By: Josh Sloat

The Patently Strategic Podcast is back in action for the start of Season Four and we're leading off today with a very important conversation on Claim Construction! This is part two of an important three-part series and picks up from our Season 3 episode on Claim Strategies – which goes from claim basics all the way to effectively leveraging claim strategies. If you haven’t listened to that one yet or if any of this gets a little thick, we highly recommend you go back and give it a listen. There is not a more important concept to grasp in all of patenting. Claims define the boundaries of your intellectual property. The highly nuanced process that goes into crafting them is all the difference between a defensible, assertable, valuable property right – and an expensive vanity piece for your wall. 
​

​​In this month’s episode, Kristen Hansen, Patent Strategy Specialist and creative claim construction worker here at Aurora leads a discussion, along with our all-star patent panel, delving into the world of claim construction. Claim construction is a process in which courts attempt to interpret the meaning and scope of the claims of a patent. It’s sort of like reverse engineering – or maybe more accurately reconstructing – what an inventor and their practitioner meant back when they drafted the patent application.

​While your patent might not be tested in a court for many years, understanding the sometimes surprising language specifics and context traps while drafting now can help set you up for success later when defending your patent or attempting to stop an infringer. The words you choose now and the support you provide when drafting are your opportunity to help derisk the process of courts and juries later interpreting what you meant. And oftentimes, claim construction can be the KEY FACTOR in resolving disputes even before litigation, with the facts that come out of claim construction deciding the monetary value and payouts in settlements.  In breaking this all down, Kristen and the panel discuss:

​Kristen is joined today by our always exceptional group of IP experts including:

In this month’s minute, Professor Adam Mossoff discusses recently proposed regulations that would misapply Bayh-Dole provisions to impose march-in rights on patent-protected innovations and create price controls via compulsory licensing. This amounts to government seizure of private property and will do tremendous harm – especially to the life sciences – if implemented. We’re also publishing excerpts as short-form videos on Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok.
​

​It’s going to be another big year for patents and we couldn’t be more excited about the lineup we’re bringing you, including:

​Patently Strategic is available on all major podcasting directories, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. We're also available on 12 other directories including Stitcher, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn, so you should be able to find us wherever you listen to podcasts.
​

By: Josh Sloat

We're heading north to join our friends at Michigan Tech for their 2024 Innovation Week! Dr. Ashley Sloat will be delivering an important talk on Careful Contracting. 

Husky Innovate hosts Innovation Week each year, which includes innovation and entrepreneurship presentations and panel talks that are open to Michigan Tech students, faculty, alumni, and the larger community. Hear from entrepreneurs and innovators from a variety of backgrounds. Innovation Week aims to educate, inspire, and encourage those leading innovations.
​

Learn strategies for careful contracting as you work with development and investment partners, and hear how investors evaluate your startup’s risk exposure. We'll discuss everything you need to know, from engaging with an engineering firm to ultimately pitching to an investment group. Topics include IP ownership, assignment from engineering firm inventors back to you, how to avoid the traps of viral IP, and what investors want to see in your pitch deck.

When: Thursday, Jan. 25, 12-1:30 p.m
​Where: ​MUB Ballroom B
​