April 2004 Patent Reform Symposium

 

Is the patent system broken?

In the past year, a government agency and an independent study commission have issued reports suggesting that the patent laws are in need of significant reform. The Federal Trade Commission and National Academy of Sciences reports have caused significant discussion among the bench, the bar, and Congress.

But will anything come of these calls for reform?

On April 15 and 16, 2004 the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology will hold a major policy event. Along with the Federal Trade Commission and the National Academy of Sciences, BCLT will bring together scholars, lawyers, and policy-makers to discuss both the substance of patent reform and how it might be implemented.

Join government officials, judges, academics, lawyers, and industry representatives as they convene to discuss the most significant recommendations made in the two reports and decide where to go from here.

The conference will feature presentations of the FTC and NAS reports, keynote speeches, and a roundtable of industry leaders. The conference will also include substantive debates on several key reform proposals: changes to the obviousness standard, proposals for opposition and post-grant review, and changes to litigation rules.