NAPP Annual Meeting

The National Association of Patent Practitioners (NAPP) will be holding its 2009 Annual Meeting on July 18-21, 2009 in San Diego, CA.  An optional short-course entitled: "The Nuts & Bolts of Patent Prosecution Practice" will be offered on July 18.  Topics to be covered during the short course include:

• Inventorship
• Prior Art Searching
• Basic Claim Drafting
• Written Specification
• Patent Drawings
• Responding to Office Actions
• Examiner Interviews
• Allowance & Issue
• Practitioner Knowledge Tools
• Building a Successful Solo Practice

Following the organization's annual meeting on July 19, a two-day conference entitled: "2009 Patent Practice Update" will be held on July 20-21.  Topics to be covered during the conference include:

• Recent Rule Changes on Practicing Before the Office;
• Reexamination Proceeding Post KSR;
• International Patent Prosecution: Foreign Filing;
• Strategies – PCT – PPH – Preparing a Global Patent Application;
• Obviating a KSR Obviousness Rejection;
• Hot Topics at the BPAI (Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences;
• How to Prevent a Finding of Inequitable Conduct;
 • The New Landscape of Patentable Subject Matter;
• Under 35 U.S.C § 101 -- Applying an Industrial Age;
• Test to Information Age Innovations;
• Invention Analysis & Claiming;
• Federal Circuit Update;
• Prosecution Disclaimer and Its Relationship to Prosecution History Estoppel;
• A Prosecuting Patent Attorney's Update -- Living (and Even Prospering) with KSR at the Patent Office; and
• PPAC: Patent Public Advisory Committee.

A program for the meeting, including an agenda, list of speakers, and registration information can be downloaded here.

The registration fee for the short-course ranges from $595 (for NAPP members) to $795 (for non-members).  The registration fee for the annual meeting and conference is $700 (for academic members), $800 (for practitioner members), $825 (for associate members), and $1,000 (for non-members).  The registration fee for both the short-course and annual meeting/conference is $995 (for academic members), $1,095 (for practitioner members), $1,120 (for associate members), and $1,495 (for non-members).  Attendees registering by June 16 will receive a $200 discount off all of the above rates.  Those interested in registering for the meeting can do so here.