Calendar of Events
2023-2024 Tsai Center Programs and Events
Tuesday, March 5th
Tsai Center Innovation Series: Changing the Game: Sports and Data Science
Chaired and Moderated by SMU Dedman School of Law Professor Sari Mazzurco
Featured Speakers:
- James Brocato, Director of Analytics, Basketball Operations, Dallas Mavericks
- Kyle Burkhardt, SVP of Strategy, Dallas Mavericks
- John Park, Director of Strategic Football Operations, Dallas Cowboys
- Kaleisha Stuart, Deputy General Counsel, Dallas Cowboys
Tuesday, Feb. 27th
Tsai Talk: From Bar to Business with Austin Champion '08
Friday, February 16th 20th Symposium on Emerging Intellectual Property Issues: Intellectual Property and Texas
Additional Information and Link to Symposium video (selected sessions)
Thursday, Feb. 1st
Tsai Talk: Hot Topics in Intellectual Property Law with Carl Bruce of Fish & Richardson
Monday, Oct. 23rd
Tsai Talk - Betting Big: The Ins and Outs of Sports Betting Law and Venture Capital with Kevin Vela of Vela Wood
Friday, Oct. 13
More Information and Register
Tuesday, Oct. 3rd
Tsai Talk: The Inside SCOOP on Working In-House and in IP at Caterpillar with Elise Selinger
Thursday, Sept. 21st
Tsai Talk: The Ledger and the Law: Tales from the Frontier of Cryptocurrency Litigation and Regulation with Daley Epstein '18
2022-2023 Tsai Center Programs and Events
February 24, 2023
The 19th Symposium on Emerging Intellectual Property Issues: Intellectual Property & The Business of Innovations
February 17, 2023
The SciTech Annual Symposium - Antitrust & BigTech
October 27, 2022
Tsai Talk - Health Law Series: Opioid Litigation: A View from the Inside with Darren Nicholson
October 6, 2022
Tsai Talk: Get Connected: The Internet of Things with Luke McLeroy September 22, 2022 Tsai Talk - Health Law Series: The Future of Medicine, Today. A Conversation with Bethany McGaha '10, Director and Managing Attorney - Healthcare Transactions, UTSouthwestern Medical Center
2021-2022 Tsai Center Programs and Events
April 7, 2022
Tsai Talk: Successful Innovation: Startups and Venture with Kevin Vela
During this discussion Mr. Vela and attendees will explore how startups and venture transactions have evolved in contemporary society and their continued intersection with technology.
Mr. Vela focuses his practice in the areas of venture financing, fund representation, M&A, and gaming law. In recent years, he has represented both startups and investors in hundreds of convertible instrument and equity financing transactions ranging from angel rounds through Series C rounds.
March 22, 2022
Tsai Talk: What's so NiFTy about NFTs?
12:45-1:45, Hillcrest Classroom
This Tsai Talk, hosted by Tsai Scholars, will feature Ms. Rocio Palomo, Counsel with Perkins Coie. Ms. Palomo will discuss the basics of NFTs, the current NFT space, and how she advises clients about what NFTs mean for their businesses and the marketplace.
March 10, 2022
Tsai Talk: Race and Intellectual Property: What? Why?
12:30-1:30, Hillcrest Classroom
This Tsai Talk, hosted by Tsai Scholars, will feature Mr. Mike Pegues, Shareholder and Chair of the Intellectual Property Litigation Practice at Polsinelli. During this discussion Mr. Pegues and attendees will explore how intellectual property law, principles, and policies have used the social construct known as Race to perpetuate divisions between and among groups of humans since the inception of the United States.
Friday, October 29, 2021 [Virtual]
18th Annual Symposium on Emerging Intellectual Property Issues: Patent Law and Institutional Choice
Please join the SMU Dedman School of Law for a symposium exploring the latest major controversies, legal developments, and judicial decisions in the field of intellectual property, through panel presentations and discussions with distinguished academics. In particular, this symposium explores the institutional structure of the U.S. patent system and the roles of its institutions: the U.S. Congress; U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; federal district courts and juries; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; and the U.S. Supreme Court. Confronting critiques of this structure and these institutions, this symposium will consider how the U.S. patent system may be improved to further the innovation economy.
3.75 hrs Texas MCLE credit
Symposium Agenda and Speaker Biographies
18th Symposium on Emerging Intellectual Property Issues:
Patent Law and Institutional Choice
October 29, 2021
9:15 Opening Remarks
9:15–10:30 The Rise of the Western District of Texas: Forum Selling and Forum Shopping in Patent Trial Courts; Or, the Failure of T.C. Heartland
Prior to 2017 the Eastern District of Texas attracted criticism as an example of forum selling. But it was the Federal Circuit’s interpretation of the patent venue statute that some viewed as creating the opportunity for forum shopping by patent owners—and patent owners evidently overwhelmingly preferred to file infringement actions in the Eastern District of Texas. Following the Supreme Court’s holding in 2017 that a domestic corporation “resides” only in its state of incorporation for purposes of the patent venue statute, however, many observers speculated that the holding spelled doom for patent owners seeking to secure venue in the Eastern District of Texas. While rumors of the demise of the Eastern District of Texas have been proven to be exaggerated, in the last few years the Western District of Texas has emerged as a new favored forum of patent owners. This panel will explore forum selling and forum shopping in patent trial courts, along with alternative ways of organizing patent infringement litigation in trial courts
Panelists:
Jonas Anderson, Associate Dean for Scholarship and Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law
Megan M. La Belle, Co-Director of the Law and Technology Institute and Professor of Law, The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law
Greg Reilly, Co-Director of the Program in Intellectual Property Law and Associate Professor of law, Illinois Tech Chicago-Kent College of Law
10:45–12:00 Arthrex, the PTAB, and the USPTO Director’s New (Temporary?) Authority over Patent Opposition Proceedings
In June 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that the unreviewable authority of Administrative Patent Judges of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board was not compatible with the manner of their appointment under the Appointments Clause of the Constitution. As a result, the Court invalidated a portion of the patent statute that prevented the presidentially-appointed Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from reviewing Board decisions and issuing new decisions on behalf of the Board. Since then, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued an interim procedure for Director review of Board decisions. But members of Congress have suggested that a more radical restructuring of review authority may be appropriate. This panel will consider these recent developments, with an eye toward identifying an appropriate mechanism for ensuring accurate decision making over invalidity disputes while recognizing the political accountability required by the Appointments Clause.
Panelists:
Tejas N. Narechania, Robert and Nanci Corson Assistant Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and Faculty Co-Director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology
Jason Rantanen, Director of the Innovation, Business & Law Center and David L. Hammer and Willard L. “Sandy” Boyd Professor, University of Iowa College of Law
A. Christal Sheppard, Former Regional Director of the Elijah J. McCoy Midwest Regional United States Patent and Trademark Office, Adjunct Professor of Law, Nebraska College of Law
12:00-1:00 Lunch Break
1:00–2:15 The Federal Circuit: Is Its Exclusive Jurisdiction Still Needed Given the Supreme Court’s Renewed Interest in Resolving Disputes over Patent Law?
President Reagan and Congress created the Federal Circuit in 1982 to eliminate forum shopping that resulted from the Supreme Court failing to resolve splits of authority in the field of patent law amongst the regional appellate courts. In the last ten years, however, the Supreme Court has heard oral argument and issued opinions in numerous patent cases, at least two each term and in one term in six cases. Given the Supreme Court’s renewed interest in resolving disputes over patent law, this panel will consider the question of whether the Federal Circuit’s exclusive jurisdiction is still needed and, more broadly, the role of the Federal Circuit in the nation’s current institutional structure for resolving patent disputes.
Panelists:
Laura Pedraza-Fariña, Associate Dean for Innovation and Partnerships and Professor of Law, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
Paul Gugliuzza, Professor of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law
David O. Taylor, Director of the Tsai Center for Law, Science and Innovation and Professor of Law, SMU Dedman School of Law
2:15 Closing Remarks
October 6, 2021
Tsai Talk: Let them Play (and get Paid): Name, Image and Likeness Deals and NCAA Compliance
12:00-1:00 p.m., Hillcrest Classroom
Damilola Sule, SMU Director of Compliance, and Rob Heuer, SMU Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance, will discuss the effects of the recent Supreme Court decision in NCAA v. Alston on name, image, and likeness deals for student athletes, the innovative ways that student athletes can pursue these deals, and careers in NCAA compliance.
Registration Required: Email TsaiCenter@smu.edu. Complimentary lunch from East Hampton Sandwiches provided to registrants.
2020-2021 Tsai Center Programs and Events
April 8, 2021
Tsai Talk: To Win Friends and Influence People: Influencer Marketing and Social Media with Craig Carpenter of Thompson & Knight.
Craig Carpenter, partner at Thompson & Knight, will speak about the evolution of social media influencer marketing, the current approach and various proposals of regulating the practice, and careers at the intersection of social media and the law. Please join us for this casual lunch hour conversation. 12:15 p.m. -1:15 p.m.
April 1, 2021
Tsai Talk: Innovation and Resilience in a Time of Energy Transformation
This Tsai Talk, hosted by Tsai Scholars, will feature James Coleman, Associate Professor of Law, SMU Dedman School of Law and Monika U. Ehrman '05, Professor of Law and Faculty Director, Oil & Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Center (ONE C), The University of Oklahoma College of Law. They will discuss innovation in energy and recent events, including the Texas electricity blackouts.
March 16, 2021
Tsai Talk: Regulating an Evolving AI Landscape with Yoon Chae, Senior Associate, Baker McKenzie
Friday, February 26, 2021
17th Annual Symposium on Emerging Intellectual Property Issues: The America Invents Act @ 10 Years
This year will mark ten years since the America Invents Act was signed into law.This year’s symposium will reflect on the law, what changes in patent law have been observed over the past decade, and look forward to the next ten years of patent practice and jurisprudence. Please join the SMU Dedman School of Law for a symposium exploring the latest major controversies, legal developments, and judicial decisions in the field of intellectual property, through panel presentations and discussions with distinguished academics, jurists, practitioners, and leaders in industry.
4.75 hours Texas CLE Credit Pending
Symposium Agenda and Speaker Biographies
January 28, 2021
Tsai Talk Series – COVID-19 and the Law: Technology & The Health Surveillance State, presented by Professor Chris Jenks
November 12, 2020
Tsai Talk Series – COVID-19 and the Law: with Director of the Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center and Professor of Law Pam Metzger VIDEO
October 28, 2020
Tsai Talk Series – COVID-19 and the Law: COVID-19 and the Constitution with Professor Dale Carpenter VIDEO
October 8, 2020
Tsai Talk Series – COVID-19 and the Law:Voting in the Pandemic with Professor Grant Hayden VIDEO
September 24, 2020
Tsai Talk Series – COVID-19 and the Law: Observing Online Courts: Lessons from the Pandemicwith Professor Beth Thornburg VIDEO and PRESENTATION SLIDES
September 15, 2020
Tsai Innovation Lecture Series: Featuring Josh Malone, Inventor, Bunch O Balloons VIDEO
July 31, 2020
Tsai Talk Series – COVID-19 and the Law: Law and the Search for a COVID-19 Vaccine with Professor Nathan Cortez. 12:00 pm-1:00 pm, 7/31 Recording of Presentation
February 28, 2020
16th Annual Symposium on Emerging Intellectual Property Issues: Opportunities and Challenges in Creative and Innovative Industries
January 23, 2020
Tsai Talk: Leggo My Logo! Using Trademarks to Protect a Brand featuring guest speakers Charles Phipps and Joe Unis of Locke Lord.
2019 Tsai Events
November 15, 2019
Tsai Talk: IP in the Sky: Uber Elevate and Autonomous Driving Technology featuring Chris Storm, IP Legal Director for Uber's Emerging Technology Programs
October 30, 2019
Tsai Talk: Tales from the Crypt(o): How Cryptocurrency is Resurrecting the Legal Market
October 25, 2019
STLR Symposium: CRISPR and Me: How CRISPR Gene Editing Affects the Human Race
October 24, 2019
Law, Ethics & Autonomy featuring Prof. Chris Jenks and Dr. Rain Livoja, University of Queensland
October 1, 2019
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Oral Arguments, Q&A and Reception
September 25, 2019
Leadership Lecture: Featuring the Honorable Scott R. Boalick, Chief Judge for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
September 19, 2019
Tsai Talk: Art Law and Copyright: How A Small Firm Takes on National Cases featuring Thomas Maddrey