Women Leaders in IP Law

Networking Breakfast and Opening Toast

Co-Chairs’ Welcome Remarks

Melissa Jobe
Director, Corporate Intellectual Property
T-Mobile

Bridget Smith
Assistant General Counsel, Intellectual Property
Relativity Space

USPTO Year in Review: A Look at New Initiatives under Women-led Leadership

Elizabeth Dougherty
Eastern Regional Outreach Director
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Janet Gongola
Vice Chief Judge for Engagement, Patent Trial and Appeal Board
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Lena Munasifi
Senior Advisor for Special Programs, Office of the Under Secretary
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Honorable Teresa Rea
Partner
Crowell & Moring LLP
(Former Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Former Acting Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office)

Kathy Vidal’s arrival at the USPTO has heralded a host of new women entrepreneurship initiatives in IP. In this session, we’ll investigate the efforts made by the agency to advance inventorship, diversity and inclusion..

Highlights:

• Exploring new developments at the PTO under Commissioner’s Vidal leadership
• Career perspectives: Analyzing recent changes initiated by the PTO, encouraging women inventorship
• Examining key programs that the PTO has introduced to offer more support women in the IP field
• USPTO’s Women’s Entrepreneurship (WE)
• Examining related initiatives that complement those of the PTO’s
• PTAB’s LEAP Initiative for NextGen Lawyers
• International Trademark’s Association (INTA)’s ‘The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative Report and Best Practices Toolkit’

Keynote Address

Keynote Fireside Chat

Valencia Martin Wallace
Deputy Commissioner for Patents and Executive Lead for the Council for Inclusive Innovation (CI2)
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Morning Networking Coffee Break

Examining the CHIPS Act and the Intellectual Property Outcomes for the Tech Sector

Gina Bibby
Partner , IP, Technology and Global Head of Fashion Technology
Withers Bergman LLP

Mary Prendergast
Partner
Morrison Foerster

This session will analyze the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 and how it will affect intellectual property rights in new technologies. While, the CHIPS Act will boost new technological developments, many question whether it will afford adequate protections to new inventions:

• Understanding the full effect of the CHIPS Act on semiconductors and beyond
• Assessing the impact of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 on innovation and digital technologies
• Understanding how this legislation will impact new technological advancements

Examining the Intellectual Property Challenges of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Dina Blikshteyn
Partner & Co-chair of The Artificial Intelligence Practice
Haynes Boone

Wendy Esposito
Of Counsel
Benesch Law

Shui Li
Corporate Counsel, Product (Cloud + AI)
Microsoft

Anna Linne
Associate General Counsel Intellectual Property & Innovation
S&P Global

Moderator:

Ruth Ma Swilling
Executive Director & Chief IP Counsel
Raytheon Missiles & Defense

AI-generated inventions are changing – the world as we know it and are also calling IP rights into question. This panel will explore how artificial intelligence will impact the IP landscape.

• AI is here: Examining how AI is permeating all different types of technologies – from aerospace and defense to telecommunications and beyond
• Understanding how AI technological advancements are shaping a new IP framework
• Exploring how the arrival of Microsoft’s ChatGPT is affecting intellectual property protections
• Taking a closer look at Thaler v. Vidal: Can AI be an inventor?
• AI and creative works: How to avoid copyright infringement
• What do IP lawyers need to know, to navigate patent and copyright law in the AI digital space

Networking Lunch

Sponsored by:

Shh! – It’s A Secret: Taking a Closer Look at Trade Secrets and Their Role in A Remote & Globalized Era

Debbie L. Berman
Partner & Co-Chair of Trade Secrets Practice
Jenner & Block LLP

Ching-Lee Fukuda
Partner
Sidley Austin LLP

Kim Jessum
VP Legal/Global Legal Business Partner
Heraeus Medical Components

Michelle Liu
Supervisory Special Agent
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Anu Sawkar
Special Counsel for Intellectual Property
Federal Trade Commission

Moderator:

Clara N. Jimenez
Senior Counsel, IP Litigation
Johnson & Johnson

Trade secrets have always been an important part of a solid intellectual property portfolio. In recent years, with changing views on patent protection, trade secrets are more and more attention. But protecting trade secrets may be more challenging in the new normal of the workplace: global & remote. We’ll analyze some key questions surrounding trade secrets in this new landscape:

• What constitutes a trade secret?
• Best practices in advising clients on trade secrets
• Analyzing trade secret programs in corporate life cycles
• Managing the risk of potential public disclosure with other IP protections
• Tips to keep in mind when working with law enforcement in investigations
• Examining special concerns with trade secrets in the AI/software industry
• They might be a secret now, but will this change in 10 years, when technology has advanced?
• How do you put into place a trade secret policy and effectively keep that, with the evolving technology in the AI field?
• How do you keep security measures where workers are remote and the shift to fully remote works-spaces was hastily done during the pandemic?
• Understanding how the FTC’s proposed ban of noncompete clauses will impact trade secret policies

Networking Break and Speaker Lounge

Exploring New Opportunities on the Horizon for Women in Blending Tech and IP Career Paths

DeAnna Allen
Partner
Cooley

Vanessa Bailey
Head of Patent Public Policy
Amazon

Suzanne Flaton Origenes
Vice President, Global Services, Intellectual Property USA & Catalysts
BASF Corporation

We will examine how advancements in technology are creating new opportunities in the IP sector and examine the linkage between women engineers and women in IP.

• Exploring how STEM programs, start-up business and new technologies have created new opportunities for women engineers and new IP career paths
• Understanding how getting a law degree can boost an engineering career
• Examining new opportunities for women engineers and IP attorneys through initiatives for innovation

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in IP: Finding Balance with DEI and Women’s Initiatives

Melissa Andrieux
Chief Diversity Officer and Chief Client Relations Officer
Dorf & Nelson LLP

Janine Carlan
Partner
ArentFox Schiff

Sandra Nowak
Assistant Chief IP Counsel
3M

Sharon Roberg-Perez
Partner
Robins Kaplan

There have been many DEI initiatives in the last few years with a focus on IP, however, there is still so much to be done. While DEI initiatives complement women’s initiatives, it is sometimes difficult to ensure that the objectives of both are aligned. Our esteemed panel will discuss some of the most pressing challenges in this area, including:

• Expanding opportunities for women’s inventorship while still being mindful of DEI objectives
• Offering a ‘gender toolkit’ to help women innovate
• Helping women in IP explore more industries
• Exploring cultural and racial differences in women inventorship
• Examining how law firms can attract a more diverse pool of candidates and retain them
• Devising best practices for firms to meet diversity and inclusion standards and still be mindful of women’s initiatives
• DEI in the law setting: Law firms, government, corporations- who is getting it right?
• How do you identify a positive culture?
• Dealing with the lack of transparency
• Wellness and belonging component:
• Promoting a sense of social belonging and cultivating a psychologically safe culture
• The psychology of interactions- giving and receiving feedback
• Analyzing gender equity and unconscious bias

Day One Concludes

Co-Chairs’ Opening Remarks

Melissa Jobe
Director, Corporate Intellectual Property
T-Mobile

Bridget Smith
Assistant General Counsel, Intellectual Property
Relativity Space

Supreme Court IP Case Review for 2023

Ginger Anders
Partner
Munger, Tolles & Olson

Elana Nightingale
Partner
Latham & Watkins LLP

Maria Victoria Stout
Partner
Knobbe Martens

2023 will be a banner year for IP cases before the Supreme Court. The Court will look at cases touching on basic principles of patent construction to blurred lines between copyright protections and First Amendment protections. Join our esteemed panelists for an in-depth discussion of several of these key cases.

Spotlight Cases:

• Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts v. Goldsmith
• VIP Products v. Jack Daniel’s
• Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc.
• Amgen vs Sanofi

Keynote Address

Keynote Fireside Chat

Jennifer M. Dixton
Assistant Chief, Special Counsel for Policy & Intellectual Property, Competition Policy & Advocacy Section
Department of Justice, Antitrust Division

Networking Break and Speaker Lounge

Appreciating The Benefits of Mentorship in The Development of Women IP Law Leaders

Jill Goldman
Associate General Counsel
Alarm.com

Linda Horner
Acting Senior Lead Administrative Patent Judge
Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Ceyda Maisami
Director, Intellectual Property
HP

Eve Salzberg
Intellectual Property Manager
The Estée Lauder Companies

Training, education, support, and mentorship have been instrumental in advancing women’s careers in the field of IP law.

• Examining the benefits of mentorship in IP from the perspectives of the mentee as well as the mentor
• How to pick the right mentor and the right mentee
• Getting through to the next generation of IP lawyers: do you speak millennial?
• What can we do to develop more support for mentorship initiatives and promote women leadership and innovation
• Understanding the value of mentorship in fostering innovation
• How do you become a good mentor?

Spotlight Address

Breaking Barriers: IP Insights from Women in Heavily Male-Dominated Industries

Jennifer Brumbaugh
Chief IP Counsel | Site Director
GKN Automotive

In this spotlight session, we will hear from an accomplished woman who has excelled in the field of intellectual property, in the automotive industry.

• Balancing IP strategies with business priorities in a fast-paced and competitive environment
• Developing technical expertise and overcoming biases in heavily male-dominated industries
• Seeking out mentors and sponsors to support professional growth

Networking Lunch

What Every IP Lawyer Needs to Know About NFTs, Blockchain and Web3

Nerissa Coyle McGinn
Partner
Loeb & Loeb LLP

Hannah Taylor
Partner
Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz

Blockchain, Web 3, and NFTs have disrupted technology and are testing the limits of IP law. This session will help you understand the importance of these decentralized technologies and how they are impacting patent, copyright and trademark protections.

Blockchain and Web3:

• Understanding the role of Web3 relative to blockchain and decentralized asset ownership
• Examining the functionalities of these technologies, in relation to IP rights
• Analyzing the copyright law and visual arts controversy and how this changes the philosophy of the Internet
• Evaluating how different industries look at this from an IP perspective
• Understanding the IP complexity of smart contracts that live on the blockchain
• How do you do contract review when it’s not written on paper but in computer code?

NFTs:

• Examining trademark infringement cases concerning NFTs
• How can you capitalize on NFTs while avoiding IP infringement?

…And Now A Word About Trademarks

Sharona H. Sternberg
Partner
Sunstein Law

Lisa Jakob
Managing Counsel, Trademarks & Copyrights
Merck

Lucy Jewett Wheatley
Partner
McGuireWoods LLP

Rachel Lovejoy
Senior Counsel (Chief IP Counsel)
SpaceX

Trademarks represent essential branding elements that also help promote creativity as well as commerce. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has seen some interesting cases that could very well set a precedent for other trademark infringement lawsuits.

• Examining some trademark controversies that have made the news in the last several years
• Devising strategies for successfully building your trademark portfolio
• Raising the profile of IP departments within large organizations, particularly in trademark and copyright
• Taking a closer look at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB)
• Assessing whether to bring your action before the TTAB, The District Court or both
• Examining cases before the TTAB

Networking Break and Speaker Lounge

Navigating Parallel Importation and Gray Markets in Order to Protect IP Rights

Alaina van Horn
Chief, Intellectual Property Enforcement Branch
U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Deanna Tanner Okun
International Trade Lawyer
Polsinelli

Lynda Zadra-Symes
Partner
Knobbe Martens

This session will be analyzing the challenges on navigating and preventing product importation and protecting IP rights.

• Understanding how parallel importation and gray markets affect IP rights
• Assessing the role of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the ITC in protecting IP, in instances of parallel importation and gray markets
• Exploring differences in IP rights in different countries and how this affects parallel trade
• Surveying US industries that are the most affected by parallel importation and exploring their techniques for combating it

IP Career Transitions: Insights on Navigating Your IP Journey

Rekha Hanu
Senior IP Counsel, Patient Care Solutions
GE Healthcare

Lisa Pensabene
Partner
O'Melveny Myers

Megan F. Raymond
Partner
Groombridge, Wu, Baughman & Stone LLP

• Analyzing how things have changed for women in the last decade in pursuing careers in the different areas of intellectual property and in different industries
• Offering advice for young women at the beginning of their careers on how they can succeed on both career and personal levels
• Moving forward: Fostering an environment in which women can harness opportunity and feel empowered at every stage of their career
• Identifying the different milestones in women’s IP careers and the challenges in each

Conference Adjourns