Message from the Editor-in-Chief
By Keith Toms, McCarter & English
Welcome to Spring 2020 Edition of the BPLA Newsletter.
Given the weighty issues that the US and the world have been grappling with since March, it’s hard to believe that it has only been three months since our last issue.
In this edition, we have a letter from President Bergman, which address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the pressing issue of racial injustice. President Bergman also provides a memoriam for former USPTO director Q. Todd Dickenson.
We also have a number of great articles, including an in-depth analysis of the impact of the Supreme Court’s Romag Fasteners
decision on trademark damages in the First Circuit, an analysis of Inherency Doctrine after the Federal Circuit’s Hospira
decision, a look at the USPTO’s rejection of AI inventorship, a refresher on the USPTO’s e-signature rules, and an article that is both an homage to Gilbert & Sullivan and a review of the Supreme Court’s Allen decision on Sovereign Immunity in copyright. The USPTO was also kind enough to allow us to reprint an article on its new Legal Experience and Advancement Program (“LEAP”), which has the potential to be of great benefit both for clients and for the development of newer attorneys.
And, for those who missed it, we also included a recap of USPTO Director Iancu’s comments from the inaugural event of the BPLA’s 2020 Speaker Series.
Keith Toms
Editor-in-Chief