Posts

Business Section Members: Welcome to Your New Blog

By Stephen Later

This announcement marks a major turning point for the Business Law Section as we transition from our traditional newsletter to our new blog.  Jim Beckwith edited our newsletter for many years and, with his retirement, we decided to switch to a vehicle that will, we hope, offer more frequent delivery of news including updates on caselaw and legislative developments, Section business, and other matters of interest to our members.

The board of editors of our blog—Ben Baldwin, Abbie Baynes, Dave Clement, Ryan Coffield, Jonathan Jenkins, Bob Saunders, Andrew Steffensen, Jennifer Weaver, and Peter Webb—will rotate two-week periods of responsibility for blogs content.  We welcome additions to the board of editors as well as blog posters, so, if you are interested in joining the rotation or contributing an article or have ideas for topics, please reach out to Abbie Baynes, the chair of the board of editors, at [email protected]. Our success will, of course, depend upon the support and engagement of our members, so, if your inner Hemingway is searching for an outlet for expression, please reach out to Abbie or any of the other editors.

Thank you for your membership in the Business Law Section and, again, we welcome and encourage your participation in the blog or on a committee.  Our Section depends upon its members, so we hope that you take the opportunity to participate, and you will not be disappointed.

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The Chair’s Comments: Welcome to a New Year and a New Blog

fruth-darrellBy Darrell A. Fruth

Please allow me to introduce myself as chair of the IP Section, along with our new blog format.  We will use this blog to share articles and keep you posted on networking events and other programs that we are planning for the year.  If I can get you to do one thing, please mark April 28, 2017 on your calendar when you (and hopefully your family) will be attending our annual section meeting in Wilmington!

About Me   

It suits me to write my first Chair’s Comments in the form of a blog post, as I prefer less formal modes of communication. I spent my formative years in Las Vegas and then studied engineering at MIT and UC Berkeley before attending Yale for law school.  After law school, I clerked for a federal judge in Reno, NV, the “Biggest Little City in the World,” and practiced patent litigation in San Francisco.  I also took full advantage of the outdoor adventures, such as downhill skiing and mountain biking, that abound in the Sierras.  My family moved to Durham in 2005.  I currently serve as a partner at Brooks Pierce in Raleigh, where my broad IP practice includes licensing, assertion, and white collar defense.  I also co-teach the Start-Up Ventures Clinic at Duke Law School.

This Blog

With the support of section leadership, our intrepid editors Lauren Anderson and Michael Morlock decided to embrace the 21st century: We have switched our IP Links newsletter into a blog available to the entire world.  This should allow more timely stories delivered in shorter bites, but only if section members generate and share content relevant to our section.

The Year Ahead

Our section has strong leadership in the form of capable officers and dedicated committee chairs.  The trademark committee just conducted a seminar about beer law in Asheville.  Expect similar, top-notch programs throughout the year.  The cornerstone annual CLE will be presented, in collaboration with the Sports and Entertainment Section, in Wilmington on April 28.  We need you there.  Unless we have good attendance, the Bar Association will encourage us to hold all of our annual meetings at the Bar Center in Cary.  More importantly, our section sees real value in spending time getting to know one another.  In addition to CLE options, our events will stand out as a way to connect with your colleagues across the state.

I look forward to seeing you at an IP Section event soon!

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