Patent Developments (from Annual Virginia Intellectual Property Legal Institute 2019) (Online Seminar)

John B. Farmer is a member of the Leading-Edge Law Group, PLC, an intellectual property (“IP”) boutique law firm in Richmond, Virginia. He served as chairman of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He writes a monthly IP and technology law column for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He is listed in the top rank of Virginia IP attorneys by Chambers USA and listed for IP in Best Lawyers in America. He is a past chair of the IP Section of the Virginia State Bar. He is a past president of the Greater Richmond Intellectual Property Law Association. He graduated from the University of Virginia and its law school. After graduation from law school, he clerked for the Hon. Donald S. Russell, Judge of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and for the Hon. James C. Cacheris, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division.

Scott M. Kelly’s practice is focused on intellectual property issues relating to a wide range of computer software, networking, and business methods. He has worked with technologies including user interfaces, gesture-based input, mobile devices, cloud computing, algorithms, virtual and augmented reality, network routing, interactive television program guides, and video games. Mr. Kelly is a former Examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office where he examined patents in class 715—Presentation Processing of Documents and Operator Interface Processing. During his time at the USPTO, Mr. Kelly examined patents relating to a variety of technologies, including word processing, spreadsheets, markup languages, input validation, display rendering, and assistive technologies. Mr. Kelly also examined business method patents, including several directed to the process of drafting a patent.  Mr. Kelly received a Bachelor of Science degree in honors from Virginia Tech, where he majored in Computer Science with minors in Physics and Mathematics. He received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served on the Editorial Board of the Virginia Journal of Law and Technology. Mr. Kelly is the chair of the Digital Games and New Media Committee of the American Bar Association’s Intellectual Property Law section. He is an assistant editor at PatentArcade.com and a contributing author to the ABA Legal Guide to Video Game Development (2d ed. 2016). He serves on the Editorial Board of the Interactive Entertainment Law Review and is a member of the Video Game Bar Association.  Mr. Kelly has been named to Washington, DC, Super Lawyers’ “Rising Stars” since 2017.