This year, the BPLA honored of the. Also in attendance from the Federal Circuit were Judges , , (Ret.), 2011 BPLA Public Service Award Recipient , and .

From the District of Massachusetts, the BPLA hosted District Judges , , , 2009 BPLA Public Service Award Recipient , and 2010 BPLA Public Service Award Recipient , as well as Magistrate Judge . The keynote speaker was , Assistant Professor of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management at . Professor Roin’s research focuses on innovation policy, intellectual property, and entrepreneurship. He spoke about patent law from the perspective of entrepreneurs. Professor Roin’s theory is that patents, rather than being too strong, as many academics posit, are actually not strong enough. He took as an example patent protection for cancer drugs. Given the way that the validity analysis works, patent law (as well as the FDA regulatory process) encourages the development of late stage cancer drugs for terminal patients while discouraging the development of drugs for early stage cancer patients who might be cured. If the law could be amended to change the validity analysis (e.g., by placing a time limit on how far back a defendant can reach to find prior art), perhaps there would be more incentive to develop the early stage drugs. President then presented the to Judge Moore. President Belt noted Judge Moore’s contributions to patent law, both as a law professor and currently as a jurist. Judge Moore has drawn from her engineering background to apply empirical analysis and a passion for the law to the legal issues of the day. Judge Moore than spoke eloquently about her colleagues on the bench, several of whom are entitled to take retirement and a generous pension but, out of love of their work and a commitment to the country, continue to serve on the bench (essentially for free) and contribute to the law. The BPLA applauds all of the judges for their dedication to public service.