Patzke+3+Sites

**3 Sites of Research**
717 Madison Place, N.W. Washington D.C. 20439
 * __1. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit:__**
 * This Appellate court was established in 1982 to alleviate and provide a dedicated “expertise” court in the US focusing on the interpretation of government regulations, most notably, patent law. While approximately almost 500 patent appeals are filed each year, only ¼ are presented to the court. While the rest are dismissed, those argued before the courts are representative of larger conflicts within manufacturing, such as the software and biotech industries. Consisting of 15 judges total, three-judge panels adjudicate each case. Oral arguments are heard the first week of every month (year round) and opinions are researched and written by the judge, her clerks and staff.
 * Here I would have TOTAL ACCESS and listen to oral arguments and have awesome educational conversations with lawyers, judges, and clerks. I’d learn legal procedures, make interesting connections and learn the process of in writing judicial opinions.
 * According to the website on the page “court jurisdiction” (accessed Feb 28, 2013), “[i]t has nationwide jurisdiction in a variety of subject areas, including international trade, government contracts, patents, trademarks, certain money claims against the United States government, federal personnel, veterans' benefits, and public safety officers' benefits claims.”

[|Moglen Ravicher LLC] / Software Freedom Law Center 1995 Broadway, 17th Fl. New York, NY 10023
 * 2. Intellectual Property Law Firm:**
 * Eben Moglen has an established reputation as a patent lawyer against gratuitous patenting practices. The organization focuses on FOSS (free and open source software) and works with developers to create, file and “protect” licenses from monopolistic practices.
 * I have yet to find a biotech law firm with similar positions. But here I would learn more about the lawyer/client experience as well as the process of patenting and initial litigation procedures.


 * 3. Salzberg Lab at Johns Hopkins**
 * Run by Steven Salzberg, Professor of Medicine and Biostatistics in the Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the lab focuses on sequencing genomes through computational methods. The lab has created many open source application to conduct research. In response to the Myriad case and patenting gene sequences, Salzberg and Dr. Mehaela Partea created a “Do-it-yourself genetic testing” program. They “developed a computational screen that tests an individual's genome for mutations in the BRCA genes, despite the fact that both are currently protected by patents.” ( [] ).
 * Here I would learn about the technical aspects of gene sequences and the efforts to circumvent patent law and licensing infringement from a lab that position’s itself as “anti-patent” and values “sharing” genetic information.


 * 4. Genetic Alliance.**