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Contact: Barbara Fornasiero, EAFocus, Inc., 248.260.8466 or barbara@eafocus.com

ANN ARBOR – Feb. 3 – James Cleland, a shareholder in the Ann Arbor office of Brinks Gilson & Lione, one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the U.S., served as a presenter at the Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s (SFIA) 2016 Litigation, Regulatory & Risk Management Summit (LR2MS) held Feb. 1-2 in New Orleans. The summit provided attendees guidance on navigating the changing landscape of legal risk and regulatory threats related to the sports and fitness industry.

Cleland, who is a member of the legal task force of SFIA, delivered a presentation entitled, “A New Weapon in the Patent Litigation Wars: Challenging Patents at the PTO Using Post-Grant Proceedings,” on Feb. 2 at the summit. The session focused on the importance of inter partes review practice and how businesses in the sports and fitness industry have a new and often overlooked weapon in challenging a patent’s validity. The presentation addressed how using IPRs at the Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB) can be faster, reduce costs and help achieve success in patent litigation.

At Brinks, Cleland’s practice focuses on patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret and unfair competition litigation in a broad range of technologies including the chemical, automotive, materials science, mechanical, electrical and medical device arts, as well as in client counseling, opinion and licensing work in those same areas.

His litigation experience includes trials, preliminary injunction hearings, Markman hearings, summary judgment proceedings and all aspects of fact and expert witness discovery, spanning federal courts across the country. Cleland also specializes in post-grant review proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, a forum that is quickly becoming the busiest patent court in the country.

To learn more about the 2016 Litigation, Regulatory & Risk Management Summit (LR2MS), click here.

About Sports & Fitness Industry Association
The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), formerly the SGMA, is the trade association of leading industry sports and fitness brands, suppliers, retailers and partners. The organization’s mission is to “Promote Sports and Fitness Participation and Industry Vitality” by focusing on core product areas for the industry. Learn more at www.sfia.org.

Brinks Gilson & Lione
The attorneys, scientific advisors and patent agents at Brinks Gilson & Lione focus their practice in the field of intellectual property. Brinks is one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the U.S. Clients around the world use Brinks to help them protect and enforce their intellectual property rights. Brinks lawyers provide counseling in all aspects of patent, trademark, unfair competition, trade secret and copyright law. More information is at www.brinksgilson.com.

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