MEDIA ADVISORY Contact: Ruth Nyblod (571) 272-8400 or ruth.nyblod@uspto.gov

July 17, 2006 #06-47

U.S. GOVERNMENT TO ASSIST TENNESSEE SMALL BUSINESSES IN COMBATING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY THEFT Nashville Event Part of National Crackdown on Counterfeiting, Piracy Washington, D.C. --U.S. Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property Stephen Pinkos will join hundreds of Tennessee small-businessmen and -women during a one-day conference on "Intellectual Property in the Global Marketplace," on July 18, 2006, in Nashville, TN. The event is part of the federal Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP), a major U.S. government effort led by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to protect American businesses from falling victim to intellectual property theft, both at home and abroad. During the one-day seminar, patent, trademark and copyright experts from the USPTO will provide small- and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs and independent inventors with useful tips on protecting and enforcing their intellectual property rights in the United States and around the world. WHAT "Intellectual Property in the Global Marketplace" seminar. Remarks on the global intellectual property marketplace and how small businesses, including those in Tennessee, are increasingly at risk of intellectual property theft. WHO Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office Stephen Pinkos Tennessee Small- and medium-size business owners, entrepreneurs and independent inventors WHEN July 18, 2006 Deputy Under Secretary Stephen Pinkos will speak at 8:30 a.m. WHERE Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt University 2555 West End Avenue Nashville, TN. Information about USPTO efforts to educate small businesses about intellectual property theft can be found at www.stopfakes.gov/smallbusiness . ###