Karl Renner, Fish & Richardson principal and co-chair of the firm's post-grant practice group, was named President of the PTAB Bar Association following the Association's annual meeting on May 17, 2021. Renner, who helped found the organization, has been an active board member since its inception and an officer for the past three years.
The first national bar association of its kind to form in over 30 years, the PTAB Bar Association was , to preserve and promote the highest professional and ethical standards among lawyers and other stakeholders who appear before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The Association has established best practices for the unique skills required before the PTAB and continues to provide a forum for communications between the legal community and PTAB officials and its Administrative Patent Judges (APJs). At the time of its formation, Renner was elected as interim director of the Association.
"It is a privilege to have been named President of the PTAB Bar Association," said Renner. "The Association has become a tremendously valuable resource for bar members and private and public sector stakeholders as well as the PTAB itself. I have deep respect for the members of the association and all we have accomplished together, so I'm truly honored that they would place their trust and confidence in me as we continue to shape this Association's legacy in the PTAB community."
Renner has been recognized as the most active attorney at the PTAB by Managing Intellectual Property since its inception and for each of the most recent four consecutive years. Fish's Post-Grant practice has been recognized by MIP as the most active post-grant practice at the PTAB since its inception and for each of the most recent five consecutive years.