Ron Reardon

The 2007 Annual meeting was an absolute blast—with superb speakers and great camaraderie.  It was a pleasure to meet new members and to renew friendships.

NAPP members elected new officers at the meeting.  Guiding the NAPP for the next three years are Ron Reardon as President, Sean Brennan as Vice President, Stan Antolin as Secretary, and Jerry Miller as Treasurer.  This is a stellar team that brings a wealth of valuable experience. 

Michelle Stempien and David Robeson were both presented with plaques honoring their contributions to NAPP over the years – Michelle as Secretary, Treasurer and Annual Committee, and David as Editor of The Disclosure.

The 2008 Annual Meeting Committee met on Sunday.  This team reviewed the Nuts & Bolts short course presented on Saturday and made recommendations for improvements for next year in Alexandria.  The Committee also mapped our potential speakers, topics and themes for the 2008 Patent Practice Update, to be held at the Hilton Hotel in Old Town Alexandria on July 12-15, 2008.  I appreciate Sharon Adams, Sharon Beresford, David Gange, David Grossman, Anne-Leith Matlock and Martha Taylor for volunteering to help with the many activities that create a valuable and memorable event.

On Tuesday, the Government Affairs Committee met, with NAPP Government Affairs Liaison, Louis Hoffman, at the helm.  Louis has a wealth of talent on this committee, including David Alavi, Stan Antolin, Sean Brennan, Mark Montana, Ido Tuchman, Scott Tierno, and David Robeson.  This team has a full agenda responding to current and future USPTO proposals.  We can count on balanced and well thought-out replies from this group.  My congratulations go to the Government Affairs Committee for their past responses to various issues.      

In the coming months, you should expect to see additional NAPP® teleconferences, which will address topics important to patent practitioners.  For example, we have teleconferences on the drawing board on Trust Accounts, Restriction Practice and Accelerated Examination.  If you have any other topics that you would like to propose for teleconference, please contact me.

Our commitment to professionalism is reflected in the continued growth of the NAPP® Certification program.  We now have 45 members who are NAPP® certified. 

NAPP goes into its 12^th year in excellent shape, both from a financial and organizational standpoint.  We have a solid foundation and good momentum.  I am looking forward to our continued growth.

Are Having Your International Search and Examination Done In South Korea?  Why Not?

International applications filed in the USRO may request that the search be performed by the Korean Intellectual Property office (KIPO), generally resulting in a more timely Search Report.  For filers in the US, this service has been available since January 2006 and since then, the USPTO requested 535 International Searches from KIPO.  These included requests from corporations such as 3M and Microsoft.

KIPO is also boasting one of the fastest examination times in the world and employs a six sigma system of quality management to ensure world class results.

To Read The USPTO 2007-2012 Strategic Plan,

click here:

USPTO Strategic Plan

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