- The status of Tafas v. Dudas and the fate of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's claims and continuation rules.
- Analyzing the interplay between critical rules and proposed legislation that impact patent drafting and prosecution strategies.
- Rethinking your view on restrictions and making them work in favor of your patent strategy.
- Employing evolving canons of claim construction to your advantage.
- Ensuring satisfaction of the enablement, written description, and utility requirements.
- Overcoming obviousness rejections in the face of shifting standards.
- Adjusting timing strategies to maximize options in an ever changing statutory and rulemaking environment.
- Drafting claims that cover the proper scope in light of constraints on claim language.
In particular, ACI's faculty will offer presentations on the following topics:
Emerging patent reforms: What you need to know now.
- Revisiting restriction practice: Weighing the cost-benefit of making restrictions work in favor of your patent strategy.
- Innovative approaches for identifying patentable subject matter to optimize protection.
- Evolving canons of claim construction and application -- the post-Philips/Festo world.
- Aligning your patent timing strategies with business objectives in order to maximize your patent lifecycle.
- Avoiding allegations of inequitable conduct when prosecuting patent applications.
- Preventing obviousness rejections post-KSR and its progeny.
- Getting it right the first time: Best practices for demonstrating utility (to be presented by this Patent Docs author).
- Surviving 35 U.S.C. § 112 rejections: Written description, enablement and best mode.
- Drafting claims to include varying degrees of scope.
- USPTO speaks.
- Wrap up and interactive strategy session: Pulling it all together to secure effective coverage of inventions in the current patent environment.
An additional master class entitled: "Perfecting Claim Drafting and Prosecution in Life Sciences Patent Applications" will be offered on February 27, 2008. The master class will allow conference attendees to apply the lessons learned from the conference's previous sessions to a mock patent drafting scenario.
The agenda for the Pharma/Biotech Patent Claim Drafting and Prosecution conference can be found here. A complete brochure for this conference, including an agenda, list of speakers, and registration form can be downloaded here.
The registration fee ranges from $2,195 (conference alone) to $2,795 (conference and master class). Those registering on or before December 19, 2007 will receive a $300 discount off the registration fee and those registering on or before January 25, 2008 will receive a $200 discount off the registration fee. Those interested in registering for the conference can do so here, by calling 1-888-224-2480, or by faxing a registration form to 1-877-927-1563.
Patent Docs is a media sponsor of ACI's Pharma/Biotech Patent Claim Drafting and Prosecution conference.
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