Partner R. Danny Huntington will moderate the mock trial, "Arguing subject matter eligibility at the PTAB and in oral proceedings at the EPO" at Fédération Internationale des Conseils en Propriété Intellectuelle's (FICPI) Virtual Open Forum taking place November 4-5, 2020.
The mock trial session, taking place Thursday, November 5, 2020, at 7 am ET (13:00 Central Europe, 23:00 Sydney Australia) will include expert practitioners arguing in two separate mock hearings whether certain claimed subject matter is eligible for patenting at the USPTO under 35 USC §101, or at the EPO under EPC Article 52. The U.S. hearing will be with respect to a motion to amend during Inter Parties Review (IPR) before the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), while the EPO hearing will be in the context of a main request for amended claims during oral proceedings in an opposition.
The practitioners in each hearing will argue why the most recent decisions and guidance either support or are contrary to deciding that the subject matter is eligible for a patent. An experienced former Administrative Patent Judge in the US, and an experienced former Chairman of an Examining Division at the EPO, will ask questions to simulate a real proceeding.
After each hearing, the participants will briefly comment on the hearing, including answering questions from the audience sent to the moderator during each hearing. Anyone wanting to know how such hearings are conducted, as well as the latest developments in subject matter eligibility, will want to watch this session.
