2018 BCLT/BTLJ Symposium

The substantive law of intellectual property (IP) gets more than its fair share of attention from legal scholars and practitioners. There are, however, many important administrative law issues that affect the IP field. This two-day symposium turns a spotlight on a wide range of these issues in a cross-cutting fashion, comparing similarities and differences in administrative agency practices and policies in the patent, copyright, and trademark fields. Among the questions to be addressed: Should the Copyright Office become an independent agency or be merged with the Patent and Trademark Office? Will the Supreme Court, in the Oil States case, uphold the constitutionality of Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) proceedings to adjudicate patent validity? How much deference should federal courts give to IP agency rule-making, issuances, and policy pronouncements? Should there be small claims courts for patent and copyright infringement?