12th Annual Design Day at the Texas Regional Office

Join us at the Texas Regional Office (TXRO) of the USPTO as we spend the day with USPTO Design Examiners, Managers, Design Patent Practitioners and Industrial Designers from across the country. Join us to hear lively and thought-provoking discussions about various aspects of design patents, from conception through enforcement.  No CLE credit is offered for this event.

Topics include:

  • Update from the Director of Technology Center 2900
  • USPTO Developments including updates on Hague, ID5, and Design Law Treaty initiatives
  • Report from Japan Patent Office on its Study of Industrial Design Competitiveness and Design
  • Return of the popular Patent Prosecution Best Practices Panel where experienced practitioners and USPTO examiners discuss recent examination and prosecution trends
  • Presentations from major corporations on strategic protection and enforcement of designs, including Microsoft Corporation, Sugarfina, Inc., and more!
  • Panel discussion about the challenges of enforcement of design rights on the Internet
  • Case law summaries on important design patent decisions over the past year, from the Federal Circuit, district court, and PTAB

In preparation for our panel on best practice tips and pitfalls, we would like your input. Please email your own personal tips for success or design patent prosecution issues, that you’d like to see improved, to Beth Ferrill at elizabeth.ferrill@finnegan.com.

8:00 am – 3:45 pm CT: Meeting Webcast

11:00 am – 12:15 pm CT: Lunch (BYOB or offsite; meals will not be provided by the TXRO)

3:45 pm - 5:00 pm CT: Live Discussion/Q&A with Design Supervisory Patent Examiner

Registration opens at 7:45 am CT and continues throughout the day.

There is NO FEE to attend; however, we ask that you register in advance.

For inquiries about the event:
please email texasregionalUSPTOEvents@USPTO.GOV (link sends e-mail), visit us at the Texas Regional Office home page, or call us at 469-295-9000.