World IP Day Event - Intellectual Property: Protecting Your Inventiveness

World Intellectual Property Day Event - Hosted by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Consultants Network of Silicon Valley (CNSV)

If you are a creative person, you likely have created intellectual property – including in ways you might now realize.  Understanding contracts and the laws governing intellectual property is an important part of protecting your interests, particularly if you are a consultant.  Join us for an evening focused on IP.

This event is free! All attendees MUST register.

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John Cabeca, Director Silicon Valley U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), will introduce World Intellectual Property (IP) Day and briefly discuss the theme for this year, Powering Change: Women in Innovation and Creativity.  In addition, John will discuss programs available to inform and assist consultants and individual inventors re: protecting IP, including (1) programs that assist inventors, (2) databases for searching for registered and pending trademarks, published patent applications, and issued patents, (3) newsletters and programs offered by the Silicon Valley USPTO, and (4) several resources available to help consultants and individual inventors.

Rosemary Coates, our second speaker, is an IEEE-CNSV member who will discuss strategies for protecting IP in global manufacturing environments and what to do when your IP is stolen. Manufacturing in China is particularly vulnerable to IP theft and cheap knock-offs that look just like the real thing. Rosemary will discuss prevention steps you should take in global manufacturing.

Steve Bachmann, our third speaker, is an IEEE-CNSV member who will discuss a number of topics, including (1) what to look for in contracts, and in particular how to determine the degree of “consultant friendliness” re: IP in clauses within contracts, (2) when an invention created by a consultant belongs to the consultant and when it belongs to the client, and (3) what is patentable in both hardware and software, along with what questions to consider when determining “patentability” likelihood.

All three speakers will also cover trends in IP protection in terms of metrics at the USPTO (patent application filing trends, applications filed by sole inventors, etc.), as well as trends in patent application practice that can help consultants be better prepared in protecting their IP.  There will also be lots of time for interactive discussion and Q&A.

SEMI, Milpitas, CA
673 S Milpitas Blvd, Milpitas, CA 95035

Be sure to bring a photo ID to verify your registration.

The building is on the corner of S Milpitas Blvd and Yosemite Dr., with the main entrance facing S Milpitas Blvd. However, you will need to enter the building from the Yosemite Dr. side. Plenty of parking is available.