Ron Reardon

The stars and planets are aligning for the 2007 NAPP® Annual Meeting at the Monte Carlo Resort in Las Vegas.  By now you should have received both your annual meeting brochure and the ballots and bios for the election of officers.  Early registration is a must to ensure that you get the best rates. 

For those of you who have not been to Las Vegas, there are quite a few free activities available.  Click here to download a specially prepared brochure highlighting some of these free attractions.

The Saturday Short Course teaching the Nuts & Bolts of Patent Prosecution has been infused with new faces and updated material.  The Monday and Tuesday Patent Practice Update sessions feature speakers and topics that you need to experience to stay current in your practice.  The food, fellowship and festivities promise to be superb.

The annual meeting program includes presentations from USPTO representatives John Love (Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination), William Jenks (Associate Solicitor), Don Levin (Director, E-Commerce Division), as well as William F. Smith (former Administrative Patent Judge at the Board of Patent Appeals & Interferences).  The remaining slate of speakers and topics are equally powerful and cover timely topics such as Patent Law Reform, What is Obvious, Ethical Issues for Patent Agents, Intellectual Property Protection in China, and much, much more.  This is a great opportunity to rub shoulders with key representatives from the Patent Office and thought leaders in Patent Law.

For Attorneys needing CLE credit we have applied in Virginia, North Carolina, Nevada, and Pennsylvania and have already started receiving confirmations.  For those NAPP® members who are NAPP® Certified your attendance at the NAPP® Annual Meeting is a great way to earn the annual credits to maintain your Certification status.

This year’s program provides a superb opportunity for networking, learning, and strengthening relationships.  There is limited seating available this year and registration has been brisk – so register early to reserve your spot.

See you in Vegas!

EFS-Web Is One Year Old

The Web-based Electronic Filing System marked its first anniversary n March 16, and already more new patent applications are being filed electronically each week than through the traditional paper application process, exceeding the expectations of USPTO. In addition, more than 700,000 applications and related documents have been filed using EFS-Web to date.

Advantages of electronic filing through EFS-Web inlcude: file applications and related documents anytime and anywhere; drastically reduces costs associated with mail and trips to the post office; can prepare documents using existing software, and may submit documents by simply attaching PDF files; filers receive rapid access to their applications through the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system; virtually instantaneous confirmation of receipt of documents and of an application number; fees are also payable over the internet.

If you haven’t taken advantage of this safe and reliable filing tool, see http://www.uspto.gov/ebc/efs_help.html for more info.

USPTO 2007 Business Methods Partnership Meeting

The 2007 Business Methods Partnership Meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 19, 2007, from 1:00 P.M.-5:00 P.M. at the USPTO MADISON AUDITORIUM (SOUTH), Concourse Level, Madison Building, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA 22313.  Members of the public are invited to attend.  The Partnership Meeting is an opportunity for an informal discussion on topics such as current interpretations of subject matter eligibility under 35 USC 101, issues surrounding tax strategy patents, classification and application assignment including the class 705 reclassification project, and other topics specific to business methods. While public attendees will have the opportunity to provide their individual input, group consensus advice will not be sought.

Requests for attendance will be honored on a first-come, first-served basis.  For further info see http://www.uspto.gov/web/menu/pbmethod/bmpm.htm

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