Floyd Mandell, national co-chair of Katten's Intellectual Property department and co-head of the Trademarks and Trademark Litigation practice, commented on the Supreme Court's decision not to review the Federal Circuit ruling in Google v. Oracle. As an IP Law360 Voices of the Bar panelist, Floyd noted that the ability to freely use application programming interfaces (APIs) has helped create competition and innovation in the software industry. The concerns regarding hindrance on innovation are valid, he said, but "the question is whether those concerns are outweighed by the interest in protecting the copyright owner and its investment, and to what extent a fair use argument should be applied." ("With High Court Mum on Java Copyrights, Is Innovation Safe?" July 1, 2015)

Floyd was elected to the Voices of the Bar panel in June, selected for his subject knowledge and thought leadership. The panel will regularly weigh in on hot topics in intellectual property law.