News

The effects of recent Supreme Court decisions on intellectual property rights will be the focus of the 16th Annual Symposium on Intellectual Property Law and the Corporate Client, on October 2 from 1 to 5 p.m. at Northwestern University School of Law, 357 E. Chicago Ave.

Punitive damages in the State Farm case will be among the symposium's featured issues, examined by a federal judge and leading lawyers with competing perspectives of the court, the corporate counsel and the trial lawyer.

Titled "New Intellectual Property Strategies for Corporate Counsel," the symposium will bring together authorities in a rapidly changing field to discuss practical implications of three major Supreme Court decisions in 2003 -- Moseley v. Victoria's Secret Catalogue, Dastar v. Twentieth Century Fox and State Farm v. Campbell.

The program is being chaired by David Hilliard of the Chicago law firm Pattishall, McAuliffe, Newbury, Hilliard & Geraldson.

In the panel discussion on the State Farm case, Suzanne B. Conlon, U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, will present the court's view; Daniel M. Stock, Managing IP Counsel-Litigation for Ford Global Technologies Inc., will present the corporate counsel's view; and William L. Niro, of Niro, Scavone, Haler & Niro in Chicago, will present the trial lawyer's view.

IP lawyers and in-house counsels at top U.S. corporations also will discuss new theories on settled doctrines, such as abandonment, and responses to new technologies and international business opportunities.

"Corporate legal departments face the challenge of protecting their rights, while seeking ways for their companies to expand business," said David Van Zandt, dean of Northwestern University School of Law. "This symposium takes a practical approach to many of these issues with a stellar faculty of leading authorities in this growing field."

As a program sponsored by the Northwestern University School of Law, the Symposium on Intellectual Property Law and the Corporate Client is accredited in most states with mandatory continuing legal education requirements. Tuition is $200.

• Categories: