Professional Activities
December 5, 2012
Fitch Even counsel Kenneth W. Hairston was asked to participate in a recent ceremony conducted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office held to commemorate the official retirement of the “Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences” (BPAI) and the inauguration of the “Patent Trial and Appeal Board” (PTAB).
At this historical program, Ken was among the retired judges asked to draw the ceremonial veil over the BPAI sign. Prior to joining Fitch Even, Ken served as an Administrative Patent Judge at the PTAB for 23 years. Other participants in the program included current Chief Administrative Patent Judge James D. Smith and several other active and retired judges.
The transformation of the BPAI to the PTAB was required by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act and represented a step in implementing the new post-grant review trials as well as the eventual elimination of interference proceedings.
