
Date: April 17-20, 2023
Location: The Alexandrian Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia
Details: Panitch Schwarze partner Travis W. Bliss, Ph.D. and patent agent Stephany G. Small, Ph.D. will present on intellectual property considerations for plant breeders during the International Community of Breeders of Asexually Reproduced Horticultural Plants (CIOPORA)’s Annual General Meeting 2023.
On April 17, Bliss and Small will co-present “How to control imports into the U.S. through IP protection,” which will provide an overview of the various types of import protections for whole plants and harvested material, as well as the impact that IP exhaustion has on those protections.
On April 20, Bliss will participate in a conference session titled “The role of IP in the entire production and trade chain and beyond – a 360° perspective.” This presentation will examine how intellectual property law can protect plant breeders’ rights through every stage of the breeding process.
Bliss largely focuses his practice on securing, licensing, monetizing, challenging, and enforcing intellectual property rights, including U.S. plant patents, utility patents, plant variety protection (PVP) certificates, and trademarks, for novel plant varieties. He works with each of his clients in the horticulture industry to help them formulate an effective IP strategy for their particular situation, including helping the client identify the IP rights they should secure and assisting them in creating an effective licensing regime.
Small focuses her practice on acquiring and preserving intellectual property rights in all areas of life science, including biologics, pharmaceuticals, treatment/diagnostic methods, novel plant varieties, and transgenic plants. Her practice involves procurement of patents through prosecution before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and foreign jurisdictions and also involves litigation matters including proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
CIOPORA is a community of breeders of asexually reproduced horticultural plants. It is globally accepted as an independent non-profit and non-governmental organization seeking to establish effective IP protection systems for horticulture. Click here to register for the CIOPORA Annual General Meeting 2023.