THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2008, 10:00 a.m.

PATENT REFORM BILL DELAYED IN SENATE -- The schedule for Senate consideration of patent reform bill S. 1145 appears to have slipped by at least a few weeks.  Yesterday Congressional Quarterly’s CQ Today reported that, “Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., who . . .   has been pushing Senate Majority Leader Reid, D-Nev., to schedule it [S. 1145] for floor action, acknowledged Wednesday that Reid was not likely to do so until after a two-week recess in March.”  The March congressional recess runs through March 28.  Numerous groups are lobbying the Senate for changes in the legislation.  Senator Leahy is planning to redraft certain sections.  IPO still expects an effort to pass S. 1145 in coming weeks, and IPO members should continue to be active in legislative discussions.

IP SUITS -- Compiled from newswire reports and other sources:

Yesterday it was reported that Boston Scientific was ordered to pay $431 million in damages to a doctor who contended its drug-coated stent infringed his patent.  (Washington Post)

IP IN THE NATIONAL MEDIA -- Today the Washington Post published an article on legislation backed by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) that would prevent a small Texas company named DataTreasury from collecting damages from banks for infringing on its patented method relating to digital scanning of checks.

NEW IPO BOARD MEMBERS -- In addition to those announced in the DAILY NEWS recently, the following individuals have joined the IPO Board of Directors this year:  JEFFREY MYERS of Adobe Systems Inc. (elected for 2008-09), PAUL DIETZ of Seagate Technology, LLC (succeeding KEN MASSARONI of the same company), and BRIAN STIERWALT of ConocoPhillips (succeeding BEVERLY DOLLAR of the same company).

DEAN OF THE PATENT SEARCHERS -- Inventor and patent searcher GLENN E. WISE, 79, died in McLean, Va. on February 4.  He worked as a private searcher in the paper files of the USPTO for nearly 50 years.  A Washington Post obituary article called him “the dean of the searchers.”

MARCH CLE CONFERENCE -- IPO’s March 17 conference on Navigating Recent Decisions – How They Affect Your Corporate IP Practice in Washington, DC will cover the Supreme Court’s KSR v. Teleflex case; willfulness and opinions of counsel as affected by In re Seagate; licensing and cease & desist letters in light of MedImmune; global litigation strategies and extraterritorial patent enforcement; fraud before the USPTO; and trends in Federal Circuit damages decisions. For more information and to register, please click here.