The unofficial kick-off to the BPLA Summer began with the on May 31. As detailed in the newsletter, we dialed up a picture-perfect evening to honor the Federal judiciary, including 21 judges from the Federal Circuit, the District of Massachusetts, and, for the first time, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). We also recognized the collaboration that led to the implementation of the , which went into effect on June 1, honored this year’s recipient of the , , and listened to interesting and entertaining remarks from our keynote speaker,. Thank you to our sponsors, the members of the judiciary and their guests, as well as our members and their guests, who attended, and those who helped the evening run smoothly.

On Friday, August 10, an , which included adoption language for the Act and language that restricts noncompete agreements. However, the Governor explicitly vetoed a section of that bill—Section 20—designed to create a new cause of action in the Commonwealth for “bad faith assertions of patent infringement,” which would have become a new section under claims. While you may know this development, what you may not know is that the BPLA was on the frontlines of this issue, and, through a collaborative effort with other interested parties, the BPLA helped put a “pause” on the adoption of this cause of action.

The issues arose rather quickly. The possibility of the new Chapter 93 cause of action was not brought to the Board’s attention until the beginning of August. After learning about some of the concerns of the proposed language of Section 20, and in particular some changes to the language in this version of Section 20 versus a previous version that was introduced in the Massachusetts senate in earlier legislative sessions, members of the BPLA Board became concerned that Section 20 may be implemented with too much haste. While the BPLA Board was not prepared to take a position about whether creating this cause of action was a good or bad idea, it did think more time was needed to adequately assess the merits of such a cause of action. The Board feared there may be unintended consequences if the legislation, as worded, was enacted.

The BPLA discussed this issue with other concerned parties and ultimately spoke with both Governor Baker’s office and Secretary Jay Ash’s office prior to the veto, recommending action be taken that would allow this portion of the legislation to be further vetted before enacting a new cause of action under Chapter 93. Subsequently, Governor Baker vetoed this section, reasoning that the language was not tailored narrowly enough and could have unintended consequences. Governor Baker and Senator Eric Lesser, the senator who championed the Section 20 provisions, have both indicated a desire to revisit this cause of action in the future. The BPLA plans to work with the offices of Governor Baker, Secretary Ash, and Senator Lesser to determine if creating a cause of action of this nature is advisable, and if so, what the language tied to such legislation should state. Collaborating together was central to getting the government to hit pause on this issue, and will again be key to consider the issue in the future.

Speaking of successes, our once again found success, and this time against great odds. , the Committee filed an brief requesting that the Supreme Court grant a writ of certiorari in . Nine others did as well, including the (AIPLA), the (IPO), the , and the (BIO). Having a writ of certiorari granted at the Supreme Court is extremely rare. illustrates a success rate for all writ of certiorari petitions is less than five percent. Despite these odds, on June 25, 2018, the petition was granted. Congratulations to our Committee, and the other organizations who also supported granting a writ of certiorari. Together we can do so much.

Many of our members were likely part of the 16,000+ attendees of the this past June. For those who made time for two programs that piggybacked on the tail end of BIO, you surely were not disappointed with the content of the collaborative programs the BPLA organized with the European Patent Office (EPO). On June 7, our and our teamed with members of the EPO to put on a . The next day our and our teamed with members of the EPO to put on a . By accounts from those who attended, the information exchange and discourse was top notch. Thank you to our committee chairs for working together with the EPO to put on such high quality events.

Our has been particularly hard at work this summer. On July 9, 2018, the Committee Co-Chairs (lead author), , and , in collaboration with Co-Charis , , and , and other members of the BPLA, submitted Comments on the . In , the BPLA articulated, among other positions, that it did not oppose replacing the Broadest Reasonable Interpretation (BRI) Standard with theStandard applied in federal district courts and International Trade Commission proceedings.

On August 20, 2018, the Committee Co-Chairs Fisher (lead author), Palmer, and Roses, in collaboration with other members of the BPLA, submitted Comments on . In , the BPLA indicated its support for the changes in examination procedure, and provided some suggestions for changes to the particulars of the examination procedure. Thank you to Tim, Jon, and Nicole, and the others involved in these two comment submissions. It truly was a team effort to tackle both comments.

I would be remiss if I did not thank all of those who helped make the return of the BPLA Summer Outing an enjoyable experience. Despite inclement weather, over 100 members and guests came to the New England Aquarium to celebrate BPLA . You can read a bit more about the event, and see some pictures, in this issue of the newsletter. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the many people at Nutter—particularly , , and —as well as for the BPLA, for their help in making this event worthwhile.

As we move into fall, there will be plenty of opportunities to benefit from the fruits of ongoing collaborations. In September, the is collaborating with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) , and the Contested Matters Committee is collaborating with to host a

Two of our more popular and well-known events will be hosted in October: , which is hosted by the , and the , which is hosted by the . Both of these events are the result of many hours of hard work with many members of the BPLA. And in November, we will again partner with the to host our . This year’s Seminar will be held in Concord, MA, carrying on our efforts to alternate this programming between the city and the suburbs.

As you can see, many members of the BPLA, and outside of the BPLA, are working together to achieve many successes—providing input on important legislation and administrative rules, and hosting wonderful educational and social events. Let’s use this fall to continue to find ways to work together, and in doing so, in the words of Helen Keller, continue to “do so much.”