[Ecommerce] Town Hall meetings on patent reform

[James Love]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: =09Town Hall meetings on patent reform
Date: =09Tue, 25 Jan 2005 10:06:58 -0500
From: =09Schultz, Craig <CSchultz@nas.edu>

Jamie:

Was wondering if you would be willing to share the following with any of
your appropriate mail lists or message boards.  These upcoming town
meetings will focus on patent reform proposals (from the FTC, NAS, and
AIPLA reaction to both) that have received the most attention so far
from the patent bar, with the goal of gathering wide-ranging input
regarding those proposals.  We hope that interested parties will help us
meet that goal by sharing your views at one of the meetings. Relevant
questions: What do you see as the pros and cons of those proposals?  How
would enactment of these proposals affect you or your company?  Which
proposals are most important from your point of view, and why?  Which
proposals, if any, do you see as bad ideas?  Do you have suggestions to
improve the proposals? Do you believe that important proposals are
missing from this list?  If so, what are they?

Best,

Craig

*/ /*

*/Town Hall Meetings on Patent Reform/*

Together with the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the National Academies=92 STEP
Board is co-sponsoring town hall-style meetings to discuss certain
patent reform proposals from four reports: the FTC's 2003 Report, To
Promote Innovation: The Proper Balance of Competition and Intellectual
Property Law and Policy; the 2004 STEP report =93A Patent System for the
21st Century;=94 and the AIPLA's written responses to each report.

The first three meetings will take place on February 18, 2005, in San
Jose; on March 4, in Chicago; and on March 18, in Boston.  The format
for these meetings is unusual.  Instead of long panel presentations with
brief audience discussion, the program segments involve brief topic
introductions by two discussants (no more than 20 minutes), followed by
50-120 minutes of comments and questions from, and discussion among,
members of the audience.  The point is to hear from stakeholders about
proposals for patent reform.  The agendas and registration forms for the
first three meetings can be found at the following link:
_http://www.aipla.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Meetings_and_Events/Seminars/S=
eminars_and_Road_Shows.htm._


The AIPLA will transcribe the discussions at the meetings, and the FTC
staff will prepare summaries.  These materials will provide a foundation
for the last meeting, a conference which will take place in Washington,
D.C. on June 9, and to which Congressional staff will be invited.

  Craig Schultz
Senior Research Associate
Board on Science, Technology and Economic Policy
The National Academies
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
202-334-2823