TIPLA FALL 2025 CLE SEMINAR

TIPLA FALL 2025 CLE SEMINAR

Join us for the TIPLA Fall 2025 CLE Seminar at the Law Offices of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings. Get ready for a day filled with insightful discussions, networking opportunities, and valuable knowledge sharing. Our lineup of speakers is top-notch, covering the latest trends and topics in intellectual property law. Don't miss out on this in-person event that promises to be both educational and engaging. Save the date and secure your spot now!

Timothy L. Capria is the Office Managing Partner of Husch Blackwell’s Nashville office and a forward-thinking strategist in intellectual property, franchising, and media law. Tim counsels clients ranging from startups to multinational brands on IP portfolio management, franchise litigation, and brand protection, with deep experience in both domestic and international markets. Recognized by Chambers USA and World Trademark Review, Tim brings real-world insight from both private practice and his prior in-house role at Amazon. He holds a J.D. from Duke University School of Law and is admitted in Tennessee, New York, and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Richard W. F. Swor is an effective commercial litigator with a focus on franchise and intellectual property disputes. Drawing on a creative background in television and film, Richard brings innovative strategies to complex litigation, particularly in brand enforcement, trademark disputes, and franchise-related issues. such as non-compete enforcement and vicarious liability defense. Richard holds a J.D. from Belmont University College of Law and is licensed in Kentucky and Tennessee.

Eric Raciti has more than 25 years of experience advising companies as a trusted advisor on intellectual property matters. He received his formational training in industrial systems engineering, learning the importance of a multidisciplinary approach that includes a marriage of technology and business processes. His training and experience taught him the value of communicating clearly with management, legal, financial, and technical professionals. Eric’s extensive background in IP law includes patent portfolio development, intellectual property enforcement, technology counseling, strategic commercialization strategies, corporate IP policy, technology acquisitions, risk mitigation and due diligence for fund-raising and investment rounds. Eric holds a J.D. from Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law and is admitted in Tennessee, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Sam Raque is a Registered U.S. Patent Attorney. He concentrates his practice in the areas of intellectual property protection, including patent prosecution, counseling clients on their intellectual property portfolios, patent infringement, and the litigation of intellectual property law matters. Prior to joining Patterson, Sam served as a judicial law clerk with the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO’s) Patent Trial and Appeal Board and a Mechanical Patent Examiner with the USPTO Patent Examining Corps. He is admitted in Kentucky, Tennessee, and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

John Willis Stevens is an associate in the firm’s IP Procurement and Portfolio Management practice. John Willis has experience in intellectual property prosecution and patent and trademark enforcement actions in state court, Federal District Courts, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and the World Intellectual Property Organization and Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy. John Willis holds a J.D. from Belmont University College of Law. He is licensed in Tennessee and admitted before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Jeff Blake is a partner in Merchant's Atlanta office, where his practice involves all aspects of intellectual property litigation and counseling. His experience includes representation of clients in the pharmaceutical and electrical arts at trial and on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Jeff is also actively involved in representing clients in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings. He holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alabama. He is licensed in Georgia and New York, as well as before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Info: Franchising is fundamentally built on intellectual property—trademarks, trade secrets, and copyrights are the backbone of every successful franchise system. This presentation will explore how IP rights are structured, protected, and leveraged in the franchise context, with a focus on recent developments, common pitfalls, and best practices for practitioners advising clients.

Info: In 2010, the Federal Circuit put the lid on false patent marking in the Peguingot v. Solo Cup decision, limiting recovery to only $500 and effectively ending false marking as a cause of action. However, last October, the Federal Circuit issued a decision in Crocs, Inc. v. Effervescent, Inc. holding that a cause of action arises under Section 43(a)(1)(B) of the Lanham Act where a party falsely claims that it possesses a patent on a product feature and advertises that product feature in a manner that causes consumers to be misled about the nature, characteristics, or qualities of its product. This session will explore the false marking cause of action – and the fun-factor offered by a vintage classic with a fresh coat of paint.

Info: This session will focus on the USPTO’s sweeping 2025 reforms under Director John Squires. It will unpack major updates affecting both post-grant and prosecution practice — from the Director’s new control over PTAB institution decisions and the bifurcated discretionary-denial process, to workforce restructuring, backlog-reduction efforts, and the latest NPRMs shaping how patents are examined, issued, and challenged. Learn how these changes are reshaping strategy for patent owners, petitioners, and practitioners alike.

Info: Drafting patent applications for global protection requires more than just technical precision, it demands a strategic approach tailored to different legal systems. This discussion will provide best practices for drafting global applications, covering claim strategies, jurisdictional differences, and techniques to avoid common pitfalls that may limit enforceability and scope.

Info: As attorneys increasingly rely on available AI tools, there are numerous ethical considerations that arise with the use of the latest technology. The discussion will focus on both (1) the issues that are greatest concern to clients with the use of AI tools and (2) case examples where courts have identified misuse of AI tools in ongoing litigation.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Law Offices of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, 1221 Broadway, Nashville, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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