The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will be holding its next biotechnology/chemical/pharmaceutical (BCP) customer partnership meeting on November 6, 2017 at the USPTO Headquarters (Alexandria, VA).  The agenda for the meeting is as follows:

• Welcoming and Opening Remarks (10:00 – 10:10 am EDT) — Daniel Sullivan, Wanda Walker, and Andrew Wang, Directors, TC1600, USPTO

• Application Readiness (10:10 – 14:40 am) — Martin Rater, Senior Statistician USPTO

• 112(b)- Practitioners' Perspective (10:40 – 11:40 am) — Melissa Brand, IP Policy Director, BIO; Rachel Elsby of Akin Gump

• Lunch (11:40 am – 12:10 pm)

• 112(b) Discussion Panel (12:10 – 1:30 pm) — Bennett Celsa, QAS, TC1600 (moderator); Melissa Brand, IP Policy Director, BIO; Jessica Marks of Finnegan; Jeffrey Fredman, APJ, PTAB; Jean Witz, SPE, CRU; Mary Till, Senior Legal Advisor, OPLA; Janet Andres, SPE, TC1600; and Zachariah Lucas, QAS, TC1600

• Break (1:30 – 1:40 pm)

• Personalized Medicine (1:40 – 2:40 pm) — Bruce Kisliuk of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.

• Prosecution Tips and Traps for Patent Applications Examined Under the AIA (2:40 – 3:30 pm) — Kathleen Fonda, Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent Legal Administration (OPLA), USPTO

• Break (3:30 – 3:40 pm)

• Tips on Filing Reissue Applications (3:40 – 4:30 pm) — Jean Witz, SPE, CRU

• Closing Remarks (4:40 – 5:00 pm) – Directors, TC1600, USPTO

Additional information regarding the BCP customer partnership meeting, including registration information for those wishing to attend the meeting or register for online participation, can be found here.