May 19, 2022 – Failure to Function or Failure of Logic: Practical Suggestions for Overcoming TTAB Refusals

This month’s presentation was “Failure to Function or Failure of Logic: Practical Suggestions for Overcoming Refusals,” with special guest lecturer John Sommer, General Counsel for Stussy, Inc. Mr. Sommer discussed some of his prior cases with the USPTO’s TTAB and discussed various current trends with Trademark law.

April 28, 2022 Meeting- Zoom Trials: Presentation and Pointers

This Month, the presenting group provided mock direct and cross-examinations, various tips and tricks, and the Inn heard from a special guest lecturer, Hon. Matthew Williams, King County Superior Court; offering his insights into online trials.

Mass Incarceration – A Three Inns of Court Joint Meeting

On March 21, 2022, together with the Dwyer and Bryan Inns of Court, the Seattle Inn of Court hosted a joint meeting on Mass Incarceration with presenters Larry Jefferson and David Trieweiler. Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Trieweiler held an excellent presentation on the macro and micro effects of Mass Incarceration in America broadly and in Washington State.

February 2022 Meeting: Ethical Considerations for In-House & Outside Counsel

On February 17, 2022, the Inn hosted an Ethics presentation related to various issues concerning both In-House & Outside Counsel! The presentation is outlined below.

Please Welcome the 2021-2022 Executive Committee Members

President – Duncan Macfarlane 

President-Elect – Kevin A. Zeck 

Secretary – Lori Tonnes 

Treasurer – Caroline Bercier 

Membership Chair – Dario Machleidt 

Program Chair – Charlie Zhao 

Achieving Excellence – Xiang “Shawn” Li 

Director (Website) – Catherine “Katie” Sutton 

Director (At Large) – Stephen McGrath 

Director (At Large) – Bill Harmon 

Director (At Large) – Jessica Kaempf 

Director (At Large) – Nicholas Kim

Executive Committee Membership Announcement

Please join us in thanking the outgoing Executive Committee Members!

2020-2021 Executive Committee Members

President – Gina Culbert

President Elect – Duncan Macfarlane

Secretary – Kevin A. Zeck

Treasurer – Lori Tonnes

Membership Chair – Dario Machleidt

Program Chair – Kristen Lange

Achieving Excellence and Inn Alliance Liaison – Caroline Bercier

Director (Website) – Catherine Sutton

Director (At Large) – Shannon Jost

Director (At Large) – Stephen McGrath

Director (At Large) – Bill Harmon

Director (At Large) – Charlie Zhao

[Ex Officio Directors e.g. former Presidents – Paul Leuzzi, Jerry A. Riedinger, Lawrence D. Graham, Isabella Fu, Brooke A.M. Taylor, Brian C. Park, Signe Naeve, Mark P. Walters, John D. Vandenberg, Warren Rheaume, Jonathan L. McFarland, Ben Byer]

The Devil’s In the Details: A Mock IP License Negotiation

On April 15, 2021, the Inn of Court held a Mock IP License Negotiation. Please enjoy the slide presentation of the Mock Negotiation.

October 2020 – IP Developments

The Seattle IP Inn of Court held its October 22, 2020, meeting in a virtual mixer format. The meeting included a overview presentation of recent developments in IP law.  A section on trademarks covered willful infringement, the ability to protect “generic.com” terms, and the need for likelihood of confusion in counterfeit cases.  A section on copyrights addresses the outstanding issues in the Google v Oracle case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.  This included the copyright eligibility of application programming interfaces and associated fair use defenses.  A section on patents covered recent developments in discretionary denials at the Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB).  The patent segment also contained a discussion of the Arthrex case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve whether PTAB judges are principal officers, and, if so, whether the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals cured any defects in the statutory scheme creating these judgeships.

Thank you to all the participants!

2020-21 Welcome Letter & the Meetings Schedule

Please click the below links for the 2020 – 2021 Welcome Letter and the Schedule for Meetings.

Welcome Letter: https://seattleipinn.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Welcome-Letter-2020-21.pdf

Meeting Schedule: https://seattleipinn.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Schedule-of-meetings-2020-21-2.pdf

Seattle IP Inn of Court Virtual Mixer – June 18, 2020

The Seattle IP Inn of Court held its last event of the Inn year in virtual mixer format on June 18, 2020. The Board for the 2020 – 2021 year was elected. The new Board members on the call introduced themselves to the attendees. Thank you to the Board members leaving the Board! Welcome to the new Board members! Thank you to all Seattle IP Inn of Court members for their participation this year!