New bar association focuses on US Patent Office's PTAB
A new bar association for lawyers who do work in front of the US Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent and Trial Appeal Board was announced Friday.
Increasingly, disputes involving the validity of patents are heard by the PTAB, according to a press release. The PTAB Bar Association, which has 45 law firms as founding members, hopes it will be forum for communications between lawyers, PTAB officials and administrative patent judges.
Bob Steinberg, a Latham & Watkins partner who chairs its PTAB practice, will serve as the PTAB Bar Association’s interim president and director, according to the press release (PDF). Erika Arner is the bar group’s interim president-elect and director, and Naveen Modi has been tapped as its interim vice president and director. Arner, a Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner partner, previously lead the firm’s patent practice. Modi is a partner at Paul Hastings, and global vice chair of its intellectual property group.
