by Bailey White
Staff Writer
“Intellectual property is a relatively narrow specialty of law,” says Chanley Howell, a partner with the law firm of Foley & Lardner who specializes in the field. “It deals with patents, trademarks and copyrights, and while it’s not a new field, it’s a field that’s rapidly changing.”
To deal with the changes, and to form a network of local I.P. lawyers, Howell founded an Intellectual Property Section of the Jacksonville Bar Association last October and the group met recently for the first meeting of JBA’s 2003 season.
“I think we’ll have between 10 and 15 members,” said Howell, who’ll serve as chair. “The area is growing. I had gotten to know a few I.P. lawyers in town over the last several years and thought it would be a good idea to get a group together. We need to get to know each other so we can ask questions of each other and share ideas.”
“Another reason for forming the group is that some larger businesses felt the need to go out of town to hire attorneys in the intellectual property field,” said Tom Saitta, another member of the group.
Saitta has practiced patent and trademark law for nearly 20 years and recently joined the firm of Rogers Towers to form an I.P. practice group there.
“Part of what we’ll do is raise the visibility of those of us in town who do practice, and hopefully steer a few people into the practice,” he said.
To stay in contact, the group will hold regular lunch meetings and keep the conversation going with e-mail connections.
“We’re also planning on putting on a seminar for the Jacksonville Bar to provide general practioners with an overview and understanding of intellectual property issues,” said Howell. “General practioners need to know at least some basics for the purposes of advising a client and need to know issues surrounding intellectual property law so that they’ll be able to recognize if the issue they’re dealing with is complex enough to warrant calling a specialist.”
Howell and Saitta agree that as Jacksonville grows, the practice of intellectual property in the city will likely grow.
“I see it continuing to grow for the general reason that Jacksonville is also growing,” he said. “As more businesses are interested in developing technology and business here, and as we become more wired and connected, there will be more intellectual property issues.”
“Without a doubt it will grow,” said Saitta. “I started out as a solo practioner with not so much to do, and now we’re overloaded and continue to be.”
And, said Howell, it’s the new elements of this field that make it so interesting to practice.
“Trademarks, copyrights and intellectual property have been around for a long time, so in a sense there’s a lot of tradition and settled law,” he said. “But technology — the Internet and new software — brings a newness to a well-established body of law.
“Both technology and I.P. can be cutting edge in a lot of ways,” he added. “It makes it interesting when you’re dealing in an area of law that’s rapidly changing and you’re going into uncharted territory.”
The group’s next meeting is Aug. 15. Interested parties can contact the JBA.