Program by Michael W. Shore, attorney and partner at the Dallas law firm of Shore Chan DePumpo LLP, discussed the use of sovereign immunity to deter Inter Partes Review challenges FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / PRURGENT
Doylestown, PA -- Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel LLP partner John D. Simmons, who also serves as president of the Philadelphia Intellectual Property Law Association (PIPLA), organized and led the association’s first CLE meeting of the year at Covene in Philadelphia on Jan. 18.
The program was presented by Simmons’ long-time client, Michael W. Shore, an attorney and partner at the Dallas law firm of Shore Chan DePumpo LLP. Shore spoke with firsthand knowledge about a hot topic in intellectual property law: the use of a sovereign immunity defense against an inter partes patent challenge.
Shore’s presentation was entitled “Allergan Partnering with the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe: Sovereign Immunity to Avoid Inter Partes Review Challenges.” It covered the detailed law related to a public university’s use of sovereign immunity, which then led to the use of tribal sovereign immunity as a defense. Shore also discussed the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) recent reactions and rulings regarding the issue. Interesting and scholarly questions were raised about whether an administrative agency can rule on federally created sovereign immunity and the impacts of the America Invents Act (AIA) Inter Partes Review proceedings. Shore has been interviewed in many newspapers and magazines, including the New Yorker and the Wall Street Journal, on this lightning-rod subject.
PIPLA is an organization of Intellectual Property lawyers and law student affiliates primarily in the Greater Philadelphia area including the Philadelphia surrounding counties, Southern New Jersey and Delaware. PIPLA promotes the development and understanding of Intellectual Property Law through regular meetings and sponsored CLE opportunities.
Shore Chan DePumpo LLP is a veteran team of trial lawyers based in Dallas, Texas with a proven track record of successfully handling complex and technologically demanding matters. The firm is small by choice and their practice comprises mostly contingency fee cases. Shore practices in the areas of intellectual property commercialization, business litigation, and other select litigation matters.
About Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel LLP – Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel LLP is a boutique intellectual property law firm with offices in Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. The firm’s IP law practitioners provide strategic litigation, licensing and counseling service relating to patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets, domain names and Internet issues domestically and internationally. The firm’s long-standing relationships with a network of associates worldwide enable its attorneys and advisors to provide clients with global intellectual property advice and protection. | 
