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Participate in active Interest Groups focusing on Patent, Trademark, Copyright, Trade Secrets, Licensing & Technology Transactions, IP Litigation, Entertainment & Sports, International IP, In-House Counsel, IP Legislation, Cannabis, and Technology, Internet & Privacy. Interest Groups offer frequent webinar presentations and community discussions of hot topics and practice tips.

The Interest Groups of the IP Section are open to all IP Section members interested in participating. The groups have regular meetings open to all members of the IP Section. They also present educational programs focused on the needs of various IP practices.

All of the interest groups send periodic e-mail bulletins to their members. As an IP Law Section member, you can sign up to receive notifications in all areas that interest you.

For more information, contact the officers for the Interest Group(s) of your choice (scroll down for the contact information), or contact the Intellectual Property Law Section at IP@calawyers.org.

Announcements of meetings and CLE programs are included in Inevitable Disclosures, which is sent to all members of the Section.

Upcoming Interest Group Calls

March 8, 2024 @ 12 noon | Licensing & Technology Transactions Interest Group Call

Friday, March 8, 2024 @ 12 noon

Monthly open call of the Licensing & Technology Transaction Interest Group. We will present the latest patent law developments over the past month in a collegial, no-pressure, and sometimes humorous setting. Please consider joining!

This meeting will take place by way of the Zoom platform. For the zoom audio-video link, please refer to the most recent issue of Inevitable Disclosures emailed to members of the IP Section. If you no longer have that Inevitable Disclosures email, please contact IP@calawyers.org and request the Zoom link.


Title: Square Pegs and Pitfalls: Privacy and Data Security in the Workplace

For many companies, the most sensitive data they manage is human resources data. This data includes everything from Social Security numbers to health information to criminal records to salary and performance evaluations. At the same time, the employment context is one of the most heavily regulated areas of data protection. Federal laws specific to the workplace, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, Equal Employment Opportunity Act, and Fair Credit Reporting Act, closely regulate wide sectors of data. At the state and local level, hundreds of additional workplace-specific laws create risks related to data protection. Layered on top of workplace-specific laws, many laws drafted for consumer protection also apply in the employment context, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act, resulting a wide spectrum of square peg/round hole challenges for employers. 

Finally, privacy-related risks can be high stakes in the workplace. Missteps on the part of employers may damage employee morale and productivity. Former employees frequently sue their employers and may add privacy-related claims to discrimination or other claims. This presentation will provide an overview of the framework of laws relevant to privacy and data security in the workplace, as well as a discussion of common traps for the unwary.

Speaker: Zoe M. Argento. Zoe M. Argento is the co-chair of the Privacy and Data Security Practice Group at Littler Mendelson, P.C., the largest management-side labor and employment law firm in the world. She represents and counsels clients on all aspects of privacy and information security and regularly handles data breach response and regulatory investigations related to breaches. She has written extensively on subjects related to data rights and security, artificial intelligence, intellectual property, and internet law, and frequently presents on these topics.

April 2, 2024 @ 12 noon | Patent Interest Group Call

Tuesday, April 2, 2024 @12 noon

Monthly open call of the Patent Interest Group. We will present the latest patent law developments over the past month in a collegial, no-pressure, and sometimes humorous setting. Please consider joining!

This meeting will take place by way of the Zoom platform. For the zoom audio-video link, please refer to the most recent issue of Inevitable Disclosures emailed to members of the IP Section. If you no longer have that Inevitable Disclosures email, please contact IP@calawyers.org and request the Zoom link.

April 3, 2024 @ 12 noon | Copyright Interest Group Call

Wednesday, April 3, 2024 @ 12 noon

Monthly open call of the Copyright Interest Group. We will present the latest copyright law developments over the past month in a collegial, no-pressure, and sometimes humorous setting. Please consider joining!

This meeting will take place by way of the Zoom platform. For the zoom audio-video link, please refer to the most recent issue of Inevitable Disclosures emailed to members of the IP Section. If you no longer have that Inevitable Disclosures email, please contact IP@calawyers.org and request the Zoom link.

April 4, 2024 @ 12 noon | Cannabis Interest Group Call

Thursday, April 4, 2024 @ 12 noon

This meeting will take place by way of the Zoom platform. For the zoom audio-video link, please refer to the most recent issue of Inevitable Disclosures emailed to members of the IP Section. If you no longer have that Inevitable Disclosures email, please contact IP@calawyers.org and request the Zoom link.

Monthly “All Hands” Cannabis IG conference call. We’ll discuss upcoming webinars and conferences, opportunities for members to get involved and Hot Topics.

April 12, 2024 @ 12 noon | Licensing & Technology Transactions Interest Group Call

Friday, April 12, 2024 @ 12 noon

Monthly open call of the Licensing & Technology Transaction Interest Group. We will present the latest patent law developments over the past month in a collegial, no-pressure, and sometimes humorous setting. Please consider joining!

This meeting will take place by way of the Zoom platform. For the zoom audio-video link, please refer to the most recent issue of Inevitable Disclosures emailed to members of the IP Section. If you no longer have that Inevitable Disclosures email, please contact IP@calawyers.org and request the Zoom link.


Using Standard Agreements for Technology Transactions

While common in finance and real estate, use of industry-vetted standard agreements is new to the world of SaaS, professional services, data protection and other commercial technology deals. But that is now changing, fast.

Through its committee of over 100 lawyers from major law firms, F500 customers and enterprise technology providers, Bonterms publishes Standard Agreements which cover the entire enterprise commercial stack: NDA, Cloud Terms, PSA, DPA, SLA and AI Standard Clauses. Bonterms Standard Agreements are free to download and use and are implemented by Cover Page, so no more redlines. Downloaded and viewed over 50K times, Bonterms Standard Agreements are in use across the tech landscape, including by some of the biggest customers in the world.

Todd Smithline, founder and CEO of Bonterms, will join us to show how Standard Agreements work and answer your questions about this new form of contracting.

Speaker Todd Smithline is CEO and Founder of Bonterms. Bonterms is simplifying commercial contracting through Standard Agreements and the two-sided Bonterms Platform. Bonterms is funded by XYZ Capital and the law firm Wilson Sonsini.

Prior to Bonterms Todd was general counsel of Marimba, an enterprise software company he helped take from start-up to successful public company and was Managing Principal of Smithline PC, a boutique law firm that represented a who’s-who list of leading Silicon Valley companies and pioneered fixed-fee subscription pricing. He started his career with Latham & Watkins and Gunderson Dettmer.

Todd teaches Fundamentals of Technology Transactions and Video Game Law at UC Berkeley School of Law and is a board member or advisor to multiple start-ups.

Contact the Interest Group

Cannabis

Chair: Elizabeth J. Rest, San Francisco
Co-Vice Chair: David Branfman, Solano Beach
Co-Vice Chair: Jeff Smyth, Palo Alto
Programming Chair: Ronald Naulls, Wildomar

More than half of the states (plus Washington, D.C.) in the United States – including California – have either significantly de-criminalized the cultivation, possession, and sale of cannabis for medical purposes or have legalized it for use by adults over the age of 21 (a/k/a “recreational” use).  This has resulted in a multi-billion dollar industry.  Intellectual Property law has proven to be one of the most critical areas of the law as investors and entrepreneurs enter the cannabis space and try to determine how to protect and leverage their investments.  Providing IP legal services to the legal cannabis industry requires knowledge and experience in all the major sub-categories of IP law: trademarks; copyrights; patents; trade secrets; rights of publicity; and IP licensing.

 The Cannabis Interest Group of the Intellectual Property Law strives to educate lawyers in intellectual property law principles and the business and legal aspects of servicing the burgeoning legal cannabis industry, including, but not limited to, the creation, protection, acquisition, and licensing of brand names and content, domain names, label design, trade secrets, and patents – all pursuant to the complex web of U.S., California and foreign laws – as well as the licensing and sale of those IP assets.

The Cannabis Interest Group offers educational programs focused on cannabis intellectual property issues.  The Cannabis Interest Group also has regular and lively Zoom meetings the first Thursday of each month at 12:00 PT where we discuss recent cannabis intellectual property cases, cannabis-related trademark and copyright filings, cannabis companies in the news, and other hot cannabis-related topics.  We also welcome members to bring their questions and concerns to the group for us to work through together.

Copyright

Chair: Marcus Peterson, Redwood City
Co-Vice Chair: John R. Wierzbicki, San Francisco
Co-Vice Chair: Angus MacDonald, Oakland

The Copyright Interest Group offers educational programs focused on recent copyright developments.  The Copyright IG has regular, lively Zoom meetings on the first Wednesday of each month at 12pm PT, where we discuss the most recent copyright decisions, policy issues, Copyright Office rules, interesting cases, and other hot topics related to U.S. copyright law.  We also welcome members to bring their questions, topics, and perspectives to the group.

Entertainment & Sports

Chair: Jonathan Lurie, Sacramento
Vice Chair: Elizabeth Rest, San Francisco
Programming Chair: Michelle Ferri, Nicasio

In-House Counsel

Chair: Kieran De Terra, San Diego
Vice-Chair: Sanjesh Sharma, Irvine
Programming Chair: Sophie Cohen, San Francisco

The In-House Counsel Interest Group organizes educational programming including webinars and panels at conferences on contemporary issues and topics of interest pertinent to in-house IP counsel and other in-house counsel interested in learning more about intellectual property law

Inevitable Disclosures

Chair: Jonathan Lurie, Nicasio  
Editor-in-Chief: Emily Yu, San Mateo

International Law

Chair: Mariana Noli, Carlsbad
Vice Chair: Soody Tronson, Woodside
Programming Chair: David Tseng, Hsinchu City, Taiwan

The International Interest Group offers educational programs and written content focused on recent developments in intellectual property worldwide.  The International IG is always seeking the opportunity to examine and compare the developments of IP topics in the different jurisdictions outside the United States.  The International IG has regular leadership Zoom meetings on a monthly basis, where we discuss the most recent decisions, policy issues, interesting cases, and other hot topics related to international intellectual property law.  We also welcome members to bring their questions, topics, and perspectives to the group.

Legislation

Chair: D. Benjamin Borson, Lafayette
Vice Chair: Mark R. Leonard, Yuba City

Licensing & Technology Transactions

Chair: Matthew Dedon, Dublin
Co-Vice Chair: Ryan E. Long, Santa Monica
Co-Vice Chair: Jay Parkhill, San Francisco

Litigation

Chair: Anne-Marie Dao, San Diego
Vice Chair: Katie Lafferty Ignash, Newport Beach

The Litigation Interest Group offers educational programming including webinars and panels at conferences on current and developing issues pertinent to litigators practicing intellectual property law.

New Matter

Editor in Chief: Thomas A. Ward, San Diego
Acquisitions Editor: Amanda Nye, Tiburon
Co-Production Editor: Anthony Craig, Solana Beach
Co-Production Editor: Leaf Williams, Vancouver, WA
Senior Articles Editor: Robert Dabney Eastham, Fort Bragg

Patent

Chair: Nate Camuti, Aliso Viejo
Vice Chair: Mieke Malmberg, Los Angeles
Programming Chair: Karima Gulick, Aliso Viejo

The Patent Interest Group offers educational programming including webinars and monthly calls on current and developing issues pertinent to Patent practitioners. The Patent IG’s webinar programs focus on patent prosecution, litigation, licensing and transactions, and/or any of the three California specialty credit requirements. The IG is also responsible for planning the IP Section’s The Patent Office Comes to California flagship program.

Technology, Internet, & Privacy Law

Chair: Kieran de Terra, San Diego
Co-Vice Chair: Emily Yu, San Mateo
Co-Vice Chair: Soody Tronson, Woodside
Programming Chair: Michele Ferri, Nicasio

Trademark

Chair: Robert Payne, San Jose
Vice Chair: Dana Brody Brown, San Jose

The Trademark Interest Group focuses on prosecution, licensing, administrative oppositions and litigation of trademarks.  Our primary effort is devoted to programming.

Trade Secrets

Chair: Robert Milligan, Los Angeles
Vice Chair: Angelique Kaounis, Los Angeles
Communications Chair: Catherine Lui, San Francisco

Interest group focused on the intricacies of trade secret law in California from a transactional and litigation perspective.

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