Welcome to the website for the Sixth Annual Symposium of the Northwestern Journal of Technology & Intellectual Property. The Symposium will be hosted in Wieboldt Hall (339 E. Chicago Ave.) on the Chicago Campus of Northwestern University on March 4th, 2011. Once again, the Symposium is free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided, and a cocktail reception will follow the day's events. Up to four Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits for the State of Illinois are available, one credit for each panel attended, for a flat fee of $200. Applications will be available at the door. For any questions, please contact the development editor, Nakeena Covington.
The Fifth Symposium, March 5th 2010, presented:
The Patenting of Social
Interactions: Bilski Before the Supreme Court
The most watched patent case in the last decade was finally argued before the Supreme Court last November. This case is expected to clarify the patentability of business processes and hopefully decide the viability of the transformation-or-machine test set forth by the Federal Circuit. What is at stake with Bilski and what are the high court’s options?
Keynote Speaker
Sharon Barner,
Deputy Under Secretary and Deputy Director of the USPTO.
Strategies for the USPTO: Ensuring America's Innovation Future
Trademark and Copyright in
the Days of Internet: The Google
Influence
The ease of interlinking and manipulating information on the internet has changed the landscape of protecting intellectual property. While Google provides new potential in the preservation and acquisition of information, it has also become the focus point of a number of crucial IP issues. The recent Google Books and Google AdWords cases have brought home the difficulty of protecting intellectual property and even determining when intellectual property has been infringed. What are the ramifications of these cases? What does the future hold for the continuing influence of Google? How can IP be protected in such a fluid landscape as the internet?
Who Defines the Law?: USPTO
Rule Making Authority
Many of the cases before the Federal Circuit hinge on the USPTO’s power to interpret and adopt rules (Cooper Technologies v Dudas, Tafas v. Doll, Wyeth v. Kappos). Challenges of the USPTO’s rulemaking and interpreting power have met with mixed results and limited clarification. What do litigators and prosecutors alike need to know about the USPTO’s rule making and interpreting authority and the public’s ability to challenge that authority? Where is the line drawn between substantive and procedural rules?
Redefining “Free”: a Look
at Open Source Software Management
Some think of open source code as a contribution to community property. Others consider it a useful tool in product placement. Either way, open source code provides unique difficulties in licensing, due diligence and patenting. We look at the pitfalls and issues that arise when open source code is included in a deal.
