By Donald Zuhn --
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced today that it will be holding Innovation Week 2009 at the Office's headquarters in Arlington, VA from June 22-27. The Patent Office describes Innovation Week 2009 as a weeklong celebration of the vital role patents and the USPTO play in our economy and for the advancement of science and technology. The conference will include technology-specific presentations for patent examiners, lunch time programs open to the public and Office employees, exhibits, and a two-day conference for independent inventors. Among the technology-specific presentations that may be of interest to Patent Docs readers will be one on cancer research (interestingly, this is the only presentation currently listed for Technology Center 1600). A complete list of presentation topics (which include more than a hundred topics for Technology Centers 1600, 1700, 2100, 2400, 2600, 2800, 2900, 3600, and 3700) can be found here. The Patent Office is also soliciting presenters for the technology-specific presentations. Those interested in registering as a presenter, can do so here. In addition, the Office is seeking keynote presenters and exhibitors. According to the Office's registration information page for the event, the Office is looking for exhibitors wishing to display information about "patented technology which will enhance the education of our patent examiners and educate the public about the impact patented technology has on the global economy." More information about the registration process, can be found here.
This sounds pretty lame. PTO dollars would be better spent hiring more examiners.
Posted by: Pacific Reporter | January 24, 2009 at 11:55 AM