September October eNews

October Already?

Yeah, I don’t know what happened to September, but if you find out please let me know. In the meantime, stock up on Halloween candy! You know… for the kids…

Annual Meeting 2018 and 2019

Links to the AMC 2018 presentations have been now circulated to all attendees! The presentations are also be available to members for a per-session fee or one combined cost on the NAPP.org website. Check your state rules (or ask us!) if CLE credit is available in your state for these presentations. Director Iancu's presentation will be featured on our home page for the month of October.

Planning is well underway for AMC 2019 in Seattle. No, registration isn't open yet, but contact Alex Pokot if you want to get involved, either directly or via Brandi at [email protected].

Public Relations

The PR committee is testing new ideas including pitch videos for potential members and educational videos for general public outreach. Looks like an enormous amount of fun! They're also formulating some long-range strategies for increasing membership value, and keeping connected with the local meetups and looking for opportunities to represent NAPP at IP conferences and to coordinate with law or engineering schools. The slots for the HIPLA IP conference in Galveston and the John Marshall Law School IP conference are taken, but there will be more opportunities. If you're interested in getting involved in this important work, contact Mike Carey, either directly or via Brandi at [email protected].

Atlanta Here I Come!

Speaking of PR, I will be presenting at the Patent Agent Roundtable luncheon in Atlanta on Nov. 9. My topic: Whether Assignments are Authorized Practice of Law for Agents. I'll also cover some cross-jurisdictional practice issues for attorneys, so put it on your calendar if you're in the Atlanta area!

Membership Survey & Recruiting

We'll be sending out a survey to you all in a couple weeks, asking what you do and don't like about NAPP. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts! We want to be THE organization of choice for all patent practitioners, and we can't do it without your help.

Some of the answers will also be used as a basis for our new member recruiting campaign. If you love NAPP and want to share the joy, sign up with Brandi to be one of our NAPP advocates! We'll provide materials, incentives, and other support.

And Membership Value

But it's not all about recruiting. In fact our focus is on increasing value of membership! We're still working on perfecting the new forums, developing an information repository, rolling out a mentorship program, and creating the information content that you want to see! We've got way more great ideas than we have workers, so we need volunteers! Find the volunteer page on our website and let Brandi know if any of these projects appeal to you!

Gov't Affairs Committee

Xhavin Sinha and crew continue their zealous representation of NAPP by considering the competing statutory revision proposals from AIPLA/IPO and ABA and deciding whether NAPP should sign on in the hopes of helping to convince Congress to fix the statutory subject matter morass we now find ourselves in. We also continue to receive invitations for further Amici contributions in important cases, the latest raising the issue of whether "unclean hands", as an equitable doctrine, should prevent recovery of statutory damages. Also, many of us practitioners have some things we want to say to the PTO (e.g., fees, CLE requirements, electronic system outages, etc), and – wait for it – NAPP is routinely invited to speak to the PTO leadership on behalf of practitioners and the public. You can make a difference for us all, and the Gov't Affairs committee is an easy way to do that. Contact Xhavin directly or via Brandi at [email protected].

Diversity Initiative

Priya Cloutier is leading NAPP's initiative to connect with under-represented groups in the patent profession! A webinar from Tru Pettigrew is on the horizon, and we've got some great ideas for increasing our appeal and accessibility in the coming year. If you want to contribute, and especially if you have access to students at engineering or law schools, or previous experience reaching out to under-represented groups, contact Priya either directly or via Brandi at [email protected].

NAPP's Blog for Patent Practitioners

NAPP’s latest blog posts are from Ed Ryan, and now from me! (Sorry for the delayed announcement Ed!) Check them out when you get a chance. Ed tackles the controversial issue of CIP's: they've got serious flaws that many overlook. My blog is a list of roles that patents can play in innovation – I think it's good to have a fairly comprehensive list in one spot, and it's a longer list than you'd guess.

As always, ongoing contributions are needed, so keep sending in your original patent-practice blog submissions or topic suggestions via Brandi at [email protected] . If we publish your blog submission, you'll receive a $25 Amazon gift card!

Welcome to NAPP!
We gained the following new members in August and September. If you know or encounter any of the following folks on the forums or at a local event, please be sure to welcome them to NAPP and let them know we’re glad to have them on board!

-Andrea Blecken of Mountain View, California

-Doug Bridges of Mobile, Alabama

-Ken Clements of Los Gatos, California

-Amy De Coster of Neenah, Wisconsin

-Liliana Di Nola-Baron of Potomac, Maryland

-D'vorah Graeser of Chicago, Illinois

-Dolores Herman of Gainesville, Florida

-Candice Landry of Houston, Texas

-Michelle Lisa of Scottsdale, Arizona

-Anthony Marino of Phoenix, Arizona

-Ethan Philippe of Washington, District of Columbia

Jared Radkiewicz of Glen Ellyn, Illinois

-Rajiv Raj of Raleigh, North Carolina

-Michael Ramos-Lynch of Austin, Texas

-Katie Rubino of Boston, Massachusetts

-Matthew Thayne of Salt Lake City, Utah

-Peter Thurlow of New York, New York