Biolaw 5.0: Law at the Frontiers of Biology
Let the leading experts put things into perspective
October 21, 2011 | 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. | KU School of Law | (785) 864-4550
Keynote Address: "The Top Ten Issues in Biotech Patent Law," Kevin Noonan and Donald Zuhn - "The Patent Docs"
Admission is free, and no registration is required. Find a schedule and speaker bios below.
8 - 8:30 a.m. |
Welcome and Introductions |
8:30 - 9:15 a.m. |
"Law's Arcade" |
9:15 - 10 a.m. |
"The Gulf Oil Spill: Investigating America's Worst Environmental Disaster" |
10 - 10:15 a.m. |
BREAK |
1:15 - 2 p.m. |
"The Politics of Bioscience" |
11 a.m. - noon |
KEYNOTE: "Top Topics in Biotech Patent Law" |
Noon - 1:15 p.m. |
LUNCH |
10:15 - 11 a.m. |
"A Comparative Study on Patentability of Human Embryonic Stem Cells in the United State, Europe and China" |
2 - 2:15 p.m. |
BREAK |
2:15 - 3 p.m. |
"Stanford v. Roche: Who Owns Your Biotechnology?" |
3 - 3:45 p.m. |
"Evolving Issues under the American Invents Act: A Biotech Perspective" |
Speaker Bios
Cydney Boler is special counsel with Foulston Siefkin and represents bioscience and health care companies with clinical research compliance, clinical trial and research contracting, good clinical practices, submission of investigational new drug applications (INDs), investigational device exemption applications (IDEs), and preparation of new drug applications (NDAs). Boler has experience negotiating, reviewing and advising on grants and contracts for federally funded and privately funded research projects. She counsels clients on FDA regulatory compliance, preparing and reviewing agreements related to clinical trials, and licensing of FDA-regulated products. Boler also works with companies on antitrust matters for the FTC focusing on generic drug and bioequivalance litigation.
James Chen joined the University of Louisville as dean of the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law in January 2007. Chen is a prolific and influential scholar whose works span subjects such as administrative law, agricultural law, constitutional law, economic regulation, environmental law, industrial policy, legislation, and natural resources law. He is the coauthor of "Disasters and the Law: Katrina and Beyond" (Aspen Publishers, 2006), the first book to provide comprehensive coverage of the legal issues surrounding natural disasters. This path-breaking book is now in its second edition under the title "Disaster Law and Policy." He provides expert advice on the law of regulated industries, particularly telecommunications. Chen has also taught courses in criminal law and food and drug law.
Crissa Cook received her law degree from the University of Kansas School of Law. She joined Hovey Williams in 2007 after serving the firm as a law clerk for two years during law school. Now an associate, her specialties include the preparation and prosecution of U.S. and foreign patent applications. Cook primarily focuses her practice on serving clients in the fields of chemistry, biotechnology and life sciences, food sciences, and the mechanical arts. She also has experience counseling clients regarding patentability, invalidity, and infringement analyses.
Lana Knedlik is a registered patent attorney with Stinson Morrison Hecker who practices in all areas of intellectual property law, including patent, trademark and copyright prosecution, licensing, due diligence, litigation support and client counseling. Knedlik's training in chemical engineering, biology and pharmacy enables her to address various issues having a technological or scientific component. Her experience includes counseling clients on invention disclosure and trade secret programs, performing patentability searches and opinions, preparing and prosecuting patent applications, and drafting infringement and validity assessments, including Paragraph IV ANDA certifications. In addition, Knedlik is well-versed in trademark selection, registration and policing strategies. Her intellectual property experience also extends to trade dress protection and enforcement issues, as well as numerous copyright registration, authorship and ownership issues. In the intellectual property litigation area, her practice includes legal research and brief writing on complex cases - projects which take advantage of her experience as a law clerk for the Hon. Deanell Reece Tacha of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit prior to joining the firm.
Kevin Noonan is a partner with McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP. An experienced biotechnology patent lawyer, Noonan brings more than 10 years of extensive work as a molecular biologist studying high-technology problems in serving the unique needs of his clients. His practice involves all aspects of patent prosecution, interferences and litigation. He represents pharmaceutical companies both large and small on a myriad of issues, as well as several universities in both patenting and licensing to outside investors. He has also filed amicus briefs to district courts, the federal circuit and the Supreme Court involving patenting issues relevant to biotechnology. Noonan is a frequent speaker, commentator and author on a variety of intellectual property law topics. He is a founding author of the Patent Docs weblog, a site focusing on biotechnology and pharmaceutical patent law. In 2010, he was interviewed for a segment that aired on the television program "60 Minutes" that addressed the issue of gene patenting.
Saritha Tice is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, where she served as Bluebook Chair of the Harvard Law Review. She clerked for Judge Brett Kavanaugh on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In 2005, Tice co-produced a short documentary on reconstruction efforts after the South Asian tsunami. In 2007, she provided pro bono legal services in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. And in 2010, she served as counsel to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. At the commission, Tice was a member of the chief counsel’s investigative team and co-authored the final report of the commission as well as the chief counsel’s report. She is currently an attorney in private practice in Washington, D.C. Her areas of practice include patent litigation, energy litigation and other corporate litigation.
Huan Zhu is a policy research assistant with DB Capitol Strategies PLLC in Washington, D.C., a company providing legal, strategic and operational guidance to political organizations with a focus on PAC treasury and FEC reporting and compliance. In 2009, she translated legal documents and acted as interpreter for Petefish, Immel, Heeb & Hird LLP in Lawrence, Kan. In 2008, she was a research associate in the areas of environmental and immigration law for U.S. China Business Council (Shanghai office) in Shanghai, China. In 2004, she worked as an assistant lawyer with Yishi Law Firm in Shanghai, China, and assisted the Legal Aid Center, East China University of Political Science and Law from 2003-2004. In 2002, she was a judicial assistant for the Xiashan District Court Zhanjiang City, Guangdong, China. Huan’s successful completion of her dissertation, “A Comparative Study on Human Embryonic Stem Cell Patent Law in the United States, the European Patent Organization, and China.” earned her a Doctorate in Juridical Science from the University of Kansas School of Law in 2011. She earned her master's in international law in 2008 and Bachelor of Laws in 2005 from East China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai, China. She completed her Master of Laws in European and Comparative Law from Ghent University, Belgium, in 2007.
Donald Zuhn Jr. is a partner with McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP. Zuhn has more than a decade of experience in all aspects of patent prosecution, litigation, counseling and licensing. He represents a variety of clients, including biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies both large and small, and universities. Zuhn joined MBHB in 1998. He maintained a full-time position as a law clerk while attending law school at night until his graduation in 2002 from The John Marshall Law School, summa cum laude. He earned his doctorate in mammalian genetics from the University of Illinois at Chicago. His doctoral research covered the analysis of the structure and function of protein domains of human P-glycoprotein through the use of genetic suppressor elements encoding antisense RNA molecules and truncated proteins.