Defending Against the Patent Troll Threat

CD of Live 90-Minute Telephone Conference with an Interactive Q&A Session Conducted on March 14, 2006 Now available on CD

"Patent trolls" -- some call them savvy businessmen, others barely shy away from calling them extortionists. However they are described, aggressive patent assertion entities are one of the biggest threats facing companies whose revenues rely on innovative products or processes.

Nothing demonstrates the power of a patent assertion entity more dramatically than the infamous suit involving Research in Motion Ltd., the maker of BlackBerry, and New Technology Products, a one-man firm that owns the patent on "wireless email."

Listen as our authoritative panelists examine patent trolls, their impact on today’s patent environment, the need for industry cooperation to cope with the challenge, and how corporations can strategically defend against this type of patent assertion claim.

They address these and other key questions:

• What are patent trolls and how do they operate?
• What protections are available under current patent law?
• How can companies defend their products and processes against patent assertion claims?
• Will the Patent Reform Act provide relief to companies targeted by patent trolls?

Our panelists include:

Anthony J. FitzPatrick, Partner, Duane Morris, Boston, serves as co-chair of the firm's Intellectual Property Litigation Practice, where he concentrates on patent and trade secret matters. In addition, he represents clients in intellectual property disputes concerning trademarks, copyrights, false advertising, rights of publicity and the Internet.

Allen E. Hoover, Partner, Banner & Witcoff, Ltd., Chicago, has broad experience in the IP law field. He has handled patent infringement lawsuits in a wide range of technologies, including software, business methods, and computer process control systems. He conducts licensing negotiations on behalf of clients and provides counseling on complex IP matters.

Michael O. Warnecke, Partner, Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw, Chicago, is a leader in the firm's IP practice area and focuses on complex IP litigation. He is well-versed and experienced in international patent, technology licensing, and other intellectual property matters.

Christopher J. Renk (Moderator), Banner & Witcoff, Chicago, focuses his practice on litigating patent, trademark, copyright, and unfair competition cases. In 2005, Chris was selected to the ”Top 100 Illinois Super Lawyers” list, featured in the May 2005 issue of Chicago magazine. He serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center and is a contributing author of the Patent Litigation Strategies Handbook, BNA 2000 and of Patent Litigation, PLI, 2001.

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