Chadbourne & Parke Partner Plays Key Role In Developing Patent Damages Guide

NEW YORK, Jan. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The international law firm of Chadbourne & Parke LLP today congratulated its partner and co-chair of its Intellectual Property Group, John A. Squires, for the completion and release of a practitioner-drafted handbook designed to assist U.S. District Court judges and magistrates in case management of damages issues in patent infringement cases.  

The handbook was released by the National Patent Jury Instruction Committee and is available for downloading at http://www.nationaljuryinstructions.org/damages.

The Committee on Patent Damages, on which Mr. Squires participated with nationally recognized members from the bench, bar and academia was convened at the request of Chief Judge Paul R. Michel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  The Patent Damages Handbook, officially entitled Compensatory Damages Issues in Patent Infringement Cases: A Handbook for Federal District Court Judges, was produced by the Committee following months of collaborative effort to collect and identify procedural practices that may be helpful in the case management and adjudication of patent damages issues.  

In late 2008, Chief Judge Michel asked a diverse group of law practitioners, economists, academics and trial judges to tackle "how best to achieve the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of patent damages."

"John was among the top IP professionals in the U.S. asked to tackle this complex issue that produced a groundbreaking, important and consensus handbook," said Chadbourne Managing Partner Charles K. O'Neill. "We congratulate him on his work.  His participation on this select Committee is further recognition that our IP and litigation practices are recognized leaders on cutting edge legal issues for the benefit of our clients and the practice of law generally."

According to Mr. Squires this was no easy task. "Most of the Committee members have long been involved in patent reform issues either on Capitol Hill or as amici in the courts, and maintain sometimes divergent viewpoints on how to build a better patent law system for the U.S. Focusing on procedural practices that may be helpful in adjudicating patent damages issues rather than attempting a substantive restatement of damages law provided the pathway to a consensus handbook," said Mr. Squires.

While the handbook is not endorsed by the Federal Circuit or "official in that or any other sense" or endorsed by any company or client affiliated with project group members, it is intended to be a significant resource for judges and lawyers under current law.

Mr. Squires has long represented the financial services industry's interest in technology and intellectual property issues.  Before becoming co-chair of Chadbourne's Intellectual Property Group last year, he previously spent nine years as Goldman, Sachs & Co's Chief IP counsel.  He also chaired the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association ("SIFMA") IP committee for five years from 2003-2008.  

A long-time advocate of meaningful reform of the U.S. patent laws, Mr. Squires previously testified to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and Federal Trade Commission on patent reform and has co-authored several amicus briefs, including the financial services industries landmark patent law brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in eBay vs. MercExchange and most recently in Bilski versus Kappos.*

"Work on substantive reform will no doubt continue apace with this and perhaps even the new Congress," said Mr. Squires, "but in terms of case management and procedural practices - all with an eye towards improving the system -- our Committee found many more areas of agreement than disagreement in drafting the handbook."

"Even under contemplated legislation, courts are currently and will be more generally charged to be 'gate-keepers' for patent law damages issues," said Mr. Squires. "Nevertheless, I believe it is the collective hope of our group that this handbook will provide relevant detail and discussion from a diverse and highly regarded group that cares deeply about intellectual property issues."

*Links to testimony and amicus briefs:

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee ( http://www.aba.com/NR/rdonlyres/222CE044-577A-11D5-AB84-00508B95258D/50798/June62007JohnSquiresPatentReform.pdf )

Federal Trade Commission testimony (http://www.ftc.gov/bc/workshops/ipmarketplace/dec5/docs/jsquires2.pdf )

eBay amicus brief (eBay vs. MercExchange (http://patentlaw.typepad.com/eBay/eBaySecurities.pdf )

Bilski amicus brief ( http://www.chadbourne.com/Chadbourne-Files-Amicus-Brief-in-US-Supreme-Court-in-High-Stakes-Bilski-Patent-Case-08-10-2009/ ).

About Chadbourne & Parke LLP

Chadbourne & Parke LLP, a global law firm headquartered in New York City, provides a full range of legal services, including mergers and acquisitions, securities, project finance, private funds, corporate finance, energy, communications and technology, commercial and products liability litigation, securities litigation and regulatory enforcement, special investigations and litigation, intellectual property, antitrust, domestic and international tax, insurance and reinsurance, environmental, real estate, bankruptcy and financial restructuring, employment law and ERISA, trusts and estates and government contract matters.  Major geographical areas of concentration include Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.  The Firm has offices in New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Mexico City, London (an affiliated partnership), Moscow, St. Petersburg, Warsaw (a Polish partnership), Kyiv, Almaty, Dubai and Beijing.  For additional information, visit www.chadbourne.com.

SOURCE Chadbourne & Parke LLP