Jeannette L.A. Fiala published a report summarizing the conference: PIUG 2015 Biotechnology Conference, South San Francisco, February 2015, World Patent Information, 42, 38-39 (2015). Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. This paper is available to all.

Call for Papers

PIUG 2016 Annual Conference
An International Conference for Patent Information Professionals

Patent Information: Our Continuing Quest for Quality

PIUG MEMBERSHIP DRIVE! Join PIUG now at the 2015 rate, and immediately enjoy member benefits through the end of 2016!

If you perform Freedom to Operate (FTO) research, don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your conceptual understanding of FTO, and your skills, by attending this one-day course offered by the Patent Information Users Group.

Freedom to Operate Fundamentals is taught by highly experienced PIUG members with many years of searching and training experience. The course will build understanding of the fundamental concepts of FTO, and develop general techniques based on current patent law into focused strategies for performing FTO searches in the engineering, chemical, and biotech areas. It will demonstrate best practices for searching in each area and case studies of complete searches.

Discover additional approaches that will help you be more effective by saving time and providing more accurate results. Learn how to utilize freely accessible resources for searching claimed content and to determine what is legally in-force, including INPADOC, national patent office registers, and vendor offerings. This lecture-based course will include slide presentations, live examples of focused searches, and a printed handout.

Freedom to Operate Fundamentals is being offered on November 12^th, 2015, at the Chemical Heritage Foundation in Philadelphia.

Whether you are new to performing FTO searches or more experienced, this course will provide techniques to take your FTO research skills to the next level, and help advance your career.

More information about the course and how to register can be found on the PIUG web site. 

PIUG members are now able to view the complete European IP Searcher Salary Survey Report  posted by the Confederacy of European Patent Information User Groups (CEPIUG) on their website. 

Many thanks to Linus Wretblad and his Board for sharing the report with our members. 

The PIUG Biotechnology Conference Committee has placed a call for papers for their tenth annual conference with the theme "Preparing Your Comprehensive Biotech Search: What Experts Do Differently."  The conference focuses on best practices for patent information professionals who specialize in biotechnology search and analysis. It will be held February 22-24, 2016 at the Embassy Suites Boston at Logan Airport.

The program committee is interested in presentations that

• Show how scientific resources help biotech patent searchers develop and maintain their scientific knowledge for pre-search strategy creation
• Illustrate how work product supports or is a component of business decisions
• Use of patent information as competitive intelligence resource
• Utilize quality value-adds such as visualizations of data, presentation or organization of the reports and use of patents as competitive intelligence
• Discuss a specific search scenario with strategy, databases used and results identified

All topics related to biotechnology patent information research will be considered.

Interested speakers should submit: speaker name, brief biography, contact information, presentation title and a 100-200 word abstract to:  alison.taylor@abbott.com and gregory.roland@novartis.com by September 30, 2015.

If you are interested in submitting a paper but need extra time to obtain your management approval, please let us know by the Sep. 30, 2015 deadline.

Further news about the program and updates regarding the conference will be posted on the PIUG Discussion Forum (PIUG-DF) and on the upcoming PIUG 2016 Biotechnology Conference web page.

The Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) Conference Committee is seeking proposals from PIUG Members who wish to share their expertise at AIIP’s 30th Annual Conference. AIIP is a sister organization to PIUG. The Annual Conference theme is "Partnering for Success." It will be held April 7-10, 2016 at the Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The AIIP Annual Conference is the premier event for info-centric, entrepreneurial, independent professionals and attracts an international audience. Attendees come to the conference to hone their technical and research skills, get tips on running a business, and make business connections.

Topics contributing to the 2016 theme include:

·        Partnering with colleagues for professional development

·        Partnering with subcontractors to staff projects or expand expertise

·        Partnering with industry vendors to create or test new products

·        Partnering with clients to offer joint services or products.

See more about the detailed requirements on how to submit a proposal at aiip.org/Conference/Proposals. Deadline for all submissions is September 15, 2015. 

Contact:  conference@aiip.org for more information. 

Early Bird Registration is now open for the PIUG 2015 Northeast Conference which will be held October 12-14 at the Heldrich Hotel in New Brunswick NJ. 

Register before September 11, 2015 to obtain the best rate! 

Also, remember to book your hotel room before  September 20, 2015 to obtain the conference rate of $179/night. 

PIUG 2015 Annual Conference Plenary and Business Meeting presentations are now available for viewing and downloading in the members-only section of the PIUG wiki.

These presentation files may not be shared with non-members. PIUG is an organization of individuals and not companies, so sharing presentation files with colleagues who are not PIUG members is against PIUG policy. 

We welcome new members and renewals via the PIUG Membership Benefits page. 

Thank you to everyone who made this year’s meeting such a success!

We are pleased to announce the call for papers for the PIUG 2015 Northeast Conference.  The conference will be October 12-14, 2015 at the Heldrich hotel in New Brunswick, NJ.

Please submit your title and abstract along with proposed speaker name, company name, brief biography and full contact information to kimberly.miller@novartis.com by July 3, 2015.

Topics of interest include:

• Search and/or analysis techniques, tips and tricks
• Case studies concerning patentability, FTO or (in)validity
• Patent analysis
• Current case law (for attorneys; e.g. Myriad, Teva, Abbvie)

If you have an idea for a topic not listed, please do not hesitate to submit! 

We look forward to seeing you in October!!

The PIUG 2015 Northeast Conference Program Committee:

• Kimberly Miller
• Jennifer Sexton
• Shelley Pavlek (Workshops)