RECENT EVENTS
Law Review Symposium on Patentable Subject Matter
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ach year the George Washington Law Review holds a symposium on a specific area of law, with submitted articles published in a single volume of the journal. This year’s symposium, “Cracking the Code: Ongoing § 101 Patentability Concerns in Biotechnology and Computer Software,” focused on patentable subject matter, a topic that is currently being debated before the U.S. Supreme Court. The morning panel focused on patentable subject matter as applied to biotechnology and life sciences. The panel was moderated by Charles Davis, JD ’13, former Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review, and included panelists Irene Calboli from Marquette University School of Law, Chris Holman from the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law, John Golden from the University of Texas School of Law, and Rebecca Eisenberg from the University of Michigan Law School. The second panel included a discussion by leading patent practitioners, and was moderated by Jeff Kushan, JD ’92, from Sidley Austin. The panelists included
Law Review Editor-in-Chief James Gross (right) introduces panelists
Hans Sauer, Associate General Counsel, Biotechnology Industry Organization; Bernard Knight, former General Counsel, USPTO; and Donald Dunner from Finnegan, who is also an adjunct faculty member at GW. The Honorable Paul R. Michel, former Chief Judge, Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, delivered the keynote address. The afternoon panel focused on software patent eligibility. It was moderated by Brian Kacedon from Finnegan and included panelists Tun-Jen Chiang from George Mason University School of Law, Mark Lemley from Stanford University
Law School, and Kristen Jakobsen Osenga from the University of Richmond School of Law The symposium was organized entirely by students from the Law Review. Special recognition goes to James Gross, Editor-in-Chief, and James Altman, Senior Projects Editor, who led the team that organized the event. Look for articles from the symposium in an upcoming issue of the Law Review. The Law Review symposium for next year will focus on the 100th anniversary of the Federal Trade Commission and is planned for November 2014. n
Microsoft Chief IP Counsel Gives Fall Katz Lecture
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n October 23 Horacio Gutiérrez, Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Microsoft, delivered the fall 2013 A. Sidney Katz Lecture. The lecture, held twice a year at the law school, is made possible through the generous support of the A. Sidney Katz Intellectual Property Lecture Fund. Mr. Gutiérrez spoke about intellectual property as it relates to software innovation. n Horacio Gutiérrez
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW PERSPECTIVES 3