USPTO Holds Round Table on International Harmonization of Patent Laws

PRESS RELEASE

The Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today held a round table meeting in Arlington, VA, to hear from representatives of small businesses and global patent issues experts on solutions to the challenges faced by American innovators in protecting their intellectual property abroad.

In response to a General Accounting Office recommendation and a request from Members of Congress, the USPTO asked for input from small businesses, policy experts, and other interested parties on international costs and fees, procedural and administrative matters, substantive patent law and enforcement in order to assess the advantages and disadvantages of various options for achieving patent law harmonization.

Ten participants, listed below, shared their views on a variety of topics, including what can be done at the domestic level to assist small businesses in protecting their intellectual property internationally; major obstacles faced by small businesses when attempting to obtain patents in foreign countries; programs that are successfully helping small businesses obtain patents in multiple countries; and whether any new initiatives, beyond current patent harmonization efforts, should be undertaken internationally.

Hon. Gerald J. Mossinghoff - Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt - Statement [PDF]
Ms. Nancy J. Linck - Guilford Pharmaceuticals - Remarks - Responses
Mr. Herb Wamsley – Intellectual Property Owners Association - Opening statement - Responses
Mr. Charles Van Horn – American Intellectual Property Law Association - Opening Statement - Responses
Mr. Albert Tramposch - George Mason University School of Law/Burns, Doane - Statement and Responses
Mr. Samson Helfgott – American Bar Association/Katten, Muchin - Remarks
Mr. David Peyton – National Association of Manufacturers - Comments
Mr. Brian Kahin for Mr. James Love - Consumer Project on Technology - Comments
Mr. Jere Glover - Small Business Technology Coalition
Mr. Dave Burstein - DSL Prime

Participants’ statements are available by clicking the above links. Click for transcript of the round table meeting [PDF] .

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United States Patent and Trademark Office

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Last Modified: 7/4/2009 8:29:56 PM