Advocacy Highlights
For an overview of the Section’s advocacy initiatives, visit our advocacy resources page.
- Digital Replicas: The Section’s DeepFakes Task Force, led by Andrew Coffman (chair), adopted Section policy and submitted a resolution and report to the ABA House of Delegates for adoption at the February meeting to encourage enactment of federal legislation to prevent unauthorized digital replicas. The resolution urges Congress to create a law that allows people to control how their voice, appearance, or image is used in realistic computer-generated representations, while respecting First Amendment rights and avoiding impacting state laws on publicity and privacy.
- Moral Rights in Copyrights: The Section’s Copyright Law Reform Task Force, led by Josh Simmons (then chair), prepared a resolution with valuable input from Mary Rasenberger and Janet Fries on an AI-related moral right. The resolution calls for a targeted expansion of existing federal moral rights protections in the context of AI-generated materials, where the rights of attribution are expanded to include more types of copyrighted works used in AI-generated materials.
- 2024 Guidance Update on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility: The Section’s High Tech and Software Patent Committee, led by Brian Rosenbloom (chair), provided comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on the “2024 Guidance Update on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility, Including on Artificial Intelligence.” The Section urges the USPTO to reconsider the eligibility of certain claims in the examples provided in the guidance in view of the Federal Circuit’s decision in Contour IP Holding LLC v. GoPro, Inc.
- White Paper on Patent System Reliability: The Section’s Task Force on Improving the Durability and Reliability of the Patent Right received approval, and then blanket authority. The task force, led by Jonathan Bowser, MaCharri Vorndran-Jones, and Jonathan Sicks, will be submitting the 66-page white paper to the USPTO.
- Comment Letter on Design Patent Application Examinations: The Section’s High Tech and Software Patent Committee, led by Brian Rosenbloom and Kristin Cleveland (chairs), submitted comments to the USPTO related to computer-generated electronic images. While the Section agrees that a computer-generated image is design patentable when integral to the operation of a programmed computer, it disagrees that the icon or graphical user interface (GUI) must be shown on a display panel, screen, or monitor and that the terms “icon” or “GUI” are the only appropriate terms contemplated by the supplemental guidance to identify designs integral to the operation of a programmed computer.
- ABA Washington Letter on Deepfakes: See the ABA Governmental Affairs Office Washington Letter addressing our Section’s deepfakes efforts.
Outreach and Collaboration
- FICPI: I had the pleasure of attending the FICPI Open Forum in Madrid, Spain, in late September. FICPI is an international nongovernmental organization whose membership consists entirely of intellectual property (IP) attorneys in private practice who share knowledge, expertise, and opportunities on patents, trademarks, designs, copyrights, and trade secrets from across 48 countries. The Section is looking to do more collaboration with FICPI.
- ASIPI: We are looking forward to the session on “Processing and Compliance for Mezcal & Tequila Appellations of Origin in Mexico and the USA” in collaboration with ASIPI as part of the Section’s Annual Meeting at the Crystal Gateway Marriott located in Arlington, Virginia. Thank you, Franklin Graves, for making this happen.
Diversity
- Nicole Galli, diversity chair, released her communication plan. Shout out to the following who helped achieved this plan: Stephen Young, ABA-IPL staff, for all his work with the DEI Working Group, as well as team leaders David Postolski, Donna Meuth, and Alejandra Loaiza Delgado, who worked on the communication plan and the DEI plan, including the DEI survey, with Alejandra taking the laboring oar on the first draft of the survey.
Education and Value
The ABA-IPL Section offers a wealth of expert content, educational opportunities, and practice resources aimed at furthering the IP profession.
- September 14–15, 2024: I attended the 12th Annual USPTO Trademark Days at the USPTO offices in Alexandria, Virginia. Thank you to Jenna Karadbil and Tracy Deutmeyer, who chaired the conference that included remarks by David S. Gooder, Commissioner for Trademarks, and a live Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) hearing. The presentations were well done, and the ability to have a dialogue with the TTAB judges and members of the USPTO in an informal setting was invaluable.
Susan McGahan (second from left) with David Gooder (far right) at USPTO Trademark Days. Photo courtesy of Chris Katopis.
- October 11, 2024: The Section’s Copyrights and Emerging Technology Committee held a discussion on digital replicas and AI policy with Andrew Coffman, Chris Katopis, Kira Alvarez, and Priya Nair on proposed laws rooted in fragmented state right of publicity laws; legislative proposals distinguishing between types of digital replicas (e.g., unauthorized, beneficial, implicating the First Amendment); and imminent federal legislation that will need to address First Amendment carve-outs and definitions of liability for AI platform providers and their users.
- November 8, 2024: Again, the active Copyrights and Emerging Technology Committee, cochaired by Belinda Lu, held a discussion on the U.S. Copyright Office’s ninth triennial rulemaking regarding 17 U.S.C. § 1201 with Jonathan Band, legislative and appellate advocate from policybandwidth; Steve Englund, partner from Jenner & Block LLP; Blake Reid, associate professor of law at the University of Colorado Law School; and cochair Priya Nair, senior IP policy counsel at The App Association.
- The following in-person Section conferences brought together leading lights of IP practitioners for cutting-edge CLE programming, while enjoying great networking and a little fun (at the blackjack table).
- October 14–15, 2024: Artificial Intelligence & Robotics National Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law, cohosted with the ABA Science & Technology Law Section, chaired by Chad Rutkowski.
- November 14–16, 2024: Bright Lights, Big Opportunities: Best Bets in IP, Sports, and Entertainment Law in Las Vegas, Nevada, cosponsored with the ABA Forum on the Entertainment & Sports Industries, led by Megan Bannigan and Mike McCabe.
Additional Accolades
I am delighted to acknowledge these members of the ABA-IPL Section who are doing amazing work:
- Daniel Cohen, Young Lawyers Action Group chair, with many initiatives already underway.
- Paul Morico, Section secretary, who is spearheading the policy dashboard and informing division chairs on cases to watch, to determine if Section input is needed or comments to federal agencies are required.
- The Section’s DeepFakes Task Force members, consisting of Kira Alvarez, Janet Fries, Scott Sholder, Keith Kupferschmid, Franklin Graves, Chris Ponder, Regan Smith, Christina M. Lucchesi, Thomas Mihill, Amarachi Utah, and Barry Cohen. Thank you to Chris Katopis for spearheading the report, with input from our ABA House of Delegates members Adriana Luedke and Bill Lafuze.
- Belinda Lu, cochair of the Section’s Copyrights and Emerging Technology Committee, for her dedication, enthusiasm, and expertise in organizing engaging and informative panels throughout the year. She has the ability to attract top-notch speakers and foster lively discussions, which nets exceptional attendance and participation.
- Section Task Force members who met throughout the year and held various webinars to achieve the omnibus patent resolution: Lauren Mitchell, Amy Fix, Jonathan Bowser, Stan Weinstein, Maddie Vishwanathan, Jan Hendrickson, Rivka Monheit, Matt Blackburn, Stephanie Roberts, Terry Rea, Gordon Arnold, Mark Dickson, George Jordon, Scott Partridge, Kira Alvarez, Bill Boudreaux, Donna Meuth, Kassie Helm, Bob Armitage, Paul Morico, Keisha Hylton-Rodic, and Kevin Greenleaf.
Join Us
Thank you for your membership and dedication to the ABA-IPL Section. Please continue to help us build on these successes to grow our profession and offer new opportunities for you and your practice.
I enjoyed connecting with many of you during this year and look forward to other opportunities to meet, especially at our great CLE programming planned for the Spring Meeting in April in D.C.!