IP Protection Matters

Kristen Jakobsen Osenga, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the University of Richmond School of Law, discusses patent eligibility and preliminary injunctions in patent litigation, how strong intellectual property protections drive innovation, and some of the terminology (i.e., “evergreening” and “patent thickets”) often used by advocates for weaker intellectual property protections.

David Kappos, Co-Chair of the Intellectual Property Practice at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, and former Undersecretary of Commerce and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, discusses how strong intellectual property (IP) protections are essential for the U.S. to continue to lead the world in innovation, the importance of IP protections to attract capital necessary to innovate, and the need for Congress to act to fix issues dealing with injunctive relief for patent infringement, patent eligibility, and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

Joshua Kresh, Executive Director of the IP Policy Institute (IPPI) at the University of Akron School of Law, discusses IPPI’s work, how strong intellectual property (IP) protections drive innovation and the economic success of the nation, misleading terms like “patent thickets” and “evergreening,” and more.

John Manchester, Director of IP Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, discusses how a proposal to impose hefty fines in the form of “fees” on patent owners based on a government-assigned “valuation” of their patents would cripple America’s innovation ecosystem and harm the U.S. economy, jobs and national security.

The Honorable Kathleen O'Malley, former judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, explains how strong intellectual property protections are critical to the U.S. economy, health and welfare, and national security, and discusses the need for Congress to fix the patent eligibility mess and restore balance at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

James Edwards, Jr., Founder and CEO of ELITE Strategic Services, LLC, and Founder and Executive Director of Conservatives for Property Rights, discusses his new book, “To Invent Is Divine: Creativity and Ownership,” which examines and explains how divine inspiration is behind creativity and ownership, and how policymakers need to restore protections for fundamental intellectual property rights that have been eroded over the last several decades.

Professor Jonathan Barnett, Contributor with the Forum for Intellectual Property at the Hudson Institute and Director of the Media, Entertainment and Technology Law Program at the Gould School of Law at the University of Southern California, discusses how the U.S. policy climate has been unsympathetic to intellectual property (IP) rights in recent years, three policy resets that will help reinvigorate U.S. innovation leadership, and adverse national security consequences of neglecting IP protections.

Karen Kerrigan, President and CEO of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council), discusses World IP Day 2025, and the substance and timeliness of the U.S. Trade Representative’s latest Special 301 Report – a Congressionally mandated annual report that monitors and reviews the intellectual property protection practices of U.S. trading partners.

Jaci McDole, Senior Director, Copyright and Creativity at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center, explains how intellectual property protections are critical to the success of small businesses and the American dream, and discusses some inspiring, real-world case studies highlighting innovators and creators.

David Williams, President of Taxpayers Protection Alliance, discusses how compulsory licensing of intellectual property, price controls and patent confiscation policies like expanding government march-in powers under Bayh-Dole will reduce innovation and the availability of new life-saving drugs.

Chris Israel, Executive Director of Alliance of U.S. Startups and Inventors for Jobs, discusses how the Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB) has failed to accomplish its intended purpose, multiplying proceedings and costs for inventors and startups rather than curb unnecessary litigation, and several pieces of pending legislation in Congress – including the PREVAIL Act, PERA, and RESTORE Act – that would help restore some balance and fairness at PTAB and reestablish the presumption of injunctive relief to patent owners who are facing infringement.

Paul R. Michel, Former Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, discusses how a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions and other efforts have been deleterious to a strong patent system, how the U.S. is ceding our global leadership to China and other nations that are strengthening their IP systems instead of weakening them, and bipartisan legislation being championed by IP leaders in Congress that will help revive the American patent system as an engine of growth, global leadership and technological superiority.

Kelly Anderson, Executive Director of International Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center, discusses the 2024 International IP Index, the socio-economic benefits of strong intellectual property frameworks, and the need for the United States and European Union to renew their global leadership in support of strong IP protections.