, law professors, and law students.

With more than 100 members from Denver and Boulder, the Colorado IP Inn proudly continues this tradition by promoting civility in the legal profession and mentoring law students and young lawyers in IP law along the Front Range. This is its story.

Founded in 2010

The founding of the Colorado IP Inn began with John Posthumus and Michael Drapkin, two patent attorneys who were in the leadership rotation for the IP Section of the Colorado Bar Association. Both wanted to raise Colorado's profile in IP law and had been advocating for the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to establish a regional office in Denver.

While working on bringing the American Intellectual Property Law Association's (AIPLA) Electronic and Computer Law Summit to Denver, Michael and John were introduced to Judge Richard Linn of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, who was seeking to have at least ten American Inns of Court focused on IP law formed by 2010.

Believing that the involvement of judges contributes to the long-term success of an Inn, Judge Linn offered to contact Chief Judge Wiley Daniel of the US District Court for the District of Colorado about forming an IP-focused Inn in Denver. Judge Daniel suggested that Judge Philip Brimmer and Magistrate Judge Kristen Mix help with founding the Inn. Both agreed to be judicial co-founders for the Colorado IP Inn and have actively supported the Inn ever...