The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will be holding its next biotechnology/chemical/pharmaceutical (BCP) customer partnership meeting on Wednesday, September 17, 2014.  The latest BCP meeting will be the Office's first Bicoastal BCP (BCBCP) event, with the meeting being held simultaneously in the Madison Auditorium on the USPTO Alexandria Campus (East Coast) and Engineering Building Conference Room of San Jose State University (West Coast).  During the inaugural BCBCP, participants will be able to interact with Office personnel in person on both coasts, or alternatively, via webcast.

The agenda for the meeting is as follows:

• Welcoming Remarks (12:00 – 12:10 pm EDT) — Margaret A. Focarino, Commissioner for Patents, USPTO (Alexandria)

• Opening Remarks (12:10 – 12:30 pm EDT) — John Cabeca, Director, Silicon Valley Office, USPTO (San Jose); Jerry Lorengo Director, TC1600, USPTO (Alexandria); Dan Sullivan Director, TC1600, USPTO (San Jose); and Wanda Walker Director, TC1600, USPTO (Alexandria)

• Improper Markush (12:30 – 1:20 pm EDT) — Joe Mallon of Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, LLP (San Jose)

• Break (1:20 – 1:30 pm EDT)

• OPAP Procedure and Tips (1:30 – 2:10 pm EDT) — Kevin Little Office of Patent Application Processing (OPAP), USPTO (Alexandria)

• RCE Statistics and Reduction Initiatives. Brief Overview of AFCP 2.0 & QPIDS, and other Patent Application Initiatives (2:10 – 2:40 pm EDT) — Directors, TC1600 and Silicon Valley Office, USPTO

• Discussion/Lunch (2:40 – 3:40 pm EDT) — Directors, TC1600 and Silicon Valley Office, USPTO

• Break (3:40 – 3:50 pm EDT)

• Myriad Guidance and CLS Decision (3:50 – 4:50 pm EDT) — Paul Naik Vice President, Intellectual Property, Genentech, Inc. (San Jose); Suzannah K. Sundby, Partner, Canady & Lortz LLP (Alexandria); Jeffery Tung Patent Counsel, Isis Pharmaceuticals (San Jose); June Cohan Legal Advisory, OPLA, USPTO (Alexandria)Jerry Lorengo Director, TC 1600, USPTO (Alexandria); and Dan Sullivan Director, TC1600, USPTO (San Jose)

• Closing Remarks/Discussion (4:50 – 5:00 pm EDT) — John Cabeca, Director, Silicon Valley Office, USPTO (San Jose); Jerry Lorengo Director, TC1600, USPTO (Alexandria); Dan Sullivan Director, TC1600, USPTO (San Jose); and Wanda Walker Director, TC1600, USPTO (Alexandria)

The meeting can be viewed online here.  The event number is 642 123 660 and the event password is 12345.  Additional information regarding the BCP customer partnership meeting can be found here.