On October 18, 2022, the Michel IP Inn of Court and Seattle IP Inn of Court hosted a joint Inn meeting. The meeting focused on best practices for claim construction oral advocacy, and gave junior members a unique opportunity: a simulated appellate oral argument before the Hon. Richard Linn, Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the Hon. James Robart, District Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.
The meeting used an advanced Zoom setup, provided graciously by TSG Reporting, allowing participants to connect from Seattle, Los Angeles, and Washington DC. Jerry Riedinger (co-founder of the Seattle IP Inn of Court) opened with an excellent presentation on claim construction argument best practices and pointers. Judge Linn and Judge Robart then presided over a moot appellate argument in the fictitious matter of Texas Patentee v. Big Tech Mobile Device Co. Two junior attorneys from each Inn argued challenging claim construction issues (patterned after difficult real world issues), with the Michel IP Inn representing Texas Patentee and the Seattle IP Inn of Court representing Big Tech Mobile Device Co. The meeting was highly successful, with more than 75 members attending. The Inns wish to thank all involved for their time and effort, including the Hon. Michael R. Wilner, Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the Central District of California, who could not participate due to a last minute conflict.