RatnerPrestia CEO Moderates PIPLA Meeting

Valley Forge, Pa., September 2011 – Job creation and increased economic development were on tap for discussion at the Philadelphia Intellectual Property Law Association’s first meeting of the year on September 22, 2011. RatnerPrestia CEO Jonathan Spadt moderated a panel of experts to discuss the America Invents Act and the expectation that it will lead to job growth, innovation, and economic development. Commenting on why he selected the topic and assembled the panel, Spadt noted, “The White House has stated that the America Invents Act will ‘speed development of innovative products to market and promote job creation, economic growth, and U.S. economic competitiveness.’ Although most stakeholders believe this is true, I wanted to have a real discussion by those in the trenches about how this will become a reality.”

Joining Spadt on the panel were Mr. Robert Oberleitner, Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Patents at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Mr. Pat Coletti, Assistant Patent Counsel for Johnson & Johnson, and Mr. David Highet, Vice President and Chief IP Counsel for Becton, Dickinson & Company. Most of the discussion focused on the changes to the law and subsequent rule making that will insure better claim determination, clearer predictability, and more manageable risk assessment. The general consensus was that, if done properly, the changes will instill greater confidence in the system and result in increased investment and hiring.

RatnerPrestia’s practice is devoted exclusively to intellectual property law. With extensive and diverse legal, technical and corporate backgrounds, its professionals provide practical, cost-effective, business-oriented counseling to a wide range of international and domestic clients. It also represents clients in essentially all courts and patent and trademark offices. RatnerPrestia is a full service IP firm with a 30 year proven track record of success. For additional information, visit www.RatnerPrestia.com.