It’s July again, which means it is time for another AIPLA PCT Seminar. This will be the 18th annual offering of the Seminar. The Seminar will take place in Denver, Colorado on Monday and Tuesday July 21 and 22, and it will be offered a second time in Arlington, Virginia on Thursday and Friday July 24 and 25. I will be among the faculty of this Seminar. If the Seminar will take place a week from now, why is it so important to sign up before July 16?
Here is why it is so important to sign up before July 16. The Seminar itself covers advanced tactical and strategic aspects of the Patent Cooperation Treaty. This year for the first time, we will also provide a webinar primer ahead of time, so that those who need a review of the basics of the PCT can get that review through the webinar. The webinar will take place on Wednesday, July 16. So if you would like to attend the webinar primer, you need to sign up for the Seminar before July 16.
Many local bar associations, CLE providers, and law schools offer PCT seminars. Why should you attend the AIPLA PCT Seminar instead of one of those other PCT seminars? Part of the answer is that the AIPLA PCT Seminar has not only presenters from patent offices but also presenters from private practice. With this faculty you get to hear not only “just the facts” about PCT but also strategy and tactics — how to make the best decisions about the use of the PCT. Should you file a “PCT first”? Should you precede the PCT application with a provisional patent application? Should you file a US non-provisional application prior to filing the PCT application? How can you make best use of the Patent Prosecution Highway with the PCT?
You can see the AIPLA information page and the PDF brochure.
Is this an annual event in Denver?
The AIPLA PCT Seminar happens in July of each year, and is now in its eighteenth year (the first one was in 1997). For many of those eighteen years, the Seminar took place only in Virginia (to be nearby to the USPTO). But in some years, the Seminar has become a Road Show with a second or third Seminar in some location other than Virginia. The last time that the AIPLA PCT Seminar was presented in Denver was in July of 2008. Now it will be presented in Denver in July of 2014. It is too soon to know what the location or locations will be next year or in future years.