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| Photo (L to R): Bridget Petruczok, Deputy Chief of Staff, USPTO; Dana Colarulli, Director, Office of Governmental Affairs, USPTO; Tom Hopcroft, President & CEO, MassTLC; Steve Kaufer, President & CEO, TripAdvisor; Peter Bauer, CEO, Cofounder & Chairman, Mimecast; Michelle K. Lee, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the first female Director of the Unites States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); Mohamad Ali, President & CEO, Carbonite; Jim Corrigan, President & CEO, ERT; Daniel Theobald, Co-Founder & CTO, Vecna Technologies; Krish Gupta, SVP & Deputy General Counsel, EMC; Jack Little, President & Co-Founder, MathWorks |
On March 30th, MassTLC President & CEO, Tom Hopcroft, and EMC SVP and Deputy
General Counsel, Krish Gupta, hosted
a dinner for local technology company CEOs/Founders with Michelle K. Lee,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the first female Director
of the Unites States Patent
and Trademark Office (USPTO).
General Counsel, Krish Gupta, hosted
a dinner for local technology company CEOs/Founders with Michelle K. Lee,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the first female Director
of the Unites States Patent
and Trademark Office (USPTO).
The Massachusetts tech leaders included:
- Mohamad Ali, President & CEO, Carbonite
- Peter Bauer, CEO, Cofounder &
Chairman, Mimecast - Jim Corrigan, President & CEO, ERT
- Steve Kaufer, President & CEO,
TripAdvisor - Jack Little, President & Co-Founder, MathWorks
- Daniel Theobald, Co-Founder & CTO,
Vecna Technologies
Other attendees included:
Dana Colarulli, Director,
Office of Governmental Affairs, USPTO; Bridget
Petruczok, Deputy Chief of Staff, USPTO; Jill Shapiro, Senior
Director and Assistant General Counsel, EMC; and Ruth Morris, Director of Member Relations, MassTLC.
Dana Colarulli, Director,
Office of Governmental Affairs, USPTO; Bridget
Petruczok, Deputy Chief of Staff, USPTO; Jill Shapiro, Senior
Director and Assistant General Counsel, EMC; and Ruth Morris, Director of Member Relations, MassTLC.
While the issue of
dealing with abusive lawsuits was of great interest to all of the attendees,
the conversation covered a wide range of issue, including the USPTO’s focus on the
issuance of high quality patents, the Inter Partes Review (IPR) process for challenging
patents, differences between U.S. and foreign IP laws, and China’s growing
focus on IP protection.
dealing with abusive lawsuits was of great interest to all of the attendees,
the conversation covered a wide range of issue, including the USPTO’s focus on the
issuance of high quality patents, the Inter Partes Review (IPR) process for challenging
patents, differences between U.S. and foreign IP laws, and China’s growing
focus on IP protection.
Director Lee expressed the firm belief that the U.S. system
of intellectual property (IP) protection was both necessary and valuable in
promoting innovation. Striking the correct balance between protecting IP while
curtailing abusive patent litigation is important for innovation. Several
existing and potential mechanisms are in place to achieve this balance:
of intellectual property (IP) protection was both necessary and valuable in
promoting innovation. Striking the correct balance between protecting IP while
curtailing abusive patent litigation is important for innovation. Several
existing and potential mechanisms are in place to achieve this balance:
- Issuance of high quality patents
- Use of IPR process at the USPTO to weed out
invalid patents - Legislation pending in Congress to change venue selection
provisions so plaintiffs have less ability to shop cases into notoriously pro‑litigant
jurisdictions - Efforts to convince Congress to adopt the shifting
of legal costs so that the losing party has to absorb them when their conduct
so merits—this creates risk for plaintiffs in bringing frivolous lawsuit - Filing of amicus briefs in court cases involving
important issues, such as litigation abuses, especially any that reach the
Supreme Court
The Director also expressed her strong interest in working
with local tech leaders and the broader innovation community, including
incubators, accelerators and universities.
She also recommended that tech leaders voice their issues, concerns and
interests to both the USPTO and Congressional representatives to help drive
action in the regulatory and legislative arenas.
with local tech leaders and the broader innovation community, including
incubators, accelerators and universities.
She also recommended that tech leaders voice their issues, concerns and
interests to both the USPTO and Congressional representatives to help drive
action in the regulatory and legislative arenas.
The evening ended with a call to action among tech leaders
to educate the Massachusetts Congressional delegation on IP protection issues
and to collectively support court cases by signing on to amicus briefs that can
help curb abusive patent lawsuits. MassTLC member CEOs interested in joining
these efforts should contact ruth@masstlc.org.
to educate the Massachusetts Congressional delegation on IP protection issues
and to collectively support court cases by signing on to amicus briefs that can
help curb abusive patent lawsuits. MassTLC member CEOs interested in joining
these efforts should contact ruth@masstlc.org.
