The American
Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) will be holding its 2010
Mid-Winter Institute on January 27-30, 2010 in La Quinta, CA.  The preliminary program for the
Mid-Winter Institute includes presentations on the following topics:

• Building strong
IP on a smaller budget;

• Business-based
decision making and modeling for IP budgets;
• Aligning patent
filing strategies to the technology development strategy;
• Top ten ideas for
reducing IP costs at a global company;
• Strategic uses of
patent prior art research in view of budget constraints;

• Peering into the
2010 crystal ball:  What awaits the
IP practitioner?

• Reforming
intellectual property law:  What's
happening on Capitol Hill?
• The Supreme
Court's reshaping of the IP landscape in recent years;
• The
"other" Supreme Court of IP: 
How recent Federal Circuit decisions affect IP and the practice of IP;
• Are alternative
fee structures really an acceptable alternative?
• Bidding for IP
work through requests for proposals: 
An in-house perspective on reality;

• Fact or
fiction?  How to really make patent
prosecution more efficient;

• Tips from the
USPTO for increasing efficiency of prosecution including reducing the number of
Office actions and techniques for handling delays;
• What the
applicant can do before the RCE/appeal decision point to increase efficiency of
prosecution;
• RCE or appeal?
• The value of the
pre-appeal brief;

• Reexamination –
New ground rules in the new Administration.

Readers should consult
the preliminary program for a complete listing of presentations being offered
at the Mid-Winter Institute.  The
preliminary program, which includes a complete agenda, list of speakers, and
registration information, can be downloaded here.

The registration
fee for the Mid-Winter Institute is $895 for AIPLA members, $1,205 for
non-members, $55 for AIPLA student members, $70 for government employees or
AIPLA academic/government members. 
AIPLA members or non-members registering by January 13, 2010 will
receive a $100 discount off the registration fee.  Those interested in registering for the conference can
obtain a registration form here.