Session Panels
Session 1: Patent Prosecution and Licensing Basics
BCLT Life Sciences Law & Policy Center
Wednesday, October 1, 2025 | 1:00 p.m. | B-CLE
1.50 General CLE Credit Available
Recording | Resources | Speaker Bios & Contact Info
Strong intellectual property can be the backbone of business success—but only if you know how to protect and leverage it. In this practical session, Kathryn Grey, PhD and Alex Yu of Fish & Richardson will walk you through the essentials of patents, ownership, and licensing strategies that every company should master. From understanding the anatomy of a patent to navigating freedom-to-operate issues and structuring licensing agreements, this program offers real-world guidance for innovators, founders, and legal teams alike.
Whether you’re growing a startup or managing a mature portfolio, this session will help you align your IP strategy with your business strategy.
In this program, you’ll learn how to:
- Recognize the value of IP as both a shield and a business asset
- Understand patent basics, including subject matter, timelines, and claims
- Build effective patent filing and protection strategies across jurisdictions
- Navigate “freedom to operate” analyses and avoid infringement pitfalls
- Clarify inventorship, ownership, and assignment in employee and third-party collaborations
- Structure licensing agreements to align with business goals and minimize risk
Speaker(s):
Kathryn Grey, Fish & Richardson
Alex Yu, Fish & Richardson
Session 2: Medical Device IP 101
BCLT Life Sciences Law & Policy Center
Wednesday, October 8, 2025 | 1:00 p.m. | B-CLE
0.75 General CLE Credit Available
Recording | Resources | Speaker Bios & Contact Info
Medical device startups face unique IP and regulatory challenges that can define their success. In this engaging session, Tyler Train and Giordana Mahn of Fish & Richardson will guide startups through the essential IP and regulatory strategies that can make or break early success. From securing patent rights to choosing between trade secret protection and public filings, this program will help innovators avoid common pitfalls and lay a strong foundation for growth.
In this program, you’ll learn how to:
- Understand the basics of patents, including subject matter, novelty, and non-obviousness
- Navigate the patent application and prosecution process, from provisional filings to global strategy
- Distinguish between patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and copyrights—and when to use each
- Avoid common pitfalls in IP ownership, assignment, and collaboration agreements
- Prepare for potential IP litigation, including timelines and remedies
- Align IP protection with FDA device classifications and regulatory requirements
Speaker(s):
Giordana Mahn, Fish & Richardson
Tyler Train, Fish & Richardson
Session 3: Chain of Title
BCLT Life Sciences Law & Policy Center
Wednesday, October 15, 2025 | 1:00 p.m. | B-CLE
0.50 General CLE Credit Available
Recording | Resources | Speaker Bios & Contact Info
A clear chain of title is essential for protecting and leveraging patent rights—but it’s often overlooked. Join us as Priscilla Dodson from Covington for a practical, engaging session that demystifies the concept of “chain of title” in intellectual property law. Through real-world examples and legal insights, this program will explain why tracking patent ownership matters and how to avoid common mistakes that can derail IP enforcement, licensing, or due diligence.
Perfect for legal teams, in-house counsel, IP managers, and anyone handling patent assets, this session will give you the tools to secure and verify patent ownership the right way.
In this session, you’ll learn how to:
- Understand what a “chain of title” is and why it’s crucial for patent valuation and enforcement
- Distinguish between patent assignments and licenses—and why the difference matters
- Avoid pitfalls such as missing inventor assignments, late recordation, and incomplete ownership
- Apply best practices for clean and timely patent transfers
- Navigate real-world legal scenarios, including co-inventorship and employment-based IP issues
Speaker(s):
Priscilla Dodson, Covington & Burling
Session 4: Early-Stage Life Sciences Companies – IP and Trade Secret Strategies
BCLT Life Sciences Law & Policy Center
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 | 1:00 p.m. | B-CLE
0.75 General CLE Credit Available
Recording | Resources | Speaker Bios & Contact Info
Launching a life science company comes with big scientific goals—and even bigger IP challenges. Join us in this practical and engaging session, as Goodwin experts Robert Frederickson III and Olivia Uitto, PhD, walk you through how to build and protect your innovation pipeline from day one. Whether you’re navigating patents, trade secrets, or tricky commercialization timelines, this session will help you avoid early missteps and lay the legal groundwork for long-term success.
Ideal for founders, legal teams, and early-stage investors, this program offers actionable insight into how to protect your ideas and maximize future value in a complex and competitive industry.
In this session, you’ll learn how to:
- Understand the unique IP needs of life science companies
- Navigate the patent process, from application to enforcement
- Choose the right strategy: patent vs. trade secret—and how to protect both
- Avoid costly gaps in IP ownership or disclosure
- Implement trade secret safeguards
- Recognize risks from former employees, partners, or collaborators
Speaker(s):
Robert Frederickson III, Goodwin
Olivia Uitto, Goodwin
Session 5: Understanding Exclusivity Provisions in Technology Consulting Agreements
BCLT Life Sciences Law & Policy Center
Tuesday, October 28, 2025 | 1:00 p.m. | B-CLE
1.00 General CLE Credit Available
Recording | Resources | Speaker Bios & Contact Info
Exclusivity provisions can shape the future of business relationships—yet they are often broad, vague, and risky if misunderstood. Join leading legal experts Brent Sokol and Alex Linhardt of Greenberg Traurig for an engaging webcast that unpacks how exclusivity provisions work in technology agreements, what courts have said about their limits, and best practices for drafting, negotiating, and navigating them.
Take away actionable strategies and legal insights to better protect your company or clients in a rapidly evolving technology landscape.
What you’ll learn:
- How courts interpret exclusivity in employment, license, and consulting agreements
- Why terms like “developing” or “seeking” can create strict liability
- Best practices for drafting clear, enforceable provisions
- How breaches of exclusivity obligations can also trigger tort liability—and what the “economic loss rule“ really means
- Tips to avoid hidden risks, including inadequate disclosures and fraudulent concealment
Speaker(s):
Alex Linhardt, Greenberg Traurig
Brent Sokol, Greenberg Traurig
Session 6: Get Your Ducks In A Row: How Life Science Companies Should Prepare for Intellectual Property Disputes
BCLT Life Sciences Law & Policy Center
Wednesday, November 5, 2025 | 1:00 p.m. | B-CLE
1.00 General CLE Credit Available
Recording | Resources | Speaker Bios & Contact Info
In the fast-moving world of life sciences, IP disputes can hit when you least expect them—and the consequences can be costly. Whether you’re asserting your own rights or responding to claims, the best defense is preparation. Join us as Goodwin IP litigation experts Natasha Daughtrey and Josh Weinger, PhD, for a practical guide on how to anticipate and manage intellectual property conflicts from the ground up.
Whether you’re scaling a startup or managing a growing portfolio, this session will help you proactively protect your IP and prepare for disputes before they escalate.
In this session, you’ll learn how to:
- Build a pre-litigation readiness plan
- Navigate cease-and-desist letters and avoid declaratory judgment traps
- Identify and manage risks in trade secrets, patents, and contracts
- Choose the right enforcement venue and strategy
Speaker(s):
Natasha Daughtrey, Goodwin
Josh Weinger, Goodwin
Session 7: BPCIA & Hatch-Waxman 101
BCLT Life Sciences Law & Policy Center
Wednesday, November 12, 2025 | 1:00 p.m. | B-CLE
1.25 General CLE Credit Available
Recording | Resources | Speaker Bios & Contact Info
Join the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology for an engaging session that unpacks two of the most important regulatory frameworks shaping the pharmaceutical and biotech industries: the Hatch-Waxman Act and the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA). Our expert presenters, Madelyn McCormick and Dexter Whitley, PhD, will guide participants through the complex—but critical—interplay between patents, exclusivities, and regulatory approvals for small-molecule drugs and biologics.
This program offers a practical foundation for understanding how these frameworks balance innovation incentives with market competition, and how they affect litigation, exclusivity rights, and drug pricing.
Speaker(s):
Madelyn McCormick, Fish & Richardson
Dexter Whitley, Fish & Richardson
Session 8: M&A Readiness – When Big Pharma Comes Knocking
BCLT Life Sciences Law & Policy Center
Tuesday, November 18, 2025 | 1:00 p.m. | B-CLE
0.75 General CLE Credit Available
Recording | Resources | Speaker Bios & Contact Info
Mergers and acquisitions can be pivotal moments for biotech and pharmaceutical companies. When “Big Pharma comes knocking,” boards and executives need to be prepared to respond with clarity, confidence, and a solid understanding of their fiduciary responsibilities. This program, led by Lisa Haddad and Caroline Bullerjahn of Goodwin Procter, will guide participants through the key considerations, duties, and processes that ensure organizations are ready when opportunities—or challenges—arise.
What you’ll learn:
- The essentials of fiduciary duties, including duty of care and duty of loyalty
- How to recognize and manage potential conflicts of interest
- Steps boards should take when evaluating strategic alternatives or a potential sale
- Key stages of M&A transactions
- The realities of confidentiality, leaks, and communication challenges during a deal
- Common litigation risks and how to mitigate them
Speaker(s):
Caroline Bullerjahn, Goodwin
Lisa Haddad, Goodwin