Oregon State Bar Section 2006 Annual Report

Section Name: Intellectual Property

On the communications front, Lewis & Clark Law School students continued to do an outstanding job of editing and publishing the Intellectual Property Section newsletter, for which the Section is ever grateful. The Section made major improvements to its website in 2006. The Section engaged a developer to make improvements and handle ongoing site maintenance. Job postings and CLE listings were added to the site.

The Section organized and co-sponsored several CLEs in 2007, including the following:

• The Section Annual Meeting featured guest speaker Prof. Eric Goldman
• An overnight CLE organized and sponsored entirely by the Section took place in Bend in February 2007
• Co-sponsored CLE with the Antitrust Section
• Co-sponsored CLE, “The Patent Cooperation Treaty System, Today and Tomorrow,” with a guest speaker from the PCT
• Co-sponsored CLE, “The Unique Features of Patent Prosecution in China”

The Section continued its support of intellectual property law students and the law schools as follows:

• Sent representatives to Lewis & Clark Law School legal specialties lunch
• Participated in “IPA” mixer with intellectual property Attorneys and students at Lewis & Clark Law School
• Sponsored and participated in intellectual property panel and reception at Willamette University Law School

The Section organized a no-host Happy Hour social in downtown Portland, which was quite well-attended and received.

Building on the success of last year’s Section website efforts, the Section plans to continue developing its site to be an ever-greater resource and clearinghouse for practitioners and others. Outreach continues to be a significant focus, including continued outreach beyond the Portland metro area, as well as expanded outreach to nonlawyers. The Section will continue developing greater social networking opportunities for intellectual property practitioners and students, such as the happy hour social.

The Section organized the February 2007 CLE in Bend to see whether an intellectual property CLE outside the Portland metropolitan area could be successful. Attendees deemed the event a great success and worth repeating. At the same time, the Section recognizes that an increasing number of intellectual property-related CLE events are put on by different organizations. Rather than adding more competing events, the Section is interested in organizing fewer but perhaps more ambitious or targeted CLE’s in the future, while expanding its overall CLE coordination, cosponsorship and outreach efforts.