The
Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) will offer a one-hour webinar
entitled "Choosing a Patent Regime: 
Do You File on March 15 or March 16, 2013?" on October 16, 2012
beginning at 2:00 pm (ET).  A panel
consisting of Thomas Irving of Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett &
Dunner, LLP; Peter Thurlow of Jones Day; and Marian Underweiser of IBM Corp.
will tease out concerns that should be considered in deciding whether to file a
patent application by March 15, 2013 under the existing rubric of
first-inventor-to-file, or waiting until the next day and applying under the
new first-to-file regime established by the AIA.  The panel will examine issues regarding prior
art, the grace period, continuation applications, and post-grant procedures,
and identify circumstances in which applications should definitely be made
before the change; those in which it is clearly better to wait for the new
regime; and situations which represent tough, borderline judgment calls.  The panel will also explore circumstances
that may make it possible to have the best of both worlds.

The
registration fee for the webinar is $120 (government and academic rates are
available upon request).  Those
interested in registering for the webinar can do so here.