MEDIA ADVISORY Contact: Maria V. Hernandez 703-305-8341 maria.hernandez2@uspto.gov August 1, 2002 #02-55 USPTO to Hold 7th Annual Independent Inventors Conference: Independent Inventors to Gain Substantially from Agency's Strategic Plan August 2 - 3, 2002 Onondaga Community College Whitney Applied Technology Center 4941 Onondaga Road Syracuse, NY 13215 The Department of Commerce's United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Office of Independent Inventor Programs (OIIP), will host the 7th Annual Independent Inventors Conference, ICON 2002, highlighting the agency's recent announcement on expanding programs for independent inventors. Nicholas P. Godici, Commissioner for Patents, will be one of the featured speakers at ICON 2002's kick-off on Friday, August 2, 2002, at 9:15 a.m. Commissioner Godici will talk about the 200th Anniversary of the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the USPTO's 21st Century Strategic Plan's recently announced expanded programs for independent inventors. Independent inventors, who comprise about 18% of filers, stand to gain substantially from this plan. ICON 2002 will attract independent inventors from around the world, and provide them with information and advice regarding the patent process with workshops such as, "Ask the Experts," "Application Preparation," "Are You the Target?" and "What's in a Name." For more information, visit USPTO's Web site at http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip/data.htm#CurrentEvents. # # #