Washington, D.C., Nov. 28, 2016.  Smith Gambrell partner Bruce Alexander McDonald has returned to the United States after attending a meeting of advisors to the Intellectual Property Court of the Russian Federation in Moscow, Russia.  The meeting was convened on November 25, 2016, by Chief Judge Lyudmila Novoselova, to discuss the application of Russian law to the ownership and commercialization of intellectual property by Russian universities and research institutions.  A copy of Mr. McDonald’s report to the IPC is available here, including the table of contents to a compilation of sample licenses and secondary sources, a copy of which is available here.

The Intellectual Property Court of the Russian Federation was established in 2013 to meet the need for a court of specialized jurisdiction in intellectual property disputes.  Mr. McDonald had the distinction to be the single American named to the 70-member Advisory Council after his delivery of a report (in Russian) comparing and contrasting the separation of powers in American governance, during a commemoration ceremony at the Russian Supreme Commercial Court on April 22, 2013 (see English Translation), followed by the publication of that report in the August 2013 inaugural issue of the official Court Journal, and a subsequent Certificate of Appreciation by the Court.

A bilingual copy of Mr. McDonald’s first report to the Russian Intellectual Property Court dated December 27, 2013, including general recommendations aimed at strengthening the judiciary branch within the Russian constitutional framework, is available here.