Jan Hendrickson to Moderate ABA Panels

Jan Hendrickson, Ph.D. , will be the moderator of two panels at the American Bar Association's 26th Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference, to be held in April in Arlington VA.

Dr. Hendrickson's first panel, on April 6, will be on "Obviousness Rejections at the USPTO: Prosecution Strategies." In the wake of the Supreme Court's widely discussed 2007 decision in KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., the United States Patent and Trademark Office released updated guidelines for patent examiners and practitioners on analyzing obviousness. Starting with the examination guidelines, the panel will explore how the KSR standards have been applied in various technology areas and will provide guidance for effective avenues of argument based on the technology area. The panel will also discuss various arguments that may be effective but that may also narrow the scope of arguments that can be made during litigation.

The second panel, scheduled on April 8, will be a discussion of the Federal Circuit's en banc review of Therasense, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson & Co. The Court is reviewing the standards for materiality, intent, and balancing for inequitable conduct. The questions under consideration include the materiality-intent-balancing framework: the standard for materiality, when intent could be inferred from materiality, and whether standards for materiality and intent from other agencies or the common law should be considered. From these questions, it appears that the Federal Circuit will thoroughly review the doctrine. The case history, policy considerations, and arguments will be discussed and guidance for attorneys will be provided.