Attend a 2½-day live in-person Patent Cooperation Treaty seminar in scenic Summit County, Colorado

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Attend a 2½-day live in-person Patent Cooperation Treaty seminar in scenic Summit County, Colorado, next to Lake Dillon and surrounded by snow-capped mountains.  Maybe also attend an optional half-day program specifically directed to docketing of the PCT.   

What else is there to do in this area?  You could easily add on an entire mountain vacation to this trip.  Summit County has 55 miles of paved recreation paths, suitable for walking and bicycling.  The Rocky Mountains offer hiking, camping, and scenic drives, many of which are in the Eagle’s Nest Wilderness.  The largest Meow Wolf is located in Denver.

Seminar dates: Tuesday, June 25 to Thursday, June 27, 2024.

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Location:  The Lake Dillon Room, Homewood Suites by Hilton (hotel web site), 122 Lake Dillon Drive, Dillon, Colorado 80435.

Who should attend?  The programs are likely to be of great interest to any patent attorney or paralegal or patent agent, in private or corporate practice, who uses the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

Professional responsibility rules hold attorneys responsible for the work carried out by non-attorneys under their supervision.  Such an attorney ought to know how to carry out PCT tasks so that they know how to train and supervise non-attorneys who carry out such tasks.  For this reason, every patent attorney and patent agent with an international practice should attend.

When should I register?  Some people wait until the last minute to register for events like this.  If you wait, you risk not being able to register at all because the event may be sold out.  Yet another risk of waiting is that you might not be able to get a guest room in the hotel at the room rate that you prefer.  As the organizer of the event, having signed a substantial contract with the hotel, of course I greatly prefer that you register as soon as possible to reduce my anxiety about getting enough registrations to cover the financial commitments to the hotel.

Will walk-in registration be available?  The two events may be sold out, and if they are, then walk-in registration will not be available unless there are no-shows.  If either event is not sold out, then walk-in registration will be available.

What if I change my mind or cannot attend?  Can I get my money back?  If the event sells out and if we have a waiting list, and if we can fill your spot (or spots, for the two programs) from the waiting list, then yes you can get your money back, less a $50 fee.   Otherwise, no, you cannot get your money back.  If you change your mind or cannot attend, the best way to make use of your registration (or registrations, for the two programs) would be to give the registration to a deserving student or colleague.

Should I attend both programs?  It is up to you whether to attend the first program (2½ days about the PCT) or the second program (a half day on docketing the PCT) or both.  It seems to me that most people would want to attend both, once you have gone to the trouble to book the days in your schedule and once you have arranged your travel.

The first program.  2½ days about the PCT.  Strategic topics include:

    • Whether to use PCT or Paris Convention.
    • Choosing wisely when picking a Receiving Office.
    • Choosing wisely when picking an International Searching Authority.
    • Deciding whether or not to file a Demand.
    • Deciding whether or not to file an Article 19 Amendment.
    • Helping the applicant figure out where to enter the national/regional phase.

Professional practice topics include:

    • Making use of the PCT so as to avoid having to take the professional liability risks of filing in DOCX while avoiding the need to to pay the $400 non-DOCX penalty.
    • Malpractice avoidance:
      • The importance of making use of ePCT to file a PCT application.
      • The importance of using DAS to minimize risk of running afoul of the dreaded 4-and-16 date.
      • The importance of allowing ePCT to give you reminders of upcoming due dates.
    • Drafting a PCT application so as to reduce problems in other patent offices.
    • Making strategic choices to maximize possible benefits from the Patent Prosecution Highway.
    • Choosing between US national phase entry or US bypass continuation.
    • Comparing various filing scenarios (e.g. PCT first, running a US case in parallel) and their effects on patent term and filing costs and DOCX risks.

Skills and tasks which we will discuss include:

    • Filing a PCT application.
    • How and where to file a 92bis request.
    • How and where to file a Demand and Article 34 amendment.
    • How and where to file an Article 19 amendment.
    • Checking the status and contents of a PCT application in ePCT (similar to the PAIR-like functions of Patent Center).
    • Entry into US national phase.
    • Bypass continuation.

At each point we will identify Best Practices for these tasks.

The second program.   The second program is a half-day program directed specifically to docketing of the PCT.

The schedule for the first program.  2½-day live in-person Patent Cooperation Treaty seminar.

    • Tuesday, June 25.
      • 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM – Registration and breakfast.
      • 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM – Session 1.
      • 10:30 AM – 10:45 AM – Morning beverage break.
      • 10:45 AM – noon – Session 2.
      • noon – 1:00 PM – Lunch on your own.
      • 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM – Session 3.
      • 2:30 PM – 2:45 PM – Afternoon beverage break.
      • 2:45 PM – 5:00 PM – Session 4.
    • Wednesday, June 26.
      • 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM – Breakfast.
      • 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM – Session 5.
      • 10:30 AM – 10:45 AM – Morning beverage break.
      • 10:45 AM – noon – Session 6.
      • noon – 1:00 PM – Lunch on your own.
      • 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM – Session 7.
      • 2:30 PM – 2:45 PM – Afternoon beverage break.
      • 2:45 PM – 5:00 PM – Session 8.
    • Thursday, June 27.
      • 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM – Breakfast.
      • 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM – Session 9.
      • 10:30 AM – 10:45 AM – Morning beverage break.
      • 10:45 AM – 11:45 AM – Session 10.
      • 11:45 AM – noon – Concluding remarks.

The schedule for the second program.   Half-day program on PCT docketing.

    • Thursday, June 27.
      • 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM – Session A.
      • 2:30 PM – 2:45 PM – Afternoon beverage break.
      • 2:45 PM – 5:00 PM – Session B.

The classroom.  The classroom will have free wifi.  Seating locations will have electrical power for laptops.

Registration.  To register, click here:   

Preparing for this class.  Attendees are strongly urged to do the following in preparation for this class:

    • get a WIPO user ID and password (if you do not already have one).
    • set up two-factor authentication (“strong authentication”) with ePCT (if you do not already have it set up).
    • do an e-handshake with the professor ( user_US_OPPEDAHL_CARL_2526 ).
    • view the PCT application to which Prof. Oppedahl gives you access.
    • explore the “demo” ePCT system.

In addition, attendees are strongly urged to enroll in the WIPO PCT Distance Learning Course, study all fourteen modules, and earn the Certificate of Completion.  Attendees who bring their Certificate of Completion with them to this course will receive a special gift.

CLE accreditation?   The 2½-day program has been accredited by the Colorado Supreme Court with course number 844884 for 19 general credits.   You can see the Notice of Accreditation and the course details.

The half-day program on docketing has been accredited by the Colorado Supreme Court with course number  844885 for 5 general credits.  You can see the Notice of Accreditation and the course details.

We will not be requesting CLE accreditation in other states.   A Uniform Certificate of Attendance will be provided, which may be of some help to those seeking CLE credit in other states.  It is up to the attendee to request and obtain his or her own CLE credit;  the program organizer will not be taking responsibility for obtaining CLE credit for attendees.  Click here for more information about getting CLE credit.

What you get?  Program materials for each program will be provided as a printed seminar book.  Your registration fee for the first program includes breakfast on all three days.  Lunch and dinner are not included.  The hotel web site says parking is $15 per day.  We have negotiated with the hotel that attendees of these programs will be able to park for free.

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What to do for lunch and dinner?  Summit County is a resort community.  The county has many dozens of restaurants of every cuisine and every price level.  The hotel where the programs will take place has a rooftop bar and restaurant called The VUE (web site), which is adjacent to the classroom.  The VUE, pictured at right, has a very nice view of Lake Dillon.

The faculty. Your professor is Carl Oppedahl, the author of the Ant-Like Persistence blog.  Carl is a partner in Oppedahl Patent Law Firm LLC.   Carl is a past chair of the PCT Issues Committee of the American Intellectual Property Law Association. He has given many dozens of lectures and webinars about the PCT and related intellectual property topics. His firm hosts the PCT Listserv, a collegial email discussion group for power users of the PCT.

Here are some handwritten comments from people who attended a recent one-day PCT program taught by Carl.  Here are some of those comments:

    • Carl is an excellent presenter.  He made a very dry subject tolerable.  And maybe even enjoyable.
    • Mr. Oppedahl did an excellent job at keeping the audience’s attention for this all-day class.  I have been to other seminars where I keep going back for more coffee to stay awake.
    • [It would] be nice [if it could] be a two-day event so [we] can go more in depth.

Airports.  The nearest airports are Denver International Airport and Eagle County Airport.

Amtrak.  The nearest Amtrak station is Denver Union Station.

Getting from the airport to the hotel.  There are several shuttle services providing door-to-door shared van service between either of the two airports and any location in Summit County.  Most vans have free wifi.  You can use such a shuttle service to get directly to the hotel.  Shuttle services include:

Getting around in Summit County.  Summit stage (web site) provides free public transit service within Summit County, Colorado, providing access to our public lands, lodging, town centers, retail areas, and medical centers.

Electric vehicle charging.  The hotel where these programs will take place has a level-2 charging station with 2 CCS plugs.  Fast DC charging is available at several locations in Summit County, including:

Guest room booking.  Summit County has dozens of hotels to choose from.   We arranged a block of rooms at the event hotel at a special rate, but that block of rooms is now sold out.   What you may find most convenient is to book a guest room directly at the web site of the event hotel.