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13 IPL Newsl. 1 (1994-1995)

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A PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION SECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW


VOLUME 13, NUMBER 1


FALL 1994


   I could not could begin to discuss my vision for the
Section over the coming year without acknowledging the
tremendous contributions of my immediate predecessor,
Doug Wyatt. Under Doug's steady and able leadership we
planned and held our Section's first Annual Summer Con-
ference at the Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia, and it
was an outstanding success. For the first time since our
Section began 100 years ago we held, separate from the
ABA Annual Meeting, both our principal CLE program
and the annual debates by the membership on resolutions
which define our Section's positions on the most impor-
tant issues in intellectual property law. This gave us more
time at the ABA Annual Meeting to co-sponsor programs
with other ABA sections and to savor aspects of the ABA
meeting which in previous years we had been too busy
with Section activities to enjoy. Thanks Doug, for this and
the many other accomplishments of our Section over the
past year.
   As our Section now moves into its second century, our
committees are already hard at work examining those leg-
islative and administrative issues and court decisions, both
present and future, which will affect our law practices for
years to come. The adoption of a June Summer Confer-
ence for our Section in effect shortens our committee year
by about six weeks and makes it essential that our com-
mittees begin their work earlier. In our Section each mem-
ber can make his or her voice heard in the shaping of the
future of intellectual property law both in this country and
abroad by participating in committee work and by attend-
ing and participating in the final decision-making process-
es at our Annual Summer Conference. In that important
respect we are unique among sections of the ABA and
unique among bar associations in the legal community.
   We have a number of new committees in the Section
this year. If you are interested in participating in the work
of any of these committees, or for that matter in any other
of our committees, please write. Your attention is particu-


larly called to the following new committees which are
seeking new members:
   # 152-Special Committee on Interferences
   # 459-Special Committee on Attorneys' Opinions
   # 463-Special Committee on Litigation Advocacy
   # 464-Special Committee on Insurance
   # 553-Special Committee on Corporate Practice
   # 752-Special Committee on Software Licensing
   # 753-Special Committee on Multimedia
   # 105 I-Special Committee on Chemical Practice
   The year ahead promises to be busy and challenging.
Indeed, it started with a bang. In July Senator DeConcini
introduced S. 2272, a bill giving prior user rights to any-
one who commercialized or made a serious effort at com-
inercialization prior to the filing date (or priority date) of
the inventor. That legislation recognizes only two events,
(I) the effective filing date and (2) commercial use or
preparation. The legislation in essence endorses and
rewards only first filers, or first commercial users. In the
United States, most inventions are made by independent
inventors and employees of small companies. When an
invention is made by an independent inventor or an
employee of a small or medium size company, before
spending money to file a patent application, most want to
find out (1) whether the invention will work, (2) whether
the invention can be improved upon, and (3) whether the
invention is of commercial value. Until these matters can
be determined, the company's exclusive rights are protect-
ed by our first-to-invent patent system. Legislation of the
type proposed in S.2272 would take those rights away, at
least to the extent that another company comes in and pro-
ceeds to commercialize, or make plans to commercialize,
the invention. Indeed, under the provisions of S.2272, the


1.Oe]*          1.9 AMEICAN BAR ASO.TO                                        PROD]D 1Y THE ABA l           I

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