Agenda

Ronald M. Whyte Intellectual Property Seminar 2026 Agenda (PDF)

Key Locations & Addresses:

Program Location
Great Hall
Berkeley Law West
 
Tuesday Dinner Location
Comal
2020 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704
 
Thursday Hike
Berkeley Hills
 
Thursday Pizza & Beer Night
Home of Prof. Peter Menell
705 The Alameda, Berkeley, CA 94707

Day 1
Tuesday, September 1

Berkeley Law West
Time Topic Speaker(s)
8:15 am Breakfast
8:40 am Welcoming and Opening Remarks

Judge Jeremy Fogel (ret.), Executive Director, BJI
Former Director, FJC; U.S. District Court Judge, N.D. Cal.

Hamid Khan, FJC
8:50 am Introduction to the Program Prof. Peter Menell, Berkeley Law, BCLT, BJI
  Requirements for Patentability

Prof. Peter Menell, Berkeley Law, BCLT, BJI
10:30 am Break
10:45 am Infringement and Defenses Prof. Peter Menell, Berkeley Law, BCLT, BJI
12:00 pm Lunch
1:00 pm

Early Case Management: Philosophy, Context, Logic, and Departures

  • Patent Local Rules, Standing/Scheduling Orders, Checklists
  • Stays, Parallel Litigation, and Estoppel (PTAB, ITC, Joinder/MDL)
  • Litigation Funding
  • Limitations on the Number of Claims/Prior Art References
  • Discovery
  • Pleading Standards  — Willfulness

Chief Judge Colm Connolly, D. Del.

Judge Beth Freeman, N.D. Cal.

Judge Leonard Stark, Fed. Circuit

Matthew Power, Tensegrity

Kathi Vidal, Winston & Strawn

Moderator:
Judge Jeremy Fogel (ret.), Executive Director, BJI
2:25 pm Patent Claim Construction — Substantive Overview

Prof. Peter Menell, Berkeley Law, BCLT, BJI

Matthew Power, Tensegrity
2:45 pm

Break
3:00 pm

Afternoon Calendar: Claim Construction Hearing

 
3:45 pm Claim Construction Hearing Discussion

Chief Judge Colm Connolly, D. Del.

Judge Beth Freeman, N.D. Cal.

Judge Leonard Stark, Fed. Circuit

Kathi Vidal, Winston & Strawn

Moderator:
Matthew Power, Tensegrity
4:30 pm Adjourn
6:00 pm

Dinner and Reception

Comal
8:30 pm

Dinner and Reception

Day 2
Wednesday, September 2

Berkeley Law West
8:30 am Breakfast
9:00 am

Mixed Questions of Fact and Law: Claim Construction, Patentable Subject Matter, and Non-Obviousness

Chief Judge Colm Connolly, D. Del.

Judge Beth Freeman, N.D. Cal.

Judge Leonard Stark, Fed. Circuit

Moderator:
Kathi Vidal, Winston & Strawn
10:25 am Break
10:40 am Patent Remedies and Expert Witnesses

Chief Judge Colm Connolly, D. Del.

Judge Beth Freeman, N.D. Cal.

Judge Leonard Stark, Fed. Circuit

Moderator:
Matthew Power, Tensegrity
12:00 pm Lunch
 

Lunch Discussion: Challenges and Opportunities Created by AI for the Patent Law and Litigation Ecosystem

Chief Judge Colm Connolly, D. Del.

Judge Beth Freeman, N.D. Cal.

Judge Leonard Stark, Fed. Circuit

Matthew Power, Tensegrity

Kathi Vidal, Winston & Strawn

Moderator:
Judge Jeremy Fogel (ret.), Executive Director, BJI
1:00 pm Copyright Basics

Prof. Shyam Balganesh, Columbia Law

Prof. Peter Menell, Berkeley Law, BCLT, BJI
2:30 pm Break
2:45 pm Fair Use Analysis

Prof. Shyam Balganesh, Columbia Law

Prof. Peter Menell, Berkeley Law, BCLT, BJI
3:30 pm Infringement/Fair Use Simulations

Peter Anderson, Davis Wright Tremaine

Prof. Shyam Balganesh, Columbia Law

Moderator:
Prof. Peter Menell, Berkeley Law, BCLT, BJI
4:30 pm Adjourn

Day 3
Thursday, September 3

Berkeley Law West
8:30 am Breakfast
9:00 am Copyright Case management: Music Copyright Infringement

Peter Anderson, Davis Wright Tremaine

Mark Avsec, Benesch

Prof. Shyam Balganesh, Columbia Law

Moderator:
Prof. Peter Menell, Berkeley Law, BCLT, BJI
10:30 am Break
10:45 am Copyright and Generative AI

 
11:15 am Technical Background

Prof. Dylan Hadfield-Menell, MIT EECS
  AI Copyright Case Management and Fair Use

Prof. Shyam Balganesh, Columbia Law

Moderator:
Prof. Peter Menell, Berkeley Law, BCLT, BJI
12:15 pm Lunch
1:15 pm Trademark Basics

Prof. Peter Menell, Berkeley Law, BCLT, BJI

Megan Bannigan, Debevoise & Plimpton

David Bernstein, Debevoise & Plimpton
2:15 pm Afternoon Calendar: Preliminary Injunction Hearing

 
3:30 pm Break
3:45 pm Trademark Case Management

Megan Bannigan, Debevoise & Plimpton

David Bernstein, Debevoise & Plimpton
4:30 pm Adjourn
5:45 pm

OPTIONAL

Hike in the East Bay Hills

Shuttle bus from hotel to Inspiration Point.
Please assemble in the hotel lobby.
7:15 pm

Pizza/Salad/Beer — Dinner
New York vs. Chicago vs. Berkeley Pizza

Home of Prof. Peter Menell; shuttle bus to and from the hotel.
Please assemble in the hotel lobby.
(For those who stayed back from the hike).

Note: There will be no shuttle bus back to the hotel.
Please be prepared to arrange Uber pickups.

Day 4
Friday, September 4

Berkeley Law West
8:30 am Breakfast
9:00 Trade Secrets Primer

David Almeling, O’Melveny & Myers

Victoria Cundiff, Yale Law School

Prof. Peter Menell, Berkeley Law, BCLT, BJI
9:45 am Trade Secret — Early Case Management

James Pooley, James Pooley PLC

Judge Beth Freeman, N.D. Cal.

Kathi Vidal, Winston & Strawn
  Sunrise v. Sol (Preliminary Injunction)

Introduction:
Prof. Peter Menell, Berkeley Law, BCLT, BJI

Sunrise:
David Almeling, O’Melveny & Myers

Sol:
Victoria Cundiff, Yale Law School
  Whistleblower Immunity

Prof. Peter Menell, Berkeley Law, BCLT, BJI
  Summary Judgement Case Management

James Pooley, James Pooley PLC
  Sunrise v. Sol (Summary Judgement)

Sunrise:
David Almeling, O’Melveny & Myers

Sol:
Victoria Cundiff, Yale Law School
10:45 am Break
11:00 am Trade Secrets Case Management: Remedies James Pooley, James Pooley PLC
  Sunrise v. Sol (Permanent Injunction)

Sunrise:
David Almeling, O’Melveny & Myers

Sol:
Victoria Cundiff, Yale Law School
  Discussion

David Almeling, O’Melveny & Myers

Victoria Cundiff, Yale Law School

Judge Beth Freeman, N.D. Cal.

Kathi Vidal, Winston & Strawn

Moderator:
James Pooley, James Pooley PLC
11:30 am Trade Secrets Case Management: Criminal

David Almeling, O’Melveny & Myers

Victoria Cundiff, Yale Law School

Judge Beth Freeman, N.D. Cal.

Moderator:
James Pooley, James Pooley PLC
11:50 am Graduation
12:00 pm Adjourn