The 13th Annual Sedona Conference will have a special focus this year, as it is serving as the launching pad for a new Working Group we are forming as a complement to the Patent Pilot Program for U.S. District Court judges. The Patent Pilot Program is a 10-year pilot project designed to enhance expertise in patent cases among U.S. district court judges. It began in July, 2011, and was mandated by Pub. L. No. 111-349.
This year’s blue-ribbon faculty includes three federal district court judges in the pilot program who also have extensive expertise presiding over patent matters, a circuit court judge who also has extensive expertise presiding over patent matters, and some of the finest patent litigators in the country. The USPTO will also be represented on the faculty.
The foci of the conference are the types of issues that are the mainstay of patent litigation going forward, including the new AIA contested proceedings concerning patent validity and enforceability at the USPTO. Important topics to be covered during this year’s invite-only program include:
- Case Management Post-AIA
- Contested Parallel Proceedings at the USPTO
- Damages & Remedies
- Claim Construction
- Discovery
- Expert Issues
- Strategies to Encourage Settlements
- Local Rules.
To ensure an intimate environment for meaningful dialogue, registration is limited to 45 persons, and is BY INVITATION ONLY. TO APPLY FOR AN INVITATION, please indicate your experience and reasons for wanting to attend in the box on the right, and click on “add to cart.” Follow the on-screen directions to submit your application. We will notify you as soon as possible if your application has been accepted. If your application is accepted, you will receive an invitation with instructions on how to complete the registration process, at the email address you use when you applied for an invitation. As always, we will be looking for an experienced participant base with diverse viewpoints to contribute to the dialogue leading us to valuable insights and collective wisdom.
We have a Group Rate for lodging at the conference hotel. Hotel reservation information will be provided to invitees upon completion of the registration process. Government employees receive a $250 discount, please contact our office if you qualify. Financial aid policy available upon request.
We will be applying for MCLE accreditation for 660 minutes of instruction in states requested by those who register.