48th IP Institute

Will you be attending the 48th Annual IP Institute in Long Beach?  Are you interested in intellectual property in the entertainment and sports industries?  If so, please join us for a nightcap networking mixer held at Local Current, the hotel bar at the Marriott Long Beach Downtown on Thursday, March 6, 2025, from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. 

If you are a member, or are interested in being a member of the Entertainment and Sports Law Interest Group of the IP Law Section, come meet a broad array of diverse practitioners in a relaxed and inviting venue.  Officers of the Interest Group will be at the event to answer questions, provide information about the Group, and simply to chat.  We will be providing one drink ticket per person to the first 25 people who attend. Hope to see you there!

1 Hour MCLE

“What are the damages?” This is, perhaps, the most fundamental question in any case of IP infringement. Without a proper understanding of what your client’s damages may be, it is nearly impossible to appropriately assess a best course of action. A well-reasoned and convincing summary of how those damage numbers are reached is also critical at the trial level. Similarly, understanding the value of a specific bit of intellectual property is critical in negotiations, mergers, and a wide range of transactions. Join Nisha Mody and Doug Bania, two brilliant damages and IP valuation experts, as they guide you through the nuts and bolts of how you should think about damages and valuation of IP.

• Doug Bania, Founder – Nevium IP Consultants
• Nisha Mody, Managing Director – Secretariat

1 Hour MCLE; 1 Technology in The Practice of Law

Understanding the various open source licenses, and how integrating open source into a product impacts licensing and disclosure obligations, has been a tricky topic for many years now. This already complex topic has had some new twists and turns introduced as the explosion of artificial intelligence has, as it has with many IP issues, changed the way we need to think about open source. Join Heather Meeker and Kate Downing, thought leaders in the realm of AI and IP, in exploring how you should be thinking about open source in the new wild west of AI.

• Heather Meeker – Tech Law Partners LLP
• Kate Downing – Law Offices of Kate Downing – Founder

1 Hour MCLE

When considering early strategy in preparing for patent litigation, fully assessing and evaluating options for venue can be an overlooked aspect of developing a litigation plan. Join our fantastic panel of Ellisen Turner, Kalpana Srinivasan, and Arka Chatterjee as they teach us the “why” and the “how” of the “where” when it comes to selecting venue to bring a patent case.

• Ellisen Turner – Kirkland & Ellis – Partner
• Oleg Elkhunovich – Susman Godfrey – Partner

1 Hour MCLE

US Privacy Law continues to grow at an exponential rate with federal privacy laws looking unlikely in the near future. We live in a data driven world and these new privacy laws are impacting more and more clients, with each new state privacy law requiring a new assessment to see how it’s terms overlap or differ from pre-existing laws. Understanding thresholds of application, what these laws expect of your clients, and how to prepare your clients for existing laws and future considerations has become absolutely mandatory. Hanifa Baporia and Dave Navetta, two attorneys extremely versed in how these laws impact a business, are joining us to get us up to date on the many new developments in U.S. privacy law in 2024.

• Hanifa Baporia – Oracle
• David Navetta – Cooley LLP – Partner

1 Hour MCLE

Using intellectual property protection as a barrier to entry by competitors is an important business and legal consideration. Patents and trade secrets are both often used to protect the crown jewel inventions of the company, but they vary in how they work and what they protect. Each has its unique advantages and disadvantages, so determining when and which type of protection to use to maximize value involves a complex strategic analysis. Join Chris Buntel and Bridget Smith as they teach us how to think about these complementary IP protection tools, and how to develop an IP strategy that best fits your client’s business needs and objectives.

• Chris Buntel – Tangibly – Co-Founder and CIPO
• Bridget Smith – Relativity Space – Assistant General Counsel and Director of IP

Networking lunch featuring table topic discussions.

1 Hour MCLE

The world of copyright law is everchanging and those who do not keep up will fall behind. We are unbelievably lucky to be joined by two incredible minds in the copyright space–Prof. David Nimmer and former GC for the Copyright Office Jacqueline Charlesworth–to talk us through the most substantial changes in copyright law over the course of 2024.

• Prof. David Nimmer, UCLA
• Jacqueline Charlesworth, Partner at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein + Selz 

1 Hour MCLE; 1 Technology in The Practice of Law

Regulatory and statutory compliance requirements in relation to AI have already begun to crop up across in multiple states within the U.S. However, the directives of the E.U. AI Act are likely the most substantive set of regulations on AI in the world right now, and the time has come to start preparing clients to comply where necessary. We have seen from past laws that these types of regulations out of the EU can also form the blueprint for future U.S. laws, especially in California. Steve Millendorf will be joining us to walk us through what we will need to be advising our clients on when it comes to the use and development of artificial intelligence.

• Steve Millendorf – Foley & Lardner, LLP – Partner

1 Hour MCLE; 1 Technology in The Practice of Law

Lawyers and business professionals are at a pivotal moment where adapting to AI can define their future success. This presentation will guide you on how to embark on your AI journey.

AI will profoundly disrupt every facet of the legal profession. Lawyers who don’t harness AI to deliver better services at a lower cost may be left behind. The question isn’t “if” but “when” AI will impact your practice. Understanding how AI is currently being used by your competitors will motivate you to stay ahead. AI should be seen as a powerful assistant capable of enhancing your practice. Just like you manage human assistants, you may provide AI with background knowledge, guide its work, and iterate to produce results that align with your clients’ needs.

AI is evolving rapidly, with its exponential capabilities continuously improving. There seems to be no ceiling on its potential, and new developments are on the horizon. Lawyers must consider their role in a world where AI becomes vastly smarter than any single individual. Adapting to AI may require a change in your workflow. Instead of relying on old habits, you need to upset the apple cart and integrate AI tools into your practice. These tools will revolutionize how you deliver legal services, creating more value for clients and making your work more enjoyable. Join Enrico Shaeffer, a man truly committed to maximizing the use of AI in our industry, in learning how to both explore these tools, experiment, and even potentially build GPT assistants tailored to specific clients. Serving clients competently means understanding the tools available to you as attorney, join us in learning how to leverage AI not just to increase productivity but to transform client relationships and achieve greater potential.

• Enrico Shaefer – Traverse Legal – Founding Partner

Limit 30 people

1 Hour MCLE

Kathi Vidal has been at the forefront of shaping IP law and practice for many years now. The immediate past Undersecretary of Commerce for IP and Director of the USPTO, she is internationally recognized as one of the most influential individuals in our field. Now a Partner at Winston and Strawn, Ms. Vidal has recently returned to litigation practice to resume her decades of representation of high-profile clients in IP matters across the world. Join our keynote speaker for a frank discussion of her thoughts on the state of IP practice and law.

• Speaker: Kathi Vidal – Winston & Strawn – Partner, Immediate Past Director of the USPTO
• Moderator: Jeff Smyth, Partner – Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP

1 Hour MCLE

The grey market has always posed a uniquely challenging IP problem for practitioners trying to ensure their clients’ control over their various distribution channels. While tools certainly exist to assist with curtailing the sale of grey market goods, developing a truly sound plan for combatting the grey market requires a great deal of vigilance and forethought when it comes to assisting your clients. Join Deborah Greaves and Morgan Smith, two attorneys extremely experienced in exactly this issue, as they help us learn how to take the fight to the grey market.

• Deborah Greaves – Offit Kurman – Principal
• Morgan Smith – Finnegan – Partner

1 Hour MCLE

Just as the emergence of new technologies constantly transforms everyday life, patent law changes and evolves year after year. Understanding the latest developments is critical to ensuring innovative companies have adequate protection for their cutting-edge inventions. Join Professor Lefstin as he explores and discusses the most significant developments, rulings, and trends in patent law from the past year.

• Prof. Jeffrey Lefstin, Ph.D. – University of California College of Law, San Francisco – Professor or Law

Every year, the IP Section awards the Vanguard Award to individuals that are truly exemplary in the practice of IP Law. This year we will be giving the award to three different categories of individuals: In-House, Academic, and Firm. Join us once again in celebrating truly phenomenal contributors to our great practice. Introduction: Jon Lurie, The Law Offices of Lurie and Ferri, LLP. Award recipients:

• Academic: Mark McKenna, Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Institute for Technology, Law & Policy at UCLA School of Law
• Firm: Andy Gass, Partner at Latham Watkins, LLP
• In-House: Shabnam Malek, Head of IP and Privacy at The Wine Group
• Larry Maxham Award: Ben Borson, President of Borson Law Group, PC

1 Hour MCLE

Assessing and evaluating patent damages, including properly preparing experts, is an important issue that arises in every patent case. Understanding how to effectively assess the patent’s value, the infringing product’s market impact, comparable licensing agreements, and other damages considerations is a complex interplay of art, and science. Advising on this front is critical to litigation, trial, and settlement strategies which can make or break a case. Join Bita Rahebi and Erin Crockett for a deep dive into a topic that is both complex and omnipresent in patent litigation.

• Bita Rahebi – Morrison Foerster – Partner
• Erin Crockett – Charles River Associates – Principle

1 Hour MCLE

It is a brand new year for protecting the brands of your clients and trademark law continues to evolve before our eyes.  Join our incredible panel in unpacking this eventful year and understanding the impact it has had on the practice of trademark law.

• Vijay Toke, Head of Litigation, Pranger Law, P.C.
• Raffi Zerounian, Hanson Bridgett, LLP, Partner

1 Hour MCLE; 1 Legal Ethics

Many attorneys engage in aggressive behaviors and tactics that they say are part of a “duty” of zealous advocacy. But the ethics rules do not impose a “duty” of zealous advocacy and these jerks and bullies often cross ethics rules related to candor and misconduct and face potential sanctions, reputational injury, or discipline. They certainly violate guidelines and norms of civility established by the Courts and bar associations. In this seminar, we will learn to: (1) understand how this type of aggressive behavior may violate the ethics rules including Model Rules 3 and 8; (2) how such behavior may undermine client options and decision-making; (3) what we may be required to do to address such behavior under Rule 5 regarding supervisory or subordinate attorneys or Rule 8.3 reporting misconduct or even the FRCP and 28 USC 1927.

• Michele Galloway – Cooley LLP – Of Counsel