Patent Information Users'Group Inc. - The International Society of Patent Information

PIUG

The International Society for Patent Information

Board of Directors

Cynthia Barcelon Yang - Chair
Doreen Alberts - Vice Chair
Denise Fobare-Deponio - Secretary
Ken Koubek - Treasurer
Suzanne Robins - Immediate Past Chair
Edlyn Simmons - Director at Large
Heidi Stone - Director at Large

The Patent Information Users Group, Inc. (PIUG) – The International Society for Patent Information is a not-for-profit organization for individuals having a professional, scientific or technical interest in patent information. The mission of PIUG is to support, assist, improve and enhance the success of patent information professionals through leadership, education, communication, advocacy and networking. Through this international forum and discussion, we also promote and improve the retrieval, analysis and dissemination of patent information.

PIUG has over 700 active members representing 27 countries including the United States. The largest concentration of members is from the USA, Europe and Japan. PIUG members are patent attorneys, patent agents, licensing professionals, patent information researchers, patent information vendors, and patent information and documentation experts from the U.S. and abroad.

We have nearly 300 patent information professionals who do patent searching for corporations, over 100 patent information consultants, over 80 patent information professionals who do patent searching for law firms, and about 20 searchers based in academic institutions. We are employed in performing patentability, freedom-to-practice, and validity patent searches for Fortune 500 / multinational companies, leading universities and major IP law firms. In recent years, PIUG members have also engaged in patent information analysis as a strategic innovation tool.

PIUG has an active Discussion Forum that is featured on the PIUG wiki, a global collaborative tool with with nearly 1000 subscribers world-wide and produce a newsletter twice a year. In addition, we have presence in professional and social networking channels, such as LinkedIn and Twitter. The PIUG newsletter contains members' articles, salary survey results, search tips, meeting trip reports, and information on patent database vendor and producer developments. Get to know us and meet the PIUG Officers.

Notice on use of PIUG Name and Logo: No one may use the PIUG name or logo for any promotional or commercial purpose or any other purpose without the prior written consent of the PIUG Board of Directors.

News

PIUG 2010 Annual Conference to be held in Baltimore on May 1-6, 2010 - 16 June 2009
At the PIUG 2009 Annual Conference, announcement was made that the PIUG 2010 Annual Conference would be held from Saturday, May 1st, through Thursday, May 6th, 2010, at the Hilton Baltimore Hotel (401 West Pratt St., Baltimore, MD 21201) located in Baltimore's beautiful Inner Harbor. The theme is "Moving Targets: Current & Future Best Practices and Opportunities for Patent Information Professionals." Save the date and watch the PIUG Discussion Forum for details. We welcome all who wish to get involved and volunteer to help make the 2010 meeting a success!

Join the new PIUG Discussion Forum - 1 February 2009
The new PIUG Discussion Forum became available to the PIUG community on February 1st. It is featured on the new PIUG wiki, a global collaborative tool that was implemented in December 2008. See the Wiki Initial Signup Quick Reference Guide for help and "join" the Discussion forum as explained in the 4.5-minute micro-tutorial available on the Wiki Training Webinars web page. The popular discussion list was retired and its archives are available on the PIUG List Archives web page.

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© 2010 The Patent Information Users Group, Inc. – Contact: +1 (414) 908-4955, info@piug.org
Webmaster: Tom Wolff (webmaster @ piug.org) – Updated: 8 January 2010