This Week in Washington IP: Pride in Patent Ownership Bill Back on Senate Agenda, IPWatchdog Webinar Reviews Vidal’s Impact on PTAB, and USPTO Hosts Boardside Chat with Deputy Director

This week in Washington IP news, the Senate Judiciary Committee is holding an Executive Business Meeting in which they will discuss the Pride in Patent Ownership Act, while several Senate subcommittees hold hearings related to American manufacturing, diversity in entrepreneurship, and increasing access to capital in underserved markets. Elsewhere, IPWatchdog is hosting a webinar discussing USPTO Director Kathi Vidal’s tenure, the USPTO will host a virtual Boardside Chat with Deputy Director Derrick Brent, and the CSIS looks at the latest meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC).

Monday, December 12

Center for Strategic & International Studies

Assessing the TTC and the Transatlantic Alliance

At 9:00 AM on Monday, online video webinar.

CSIS experts Max Bergmann and Bill Reinsch are hosting this webinar on the third ministerial meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC). The ministerial meeting took place at a difficult point for both parties in relation to the Russia-Ukraine war, increased trade tensions, and emerging technological development from growing economies.

Tuesday, December 13

IPWatchdog, Inc.

The Impact of Director Vidal on the PTAB

At 12 PM on Tuesday, online video webinar.

IPWatchdog is hosting an online webinar on USPTO Director Kathi Vidal’s impact on The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Director Vidal has taken a hands-on approach that has produced different results than her predecessor. The conversation will be moderated by Gene Quinn who will be joined by  Scott McKeown, partner at Ropes & Gray and one of the most active and successful attorneys representing petitioners at the PTAB, James Carmichael, former APJ and founder of Carmichael IP and one of the top attorneys for patent owners facing PTAB proceedings, and Kevin Laurence, co-founder of Laurence & Phillips, who has been recognized as a leading practitioner for post grant proceedings every year since 2012 in the IAM Patent 1000. You can register for the meeting using this form.

Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Fisheries, Climate Change, and Manufacturing

Promoting and Investing in Small American Manufacturers

At 2 PM on Tuesday in the Russell Senate Office Building, Room 253

The Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Fisheries, Climate Change, and Manufacturing is hosting a hearing titled “Promoting and Investing in Small American Manufacturers”. U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Chair of the Subcommittee, will convene the meeting that will focus on “investments and policies to help SMEs better compete.” These policies include “new MEP authorities to support workforce development, cybersecurity and supply chain management” and policies that promote domestic production and modernize U.S. manufacturing. The four witnesses on the panel will be Carrie Hines, President and CEO, American Small Manufacturers Coalition, Dr. Kelvin Lee, Institute Director, National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals, David Vasko, Senior Director for Advanced Technology, Rockwell Automation, and C. Todd Zakreski, President, HUSCO Automotive.

Senate Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment

Examining How Capital Markets Serve Diverse Entrepreneurs and Investors

At 2:30 PM on Tuesday in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 538.

The Senate Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment is holding a hearing entitled, “Examining How Capital Markets Serve Diverse Entrepreneurs and Investors.” The two witnesses at the meeting will be Gilbert Andrew Garcia, CFA & Managing Partner at Garcia Hamilton & Associates, L.P., and Thomas Quaadman, Executive Vice President of the Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In a similar vein, the UPSTO recently launched an initiative to increase women’s participation in entrepreneurship. 

Wednesday, December 14

Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Improving Access to Capital in Underserved Communities

At 2:30 PM on Wednesday in the Russell Senate Office Building, Room 428A

The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship is holding a hearing titled “Improving Access to Capital in Underserved Communities.” The hearing will focus on the Community Advantage Program, a pilot program to assist small businesses in underserved markets, as well as microloans. There are four witnesses on the panel, Jon Gaines, Vice President of the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation, Nick Schwellenbach, Senior Investigator at the Project on Government Oversight, Robert Villarreal, Chief External Affairs Officer at Momentus Capital-CDC Small Business Finance, and Annemarie Murphy, Executive Vice President of First Bank of the Lake.

Thursday, December 15

United States Patent and Trademark Office

Boardside Chat with USPTO Deputy Director Derrick Brent

At 12:00 PM EST on Thursday – Online video webinar

The USPTO will host a Boardside Chat webinar on Thursday featuring a fireside chat with the USPTO’s Deputy Director Derrick Brent, moderated by Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Supervisory Patent Attorney Krista Flanagan. PTAB Acting Vice Chief Judge Scott Moore and Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) Staff Attorney Jennifer Harchick will also join the webinar. Topics of discussion will include two Federal Register Notice Request for Comments that the Office says are “aimed at expanding opportunities to practice before the agency”:  Expanding opportunities to appear before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and Expanding admission criteria for registration to practice in patent cases before the USPTO.?Both Requests for Comments are open for responses until January 17, 2023. Register for the Boardside Chat here.

Senate Judiciary Committee

Pride in Patent Ownership Act

At 9:00 AM on Thursday in the Hart Senate Office Building, Room 216.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold an Executive Business Meeting where members will in part consider S.2774, the Pride in Patent Ownership Act (PPOA), co-sponsored by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The PPOA is seemingly intended to ensure that the public has access to information about the true owner of a patent. But critics have noted it focuses on ownership of patents, and does not seek to provide true transparency by identifying those funding and benefiting from Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) challenges, for instance. 

Friday, December 16

American Enterprise Institute

Inflation, the Economy, and the Federal Reserve

At 12 PM on Friday, online video webinar.

The American Enterprise Institute is hosting an online conversation with San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly to discuss the impact of high inflation rates on the economy. Daly will discuss what monetary policymakers think about rate hikes and the bearing they have on economic prospects. The event will be hosted by Michael R. Strain from AEI.