The NAPP® 2004 Annual Meeting and Short Course were held in Washington, D.C. on July 10-13. Over 50 practitioners participated in the one-day Short Course and approximately one-fourth of the NAPP’s membership attended the Annual Meeting.

Since its inception as a half-day course targeting new practitioners, the Short Course has evolved into a full-day event loaded with practice tips for both new and experienced practitioners. This year’s course left even the instructors commenting on how much they learned from the other instructors and the wonderful interaction with all the participants.

The 2004 NAPP® Annual Meeting started with the membership meeting on Sunday afternoon. A post-meeting presentation given by Larry Hilton of Dominion Insurance Services, described the details of the NAPP® Professional Liability Insurance Program and provided the attendees with an insurer’s perspective on malpractice insurance.

The Monday portion of the meeting included several talks and a tour of the new U.S.P.T.O. These were punctuated with hands-on computer workshops demonstrating the concept-oriented patent search engine, ICO Global Patent Search Engine, which is one of several NAPP® member benefits. After the U.S.P.T.O. tour, a reception was held for attendees and their spouses.

The Tuesday agenda included talks from U.S.P.T.O. speakers. Steve Kunin (Deputy Commissioner of Patent Policy) spoke about recent rule changes.  Commissioner for Patents, Nicholas Godici was the guest speaker at the luncheon. He presented a talk about the state of the U.S.P.T.O. and its upcoming challenges and opportunities. Following the Commissioner, Harry Moatz (Director of the Office of Enrollment and Discipline) presented on how to avoid complaints.  The meeting concluded on Tuesday afternoon.