Hon. William C. Conner Inn of Court 13th Annual Reception June 24, 2021 Virtual Event, Zoom
The Honorable William C. Conner
Program 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Awards Ceremony 5:00 PM - 5:30 PM Networking Reception Congratulations to The 2021 Conner Inn Excellence Award Honorees Hon. Alan D. Lourie Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit Presented by Hon. Richard Linn Hon. Richard C. Wesley Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit Presented by Hon. J. Paul Oetken Hon. Margo K. Brodie Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York Presented by Hon. J. Paul Oetken Hon. Paul A. Engelmayer District Judge, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York Presented by Hon. J. Paul Oetken Dinner Committee Jeffrey M. Butler and Melvin C. Garner
At the Inaugural Dinner in 2009, members of the Conner Inn presented Mrs. Janice Files Conner with a bouquet of her favorite flowers - yellow roses. Honorable William C. Conner passed away on July 9, 2009 and Mrs. Janice Files Conner passed away on September 12, 2011. The Conner Inn continues to commemorate Mrs. Conner every year with yellow roses on each table at the Annual Dinner.
Mission of the Hon. William C. Conner Inn of Court, to promote excellence in professionalism, ethics, civility, and legal skills for judges, lawyers, academicians, and students of law and to advance the education of the members of the Conner Inn, the members of the bench and bar, and the public in the fields of intellectual property.
Message from the Conner Inn Executive Committee Chair Welcome to the 13th Annual Reception of the Hon. William C. Conner Inn of Court. It is incredible to think that 12 years have passed since Judge Conner and Mrs. Conner were with us here at The Union League Club for our Inaugural Dinner. Fortunately for us, we in the Intellectual Property community benefited from Judge Conner's generosity in sharing his time and talents with all of us over the years as a jurist, patent attorney, and role model. This year, we are very proud to present the 2021 Conner Inn Excellence Awards to four outstanding jurists -- Hon. Alan D. Lourie, Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; Hon. Richard C. Wesley, Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; Hon. Margo K. Brodie, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York; and Hon. Paul A. Engelmayer, District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York -- for their dedication to the promotion of excellence in our profession. Please enjoy this commemorative journal, including biographies of our award recipients and an article written by Melvin C. Garner that highlights the many excellent programs that were presented by judges, senior lawyers, junior lawyers, and law student members of the Conner Inn during its eleventh year of substantive IP programs, including judges and attorneys from Germany and Japan. 2019-2020 was a great year and we are looking forward to a phenomenal 2020-2021 as we continue to build on Judge Conner’s legacy of excellence and professionalism through the enthusiasm of our membership. As chair of the Executive Committee, I would like to thank our Conner Inn President and Counselor, Hon. J. Paul Oetken and Hon. Roslynn R. Mauskopf, respectively, for their continued leadership; the other members of the Executive Committee: Jeffrey M. Butler, Amy Gallup Klann, Melvin C. Garner, Patrice P. Jean, and Anne E. Li for their commitment; Jeffrey M. Butler and Melvin C. Garner for coordinating this event and putting together this commemorative journal; Hon. Richard Linn for his vision and initiative; and each of you for your enthusiastic support of the Conner Inn and its mission to promote professionalism, legal skills, ethics and civility in the practice of intellectual property law which Judge Conner exemplified. I am confident that Judge Conner would have been proud of the past accomplishments and future direction of the Conner Inn. Anthony Giaccio Executive Committee Chair
Conner Inn Leadership Officers President: Hon. J. Paul Oetken, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York Counselor: Hon. Roslynn R. Mauskopf, Director, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York Secretary/ Treasurer: Anthony Giaccio Executive Committee Chair: Anthony Giaccio Members: Jeffrey M. Butler, Amy Gallup Klann, Melvin C. Garner, Patrice P. Jean, Anne E. Li Judicial Members of the Inn Hon. Colleen McMahon, Southern District of New York Hon. Kerry Begley, USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board Hon. Richard M. Berman, Southern District of New York Hon. Vincent L. Briccetti, Southern District of New York Hon. Thomas R. Giannetti, USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board Hon. Cynthia L. Hardman, USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board Hon. Roslynn R. Mauskopf, Eastern District of New York Hon. Kimberly McGraw, USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board Hon. Shelia McShane, USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board Hon. J. Paul Oetken, Southern District of New York Hon. Donna Praiss, USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board Hon. Loretta A. Preska, Southern District of New York Hon. Faith S. Hochberg, District of New Jersey (Ret.) Hon. Barbara S. Jones, Southern District of New York (Ret.) Hon. John C. Lifland, District of New Jersey (Ret.) Visiting Judicial Members of the Inn Hon. Timothy B. Dyk, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit Hon. Richard Linn, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit Hon. Pauline Newman, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit Hon. Jimmie V. Reyna, US. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit Hon. Paul R. Michel, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit (Ret.)
Hon. William C. Conner Inn of Court Activities for the Year 2019-2020 Typically, the Inn year runs from September through June of the following year. This report of our activities is usually provided during our Annual Reception and Dinner in January, just shy of halfway through our year. However, because of Covid-19 the Annual dinner was moved to this virtual reception in June at the end of our operating year. Thus, this report spans the period from September 2019 to April 2021. The 2019-2020 year began with a cocktail reception at the Latitude Bar & Grill on September 26, 2019. It was a pleasant fall evening and the event provided the opportunity for Inn members, judges, law clerks and government employees to get together after the summer. New members were welcomed and Initial plans for the year were discussed over cocktails. The first substantive meeting included an old favorite program, The IP Dating Game, as well as a new member orientation. It was held on October 17, 2019, at the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse. The program was a mock meeting between outside counsel pitching for business and in-house counsel choosing representation. The participating Inn Members were Henry Cittone, Robert Curcio, Anne Li, Candice Osnato and Tonia Sayour. The Conner Inn held its 12th Annual Reception and Dinner on January 16, 2020, at the Union League Club. At the dinner, Conner Inn Excellence Awards were presented to Judge Richard G. Taranto of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Denise L. Cote of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and Judge Pamela K. Chen of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. On February 12, 2020, the Inn presented a substantive program entitled A Conversation with the Bench and Bar: Perspectives and Wish Lists. The program was inspired by a previous talk given by Hon. Timothy Dyk of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. Joining Judge Dyk for this program were the Hon. Raymond Chen of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, the Hon. Richard Andrews of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, the Hon. J. Paul Oetken of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (President of the Conner Inn) as well as practitioners and Inn members William McCabe and Khue Hoang. The discussion centered around ways to improve IP litigation with the judges explaining things counsel could do in this regard and the practitioners explaining things the judges could do. The program held on March 4, 2020, was a Discussion with PTAB Judges and Bar: Trial Practices Updates. The panel for this program included Patent Trial and Appeal Board judges Hon. Thomas Giannetti, Hon. Kimberly McGraw and Hon. Shelia McShane. Inn Member Charles Weiss also participated. Then Covid-19 hit and the rest of the programming for the year was suspended. The Inn began its 2020-2021 year on September 30, 2020, with a Virtual Cocktail Reception. While there were no actual cocktails, the program featured Zoom Trial War stories, COVID Best practices and a Best Craft-Drink Competition. The Conner Inn held a virtual joint meeting with the Tokyo IP Inn of Court on November 30, 2020. The meeting featured addresses by Judge Richard Linn of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, Mr. Ryuichi Sitara (attorney-at-law, ex-Chief Judge at the Tokyo Intellectual Property High Court) and Mr. Tomoki Sawai (head of the WIPO Japan Office). On February 4, 2021, the Inn held another old favorite program, IP Trivia. However, this time the program was remote. The audience was split into teams for answering trivia questions about intellectual property. One notable team was made up of Judge Gary Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York and his clerks, who held their own against the IP veterans of the Inn. A program entitled Remote Proceedings: Preparation, Tools and Tactics, was presented on March 10, 2021. The presenters were Lauren Berry of Veritext and Inn member Hoda Rifai-Bashjawish. They discussed and demonstrated the use of digital platforms to take remote depositions. The Conner Inn’s annual Jury Deliberation with Inner-City Scholar Fund High School Student Jurors was held virtually on April 29, 2021. This year’s program was entitled Swoosh Shoes v. Holy Shoes, and was a takeoff on Nike v. MSCHF Product Studio in which Nike filed a trademark complaint over the defendant’s sale of Nike modified black and red Air Max 97 shoes that featured a pentagram, a biblical verse and “one drop of human blood.” The facts were presented by Inn member Deirdre Clarke. Closing arguments were presented by Justin Taylor and Suzanne Trivette, young associates. Judge Oetken give the jury instructions. After about a half hour of deliberations the students reached a verdict. Melvin C. Garner Executive Committee Member
In Memoriam HON. ROBERT A. KATZMANN (APRIL 22, 1953 - JUNE 9, 2021) Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit HON. JACK B. WEINSTEIN (AUGUST 10, 1921 - JUNE 15, 2021) District Judge, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York HON. PETER W. HALL (NOVEMBER 9, 1948 - MARCH 11, 2021) Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit HON. RALPH K. WINTER, JR. (JULY 30, 1935 - DECEMBER 8, 2020) Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
Southern District of New York Hon. Laura Taylor Swain, Chief Judge Hon. Ronnie Abrams, District Judge Hon. P. Kevin Castel, District Judge Hon. Denise L. Cote, District Judge Hon. John Cronan, District Judge Hon. Jesse M. Furman, District Judge Hon. Katherine Polk Failla, District Judge Hon. J. Paul Oetken, District Judge Hon. Analisa Torres, District Judge Hon. Sidney H. Stein, Senior District Judge Hon. Robert W. Lehrburger, Magistrate Judge United States Patent & Trademark Office Patent Trial and Appeal Board Hon. Thomas Giannetti, Administrative Patent Judge Hon. Cynthia Hardman, Administrative Patent Judge Hon. Donna M. Praiss, Administrative Patent Judge
Honored Guests in Attendance Special Guests of Honor Hon. Alan D. Lourie Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit Hon. Richard C. Wesley Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit Hon. Margo K. Brodie Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York Hon. Paul A. Engelmayer District Judge, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York United States Court of Appeals Federal Circuit Hon. Raymond T. Chen, Circuit Judge Hon. Richard Linn, Circuit Judge Hon. Kathleen M. O'Malley, Circuit Judge Hon. Sharon Prost, Circuit Judge Hon. Richard G. Taranto, Circuit Judge Second Circuit Hon. Guido Calabresi, Circuit Judge Hon. Susan L. Carney, Circuit Judge Hon. Richard Sullivan, Circuit Judge United States District Courts Eastern District of New York Hon. Joan M. Azrack, District Judge Hon. Pamela K. Chen, District Judge Hon. Raymond J. Dearie, District Judge Hon. I. Leo Glasser, District Judge Hon. Dora L. Irizarry, District Judge Hon. Rachel P. Kovner, District Judge Hon. Kiyo A. Matsumoto, District Judge Hon. Brian Cogan, Senior District Judge Hon. Marcia M. Henry, Magistrate Judge Hon. Peggy Kuo, Magistrate Judge Hon. Ramon E. Reyes Jr., Magistrate Judge Hon. A. Kathleen Tomlinson, Magistrate Judge Hon. James M. Wicks, Magistrate Judge
Honoree Hon. Richard C. Wesley U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
Alan D. Lourie was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on April 6, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush. He was formerly Vice President, Corporate Patents and Trademarks, and Associate General Counsel of SmithKline Beecham Corporation. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 13, 1935, Judge Lourie received his Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University (1956), his Master’s degree in organic chemistry from the University of Wisconsin (1958), and his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania (1965). He received his J.D. degree from Temple University in 1970. Before being appointed to the court, Judge Lourie had been President of the Philadelphia Patent Law Association, a member of the Board of Directors of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (formerly American Patent Law Association), treasurer of the Association of Corporate Patent Counsel, and a member of the board of directors of the Intellectual Property Owners Association. He was also Vice Chairman of the Industry Functional Advisory Committee on Intellectual Property Rights for Trade Policy Matters (IFAC 3) for the Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. He was a member of the U.S. delegation to the Diplomatic Conference on the Revision of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, held in Geneva in October and November 1982, and in March 1984. He was chairman of the Patent Committee of the Law Section of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association from 1980 to 1985. Since joining the court, Judge Lourie has received a number of awards from bar associations and others, including the New Jersey Intellectual Property Law Association, the Intellectual Property Owners, the Philadelphia Intellectual Property Law Association, the Boston Patent Law Association, the Sedona Conference, the New York Intellectual Property Law Association, and the American Intellectual Property Law Association. He was a member of the Judicial Conference Committee on Financial Disclosure from 1990 to 1998 and was a member of the Committee on Codes of Conduct from 2005 to 2013. Judge Lourie is married, has two daughters, four grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.
Honoree Hon. Alan D. Lourie U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
Richard C. Wesley is a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. At the time of his appointment in 2003, he was a Judge of the New York Court of Appeals. Judge Wesley received his B.A. degree summa cum laude from the State University of New York at Albany in 1971, and his J.D. degree from Cornell Law School in 1974. Judge Wesley engaged in the private practice of law from the time of his admission to the New York Bar in 1975 until 1986. During three years of that period, 1979 until 1982, he also served as assistant counsel and chief legislative aide to New York Assembly Minority Leader James L. Emery. In 1982, Judge Wesley was himself elected to the Assembly - and was re-elected in 1984 - representing Livingston, Allegany and Ontario Counties. In 1986, Judge Wesley was elected to a 14-year term as a Justice of the New York Supreme Court from the Seventh Judicial District. Judge Wesley served as Supervising Judge of that district's criminal courts from the year 1991 to 1994. In 1994 he was appointed by Governor Mario Cuomo to the Supreme Court Appellate Division, Fourth Department. In 1997, Richard C. Wesley was appointed as judge of the New York Court of Appeals by Governor George Pataki, a position he held until joining the Federal judiciary.
Margo K. Brodie was appointed as a United States District Judge in the Eastern District of New York on February 29, 2012, and entered on duty March 12, 2012. Immediately prior to her appointment, Judge Brodie served as a federal prosecutor in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York (“U.S. Attorney’s Office”) for over 12 years. She held various positions in the U.S. Attorney’s Office including: Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division (2010-2012); Counselor to the Criminal Division (2009-2010); Chief of General Crimes (2007-2009); Deputy Chief of General Crimes (2006-2007); and Assistant United States Attorney (1999-2006). Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Judge Brodie was in private practice at the firm of Carter, Ledyard & Milburn for five years and, prior to that, was an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of New York for three years. Judge Brodie is a graduate of St. Francis College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Honoree Hon. Paul A. Engelmayer U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
Honoree Hon. Margo K. Brodie U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
Judge Engelmayer graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1983 with a degree in Government and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1987. In between college and law school, he worked as a staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal. From 1987 to 1988, Judge Engelmayer clerked for the Honorable Patricia M. Wald, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. From 1988 to 1989, he clerked for the Honorable Thurgood Marshall, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Between 1989 and 1994, Judge Engelmayer served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, largely assigned to the Official Corruption Unit, where he tried numerous white-collar cases and handled numerous appeals; in 1994, he served as Deputy Chief Appellate Attorney at the U.S. Attorney's Office. As Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States from 1994 to 1996, Judge Engelmayer briefed and argued cases before the United States Supreme Court and advised the Solicitor General regarding appellate litigation. In 1996, he returned to the United States Attorney’s Office as Chief of the Major Crimes Unit, serving in that role until January 2000. In that capacity, he supervised a unit of two dozen prosecutors responsible for a wide array of white-collar matters while continuing to try cases. Judge Engelmayer received the U.S. Attorney’s Director’s Award for Superior Performance in 1998 in connection with his prosecution of the case of United States v. William F. Duker. In January 2000, Judge Engelmayer joined the law firm of Wilmer Cutler & Pickering (later Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr) as a partner in the firm’s New York Office. In 2005, he was named Partner-in-Charge of that office, a role he held until leaving the firm for the bench. At WilmerHale, he specialized in complex civil and securities litigation, criminal defense, appellate litigation and securities enforcement, and also handled a substantial pro bono docket. Judge Engelmayer was nominated to the Southern District bench on February 2, 2011, confirmed by the Senate on July 26, 2011, and took the bench on September 26, 2011. Judge Engelmayer has taught or lectured at various professional conferences and at law schools. He is a member of the American Law Institute and a trustee of the Harvard Law Review.
Previous Recipients of the Conner Inn Excellence Award 2020 Hon. Richard G. Taranto, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit Hon. Denise L. Cote, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York Hon. Pamela K. Chen, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York 2019 Hon. Raymond T. Chen, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit Hon. Richard J. Sullivan, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit Hon. Kiyo A. Matsumoto, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York 2018 Hon. Pierre N. Leval, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit Hon. Jimmie V. Reyna, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit 2017 Hon. P. Kevin Castel, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York Hon. Dora L. Irizarry, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York Hon. Kathleen M. O'Malley, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit 2016 Hon. Timothy B. Dyk, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit 2015 Hon. Denny Chin, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit Hon. Sharon Prost, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit 2014 Hon. Robert A. Katzmann, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit Hon. Richard Linn, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit 2013 Hon. Barbara Jones, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York Hon. Colleen McMahon, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York 2012 Hon. Carol Bagley Amon, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York Hon. Pauline Newman, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit Hon. Kimba M. Woods, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York 2011 Hon. Dennis Jacobs, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit 2010 Hon. Raymond J. Dearie, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York Hon. Loretta A. Preska, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York Hon. Paul R. Michel, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit 2009 Hon. William C. Conner, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
Hon. William C. Conner Inn of Court 2020 Annual Reception and Dinner
www.connerinn.org
Visit www.connerinn.org for upcoming programs and networking activities.