Conference to Focus on Anti-Counterfeiting, Consumer Protection

Representatives from business and government agencies concerned with intellectual property rights, particularly those concerning electronic devices, will gather for a special workshop at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to focus on fighting the worldwide problem of counterfeit goods. The Product Authentication Management Workshop will be held on Feb. 17 and 18 at NIST’s main laboratories in Gaithersburg, Md.

Presentations by experts from academia, industry and government will address the root causes of counterfeiting, information management strategies for mitigating and pre-empting counterfeits, and the standards that are being developed to combat the problem. The program will include a presentation by Kevin Kurland, director of the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry Security, Office of Technology Evaluation, concerning the results of a recent extensive survey regarding the incidence of electronic products in the marketplace.

The workshop is being sponsored by NIST and SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International).

For more information, visit the conference Web site: http://www.semi.org/en/Standards/CTR_026948

Media representatives wishing to attend the workshop should contact Chad Boutin at (301) 975-4261, or email boutin@nist.gov.