The University of Iowa College of Law welcomed seventeen leading scholars to participate in the 2018 Iowa Law Review symposium, “Administering Patent Law.” In recent years, problems at the intersection of patent law and administrative law have become increasingly salient. In particular, a legislative overhaul of the Patent Act in 2011 has raised novel questions concerning the powers of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), and the Supreme Court grappled with these questions in several recent cases. In these cases, the Court sought to apply general principles of deference to agency actions, separation of powers, and statutory interpretation to the unique context of patent law.
The symposium gathered many of the best minds in administrative law and patent law and featured lively discussion of today’s pressing questions implicating these two fields. Among other topics, the panelists discussed constitutional constraints on the power of the PTO, judicial review of PTO actions, and the PTO's efforts to ensure uniformity in its decision-making. The symposium featured four panels and ended with a follow-up discussion.
Dmitry Karshtedt, Associate Professor of Law, was among the four scholars in the “Administrative Innovations at the PTO” panel. His presentation, “Once is Enough: Rediscovering Collateral Estoppel at the PTAB” examined how collateral estoppel, or issue preclusion, applies to questions concerning the validity of issued patents. Other panelists were Colleen Chien, Santa Clara University School of Law; Arti Rai, Duke University School of Law; and Saurabh Vishnubhakat, Texas A&M University School of Law.