Preliminary Agenda

We are very pleased to announce the following Preliminary Agenda for the PIUG 2008 Annual Conference. Please register now.

An Early Bird Registration fee of $325 is being offered until March 15, 2008 to those who join or renew their PIUG membership before March 15, 2008. After March 15th the Member/Non-Member meeting registration fee is $495 (if space is available). To take advantage of the early-bird discount you must be a member of PIUG Inc. Renew or sign up as a new member now. Registration will open to the general public on March 16, 2008.

Registration Fees are not refundable after April 4, 2008. All changes, substitutions and cancellations must be made in writing and faxed to (330) 963-0319 or emailed to Experient. Substitutions may be made without penalty.

Advanced Registration Closes Friday, May 16, 2008. Full meeting registrations will be accepted on site at no additional fee if space is available. However, you should contact Experient by email to determine if space is still available prior to making your travel plans.

Registration includes:

• PIUG Business Meeting Sunday afternoon, May 18, 2008
• Welcome Reception, Sunday night, May 18, 2008
• Conference breakfasts, lunches, and refreshments during meeting breaks from Monday through Wednesday, May 19-21, 2008
• Tuesday night ice cream social

A special Gala Anniversary Dinner to celebrate the 20th anniversary of PIUG will be held on Monday evening, May 19, for an additional cost of $50. Please register for this event.

Visit the Sponsors & Exhibitors page for an updated list of the sponsors and exhibitors who are very generously providing support for this event.

See the Workshop webpage for complete updated information and to register. You must register separately for each workshop.

Proposed Agenda
Technical Session*

Monday-Wednesday, May 19-21, 2008

The conference will feature world-renowned experts on patent information for technology research and planning, for legal organizations, and for overall corporate IP management (technology licensing and related activities). The conference will include many opportunities for discussion and part of Tuesday afternoon will be dedicated to visiting the exhibit hall. Many workshops will also be held in conjunction with this meeting (before and after the technical sessions).

Attendees typically have a professional, scientific, or technical interest in patents and represent a multitude of companies. The PIUG 2007 meeting drew an enthusiastic group of over three hundred and thirty people to our three-day technical session in Costa Mesa, CA. Over 18% of the attendees were international, that is, more than 60 attendees represented various countries, including the UK, Germany, France, Japan, Korea, China, India, Israel, Italy, and Canada. We expect 300-400 attendees in 2008.

Monday, May 19

Keynote Address by Catherine T. "Katie" Hunt, Rohm and Haas Company, Immediate Past President of ACS

PIUG - First 20 Years - Edlyn Simmons, Procter & Gamble Co.

Evolution of Patent Information

• Whatever Happened to the Silent 700? – Stephen Adams, Magister, Ltd.
• Patent Information User Groups in Europe Join Together – Aalt van de Kuilen, Solvay

Topics of Recent Interest

Panel Discussion on Current Strategy and Future Planning Initiatives

• Participants – Sabine Brunger-Weilandt, FIZ Karlsruhe; Pierre Buffet, Questel-Orbit ; David Brown, Thomson Scientific; Robert Massie, Chemical Abstracts Service; Suzanne Robins, PIUG.
• Moderator – Lucy Akers, Bristol-Myers Squibb

Tuesday, May 20

Patent Information – Searching, Analysis, and Reporting

• Patent Documentation Group: Past Successes and Future Challenges – Minoo Philipp, President, PDG.
• Searching Chinese Patents – Zhifu Shu and Henry Murray, ExxonMobil.
• Implementing Cost-Effective U.S. Patent Invalidity Searches – Yateen Pargaonkar, Procter & Gamble Co.
• Use of Advanced Search Tools to Optimize Patent Categorization – Lakshmikant Goenka, Dolcera.

Software and Other Tools for Patent Information

• Expanded Access to Patent Information in CAS Products: More Content, Deeper Analysis – Brian Sweet, Chemical Abstracts Service.
• Turn the Page: Adding Value to Full Text – Richard Garner, LexisNexis.

Product Reviews in the Exhibit Room

From the Patent Offices

• European Patent Information: Past, Present and Future – Curt Edfjäll, Vice President, EPO.
• New Development in WIPO's Patent Information Services – Juneho Jang, WIPO

Wednesday, May 21

Tips and Techniques from the Experts

• Enhancing Search Precision with IPC-R – Sue Cullen, Thomson Scientific.

Techniques for Special Subject Areas

Rules, Regulations, and Reform: Patent Tumult in the US?

• Participants – Ric Henschel, Foley & Lardner; Ron Kaminecki, Thomson Scientific; Rick Neifeld, Neifeld PLC; Roy Zimmerman, Medtronics.
• Moderator – Marty Goffman, SequenceBase Corp

Valuable Patents – Techniques for Identification and Quantification

* Note that this is a tentative program, subject to change and revision. In addition, there will be 5 minute sponsor product reviews interspersed throughout the technical sessions on Monday and Tuesday.

Program Committee

Kartar Arora, Co-Chair, BASF Corporation
Doreen Alberts, Co-Chair, Theravance
Lucy Akers, Bristol-Myers Squibb
Marty Goffman, SequenceBase Corporation
Edlyn Simmons, Procter & Gamble Company
Diane Wian, IFI Patent Intelligence

Evening Activities

Sunday evening, May 18, 2008

First Time Attendee Welcome Reception followed by a Welcome Reception for All Meeting Attendees in the Exhibit Hall with the opening of the Exhibits.

Monday evening, May 19, 2008

The 20th Anniversary Gala Dinner will be held at the USPTO Atrium and Auditorium, Madison Bldg.

Tuesday night play, May 20, 2008

Dessert reception at 7:30 pm and IFFI play, "The Importance of Being Earnest", produced by Nancy Lambert, at 8:00 pm.

Wednesday evening, May 21, 2008

Dinner and IPI Award Presentation to Nancy Lambert Sponsored by PIUG, Questel, and Thomson Scientific
Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Regency Ballroom
RSVP by May 2nd to Tony Craig at Experient at piugannual @ experient-inc.com

© 2008 The Patent Information Users Group, Inc. – PIUG Website Committee
Webmaster: Tom Wolff (piugwebmaster @ gmail.com): – Updated: 6 May 2008