Question: I am in-house counsel for a medium-sized multinational company, and our general counsel has decided that the legal department will now handle our company’s Intellectual Property (“IP”) matters, rather than outsourcing this function.  The GC has asked me to develop a strategic plan for assuming responsibility of our company’s IP-based matters; however, I do not have a background in IP law.  Does ACC have any resources to assist me with this?

Answer:  Yes, ACC has extensive resources to get you started, try the following resources:

• Protecting Your Client’s Intellectual Property
• IP in Europe
• Tips, Tactics & Strategies for Effective Global Patent Enforcement
• How to Support Intellectual Property-Based Innovation Within Your Company
• Negotiating IP Contracts: Tips and Perspective on Topics Ranging from Joint Ventures to IP Indemnity
• Sample Patent Program
• Top Ten Tips for Dealing with Business Method Patents in Canada

NEW ACC Canada Poll: Take moment to open the Canada Quick Poll and vote. A new poll is posted every two weeks and can be accessed at http://www.acc.com/chapters/canada.

Featured Top Ten Articles:

• Dealing with Business Methods Patents in Canada
• Things to Consider About Mobile in the Legal Workforce
• Points on Computer Assisted Review
• Considerations When Using Cloud Computing
• Tips on Legal Support for IT Outsourcing Deals

Featured QuickCounsels:

• Principles of Patent Portfolio Management
• Intellectual Property in Commercial Transactions in Canada: Assignment and Transfer
• EU Export Regulations for Dual Purpose Goods

NEW Compliance Training Portal Topics

• Worker Classification 
• Marketing Compliance

Featured InfoPAKs

• Legal Hold Fundamentals and the New “Starting Line” for Legal Hold Programs
• How to Support Intellectually Property-Based Innovation Within Your Company
• Cloud –Based vs. On-Premise eDiscovery and Information Governance
• Managing Value-Based Relationships with Outside Counsel

The ACC Alliance brings you exclusive discounts on legal services from a select set of providers. Here are two featured partners for this month:

• Practical Law Company (PLC) offers a wide variety of up-to-date resources across all major practice areas. These include how-to guides, model agreements and cross-border guidance. ACC Members receive extended free trials, a 10% discount on retail pricing for first-year subscriptions, and 5% discounts on renewals to the new PLC Law Department service.
• West offers products, like the WestLawNext search engine, for in-house counsel and compliance professionals that cover compliance, mergers, acquisitions, transactions, litigation, and more. With each purchase of a West product or service, members earn “ACC Dollars” that can be used toward any ACC-related purchase, such as membership dues, registration fees or local or national ACC programs. (Note: “ACC Dollars” are not eligible for use outside of the United States.)

• ACC Webcasts: Earn CLE/CPD from the comfort of your home or office with desktop learning from ACC. For a complete list of our upcoming webcasts, click here.
• Explaining Law to Your Grandmother:  What Every Lawyer Needs to Know About Meeting the Needs of an Aging Population – Toronto, September 20
• Networking Event: Wine Tasting and Cocktail Dinner – Montréal, September 20
• ACC Ontario Autumn Social – Toronto, September 22
• Ethics and the Law: In-House Counsel’s Dilemma – Ottawa, September 26
• Ethics and the Law: In-House Counsel’s Dilemma – Waterloo, September 27
• Tax Law Tips for All In-house Lawyers – Montréal, September 30
• Special Program on Project Management for In-house Counsel – Montréal October 4
• Bribery and Foreign Corruption – Doing Business With Governments Officials in Foreign Jurisdictions – Toronto, October 6
• The Rights of Unpaid Suppliers – Toronto, October 19
• ACC’s 2011 Annual Meeting – October 23–26

For more information and a complete list of educational programs, please visit www.acc.com/education.
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Reserve for your spot at these two upcoming business management programs: Leading Innovation & Change (September 26–28) and Project Management for the In-house Law Department (November 8–9). Co-sponsored by ACC and the Boston University School of Management, these programs will help you create cultures of innovation in your organization and better manage your projects. Learn more at www.acc.com/businessedu.
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• When Crisis Strikes: What Should the Chief Legal Officer Do? From the market meltdown of 2008 to sudden government investigations to untimely leaks of confidential business information, companies quickly get enveloped in a vortex of reputational harm set against the backdrop of staggering penalties. At the center of that storm is the chief legal officer. During this program, CLOs and GCs who have walked the walk and talked the talk will discuss what they did, or would do, when crisis strikes. Learn more here.  

• A Conversation with Michele Coleman Mayes, Allstate Insurance’s VP and GC Join Michele Coleman Mayes, executive VP and GC for Allstate Insurance Company and co-author of Courageous Counsel: Conversations with Women General Counsel in the Fortune 500 to learn the successes and setbacks of women general counsel as they rose to the top role in fortune 500 companies. Also on the panel are Michelle Banks of Gap Inc., Mary Ann Hynes of Corn Products International, Inc., and Susan Lichtenstein of Hill-Rom, Inc.; Kara Sophia Baysinger partner at SNR Denton, will moderate this program. Learn more here.

We invite you to stop by the Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO) booth at the 2011 ACC Annual Meeting in Denver to learn how to start or expand a pro bono program at your legal department.  The CPBO booth will feature information on setting up pro bono programs, global pro bono opportunities, identifying pro bono partners, best practices in in-house pro bono, and more. For more information, contact Eve Runyon, director of CPBO.  We look forward to seeing you in the Mile High City!
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ACC members will enjoy a 20% discount off the registration rates at the following two events taking place in the Asia-Pacific Region. To learn more and to register, visit here.

• ADR in Asia Conference 2011: Paradigm Shift in Asian Dispute Resolution – Impacts to Arbitration and Mediation (September 28, Four Season Hotel, Hong Kong)
  The ADR in Asia Conference is an annual conference organized by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre. This year’s topics will include: the new Hong Kong arbitration ordinance, investment arbitration, arbitrating banking and financial disputes, and more. Learn more here.
• China’s Corporate Legal Affairs First Annual Conference & CCLA Thirty-person Forum Launch Ceremony (November 26–27, Beijing, China) Sponsored by the Faren Magazine (a subsidiary ofthe China Legal Daily), this event will provide a platform for china’s in-house practitioners to exchange ideas and share best practices. Topics to be addressed include: global trends of corporate legal management, China’s legal service market, positioning and value of the legal department, overseas investment risk prevention, IP management, and more. This program will be conducted in Chinese and depending on the number of English speakers, simultaneous translation may be provided. Only 20 seats are available to ACC members at this event. Learn more here.

Mark your calendar for the Out & Proud Corporate Counsel Receptions sponsored by the National LGBT Bar Association. These receptions are free, but tickets are required. All LGBT and straight allied corporate counsel are welcome to attend. Upcoming receptions include: September 22 (Minneapolis), October 6 (Washington, D.C.), October 27 (Seattle), and November 10 (New York City). For more information and to register, go to www.lgbtbar.org or contact Kelly Simon at kelly@lgbtbar.org.
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• ACC Names New Chief Legal Strategist (Legal Times)

• Washington Group Grows in Canada (Financial Post)

• A Legal Doctrine That Worries Pharma Defense Lawyers (Wall Street Journal)

• Changing with the Times: It’s a Must (Chicago Lawyer)

• The Journey to In-house (Canadian Lawyer)

• ACC General Counsel on New Role (Daily Journal)

Learn more about media coverage of ACC when you visit ACC in the News.

If you have any questions, or wish to receive additional information about items included in this month's newsletter, please contact the Legal Resources Department at legalresources@acc.com or the Membership Department at membership@acc.com.
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