Ron Reardon

As we look forward to 2006, New Year’s resolutions come to mind. While your New Year’s resolutions will be customized to your particular situation, here are some resolutions to consider for your patent practice.

• Resolve to update your goals and your plan to achieve them. Set goals for your practice for each dimension of your life. Make those goals measurable and achievable; reward yourself when you achieve them.
• Resolve to expand your sphere of influence by attending meetings that have the potential for increasing your clientele. Network, network, network! Become the rainmaker for your organization! By being genuinely interested in the other person, you will develop a relationship that will benefit both of you.
• Resolve to learn more: about the craft of patent practice, about the elements of a successful business, about client relations, about work-life balance. Invest in yourself. By learning more, you will increase your value.
• Resolve to upgrade your tools. Take an inventory of your equipment, your software, and your reference material. For hardware, consider getting a faster computer, a high-speed printer, and a better fax solution. Get the latest software. Get the latest reference books or CDs. Upgrading can save you time and money in the long run, plus make you more professional.
• Resolve not to micro-manage every aspect of your practice. Enlist others for some of the lower-value tasks. While there are certain activities that you are best equipped to do, you may identify other tasks for delegation. By leveraging the talents of others, you multiply your own value.
• Resolve to give back to your community. Find a cause that inspires you and give of your time, talents, and finances. You may not be able to change the world, but you can have an impact where you are.
• Resolve to relax more. Put Y-O-U on your calendar. Make time for renewal. If you are refreshed you will have more energy and will be more efficient and effective.
• Resolve to release from your practice anything that is sub-optimal. Whether it is a supplier, a contractor, office help, or high-maintenance clients, find a way to graciously jettison them. If you have been reluctant to call an Examiner prior to responding, start picking up the phone. This has worked for others and the results may surprise you.

Finally, write down your resolutions, whatever they are, and post them above your computer terminal and on the visor of your vehicle. Review your resolutions daily.

I hope 2006 will be a banner year for each of you, and that NAPP plays an important role in your progress. Please feel free to contact me at president@napp.org.

A Close Look at the Pre-Appeal Brief Conference Practice

By Joy L. Bryant, Esq.

This article looks at the procedures involved in the pre-appeal brief conference practice.  The purpose of this practice is to avoid filing an appeal brief or reduce the size and cost of an appeal brief.

Time to update your contact information

The NAPP® Member Center enables each member to access and manage his/her membership records and information.  As the year draws to a close, members are encouraged to log-in and check their contact information.  In particular, current e-mail addresses are needed as this is a primary vehicle that NAPP uses to notify its members of important upcoming events and publication of The Disclosure®.

The views expressed herein are solely those of the author and may not necessarily be supported by the NAPP, its members, officers, or directors.

There are no member articles in this issue.

The Disclosure® welcomes the submission of articles on topics related to US and foreign patent practice.  To submit  an article to The Disclosure®, please send it as an e-mail attachment to editor@napp.org.
 

Joy L. Bryant, Esq.

The year is quickly coming to closure and I'd like to take the time to reflect backward and to look forward.  Reflecting backward, NAPP has achieved a lot this year.  Here's a look at a few highlights from the year:

• January - we launched our new website and held our first teleconference.
• February - I testified on behalf of NAPP before the National Academy of Public Administration on matters concerning the USPTO. 
• March - we introduced NAPP's Certification Program, enabling practitioner members to subscribe to a higher standard of ethics than the minimum set by the USPTO. 
• April - final preparations were made for our annual meeting.
• May - NAPP was represented at the USPTO Nanotechnology Customer Partnership meeting.
• June - NAPP was represented at a town hall meeting on patent law reform held at the National Academies of Science and at the USPTO Biotechnology Customer Partnership meeting. 
• July - new officers were elected at our Annual Meeting in San Francisco. 
• August - comments were prepared and submitted to the USPTO on their green paper on restriction practice. 
• September - submitted comments to Congress on the substitute Patent Reform Bill. 
• October - we focused our attention on the needs of our members and future plans for NAPP. 
• November - NAPP was represented at the first USPTO Rules Customer Partnership meeting as well as the Biotechnology Customer Partnership Meeting.
• December - NAPP begins to transition its leadership from the Executive Director to the President.

As we look forward to 2006, we anticipate great change.  I will step down as Executive Director of NAPP on March 31, 2006 and Ron Reardon will take over the Executive Director duties in his capacity as President.  Ron has tremendous goals for NAPP, and will focus on growing the membership by providing more opportunities for members to interact.  We hope that you will continue to support NAPP and we look forward to exciting times in 2006.

Celebrate NAPP'S 10th Anniversary  - Alexandria, Virginia July 15-18, 2006

The 2006 NAPP® Annual Meeting will be held in Old Town Alexandria, adjacent to the US Patent and Trademark Office.  The Annual Meeting Committee is now working on programming for next year.  If you are interested in speaking, please contact us.  Speakers enjoy a discount rate to attend the meeting.

The next meeting of the Georgia Regional Chapter is scheduled for January 11, 2006, when David Nour of The Nour Group will  speak on "Relationship Economics."

Donna Fugit has agreed to serve as the new Regional Chapter Director for this chapter.  The next  meeting of the New Jersey Regional Chapter will be held in March 2006.