Richard C. Pettus

The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. NYSBA was founded in 1877 with the stated goal to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; to promote reform in the law; to facilitate the administration of justice, and to elevate the standards of integrity, honor, professional skill, and courtesy in the legal profession. Its first President was David B. Hill. Among the reforms in the legislation signed into law creating the association was the removal of the restrictions on the admission of women to the practice of law. In 1896, NYSBA proposed the first global means for settling disputes among nations, what is now called the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

Founded in 1897, AIPLA is a national bar association constituted primarily of lawyers in private and corporate practice, in government service, and in the academic community. AIPLA represents a wide and diverse spectrum of individuals, companies and institutions involved directly or indirectly in the practice of patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, and unfair competition law, as well as other fields of law affecting intellectual property. Our members represent both owners and users of intellectual property.

The New York Intellectual Property Law Association, or NYIPLA as it is known, is a bar association principally composed of lawyers interested in patent, trademark and copyright law who live or work in the jurisdictions of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, namely New York, Connecticut and Vermont, and the District of New Jersey. Established in 1922, NYIPLA members are in private, corporate and government practice. They reflect a full spectrum of specialized and general law firms of all sizes, as well as many fields of industry. Members of the Judiciary are ex officio Honorary Members. The Association promotes the development and administration of intellectual property and related laws. It provides its membership with an opportunity to make their views known and to advance the knowledge of legal professionals, the judiciary, government and the public.