The Intersection of Patent Law and Drones

About the Course:

This unique course provides a preview of a vast array of cutting-edge drone technologies as well as insight into the best means of protecting the underlying intellectual property.

The following are among the drone technologies—invented by companies such as Amazon, UPS, Disney, Qualcomm, Fuji, Cisco and Google—seeking patent protection:

• The placement of cameras in propellers;
• A variety of means to avoid obstacles;
• The coordination of drones with transportation vehicles;
• A variety of noise abatement technologies;
• Software for coordinating drone deliveries:
• Hardware for organizing drones and payloads on top of vehicles:
• Autonomous docking stations for recharging drones;
• Software to prevent collisions during choreography of multiple drones;
• Gesture controls for drones;
• Cherry-picking the best source of power for drone flight;
• Gently lowering supplies from drones;
• Geo-fencing for drones;
• Adjustable weight distribution for drones; and,
• Precision landing for drones using coded light.

This webinar addresses critical issues associated with protecting the technologies found on drones of the future. The following are among the issues discussed:

• Pros and cons of patenting and trade secreting drone technologies.
• Ability to detect infringement, especially when proprietary technology is resident in black boxes.
• When the appropriate base for determining reasonable royalty damages is the smallest salable unit versus the entire market value rule.
• The merits of protecting initial proprietary technology with provisional patent applications (or non-provisional patent applications) versus through non-disclosure agreements.
• The ability of the government to take control of drone technologies. The impact of Secrecy Orders and the ability to lift Secrecy Orders.
• Protecting software with copyright and intersections with the “fair use” exception.
• Ownership of content generated by drones, for instance, in terms of photos or videos captured with drone technology.
• Apportioning value between patents and regulatory approvals.
• Risks of prior art invalidating drone patents. Merits of submitting drone-related patents to foreign (e.g. Korean) examination.

Course Leader: Vlad Shvartsman, LL.B., LL.M., Attorney at Law

Vlad Shvartsman began working as a patent searcher in 1989, and as an Intellectual Property attorney in 2001. He is a member of the New York Bar and holds an LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Miami. Vlad has followed UAV technology development from 1987, and has worked in drone technology since 2013.

Vlad has presented seminars at InterDrone in 2015 and was an invited panelist in 2016. He currently authors a blog at www.uavpatents.com where he deconstructs the latest US patents and patent applications in the drone industry. His passion for drones is a result of his vision of a very bright future for this technology.

Course Length: Approx. 1.5 hours

$295.00 PER USER