Long-time PCT enthusiasts will appreciate that in recent years, there have been few opportunities in the US to get high quality PCT training with more than one experienced presenter on the dais.
Such PCT enthusiasts will likewise appreciate that in recent years, there have been few opportunities in the US to get high quality PCT training of such depth and breadth as to call for more than one day of training.
Now for the first time since before Covid, attend a multi-day live in-person Patent Cooperation Treaty seminar in the US taught by two experienced presenters. This training will take place in beautiful Colorado, near the Denver airport.
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. The Rocky Mountains offer hiking, camping, and scenic drives. The largest Meow Wolf is located in Denver.
Seminar dates: Tuesday, September 22 , 2026 to Thursday, September 24, 2026.
Location: Homewood Suites by Hilton (hotel web site), 4210 Airport Way, Denver, CO 80239 (google maps).
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.
Most people who register for my seminars make use of coupons with expiration dates. The only way to get the substantial savings from a coupon is to register before the expiration date of the coupon.
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. Check back here to learn if one or both of these events sell out.
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:
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- 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:
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- 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:
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- 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, September 22, 2026.
- 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM – Registration. Note that you will get a complimentary breakfast buffet at the event hotel.
- 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM – Session 1.
- 10:30 AM – 10:45 AM – Morning 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 break.
- 2:45 PM – 5:00 PM – Session 4.
- Wednesday, September 23, 2026.
- Note that you will get get a complimentary breakfast buffet at the event hotel.
- 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM – Session 5.
- 10:30 AM – 10:45 AM – Morning 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 break.
- 2:45 PM – 5:00 PM – Session 8.
- Thursday, September 24, 2026.
- Note that you will get get a complimentary breakfast buffet at the event hotel.
- 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM – Session 9.
- 10:30 AM – 10:45 AM – Morning 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.
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- Thursday, September 24, 2026.
- 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM – Session A.
- 2:30 PM – 2:45 PM – Afternoon break.
- 2:45 PM – 5:00 PM – Session B.
- Thursday, September 24, 2026.
The classroom. The classroom will have free wifi. Seating locations will have electrical power for laptops.
The hotel provides complimentary tea and coffee all day in the hotel lobby.
Preparing for this class. Attendees are strongly urged to do the following in preparation for this class:
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- 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 Carl Oppedahl ( user_US_OPPEDAHL_CARL_2526 ).
- view the PCT application to which Carl 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.
CLE accreditation? We have applied for CLE accreditation from the Colorado Supreme Court for these seminars. We will not be requesting CLE accreditation in other states. A Uniform Certificate of Attendance will be provided for each program, which may be of some help to those seeking CLE credit in other states. It is up to each 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.
What you get? Program materials for the 2½-day program will be provided as a printed seminar book, similar to the book shown below. Materials for the half-day docketing course will be printed handouts as well as a book, shown at below. Breakfast buffet is included; you are on your own for lunch and dinner. Overnight self-parking costs $16 per day; day-use parking from 8AM to 6PM is $10 per day.
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The faculty. This PCT seminar offers a rare opportunity to learn about the Patent Cooperation Treaty from two experienced presenters — Carl Oppedahl from Oppedahl Patent Law Firm LLC and Hanna Kang from the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Hanna Kang is the Senior Legal Officer, PCT Legal and User Relations, at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland. She has taught dozens of PCT classes on behalf of WIPO in dozens of countries around the world. She brings to you her experience and knowledge from more than thirteen years doing Patent Cooperation Treaty work at WIPO.
Carl Oppedahl is 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.
Hanna and Carl have presented training on PCT together in recent seminars. As PCT enthusiasts well know, the Patent Cooperation Treaty has the potential to be a bit dry in spots. Imagine the prospect of managing to stay awake during this training with the benefit of having not one but two experienced and knowledgeable presenters on the dais.
Here are comments from people who attended a previous live in-person PCT seminar:
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- one of the best training seminars I have ever attended.
- everything was fantastic. I appreciated that you interacted with the attendees and answered questions.
- I LOVED IT!!
- Mr. Oppedahl is a good presenter, wants attendees to learn, and is generous.
- This was another great Carl Oppedahl seminar!
- I had a good time, learned a lot, met some nice people, and will take my new knowledge to my co-workers.
- Please keep doing these seminars!
- Keep Carl presenting! He is wonderful!
- This was such a great experience! I learned so many new things, had questions answered, and a wonderful refresher on topics I was already familiar with. I thoroughly enjoyed the in-person environment. So much valuable and useful information presented in this seminar.
- Really enjoyed this. It made me feel better about myself.
- Please keep doing these! Thank you!
- This sort of educational seminar from such a knowledgeable and energetic source is invaluable.
Airports. The nearest airport is Denver International Airport. The event hotel provides a free airport shuttle to and from Denver International Airport.
Amtrak. The nearest Amtrak station is Denver Union Station. There is a very convenient light-rail service from Denver Union Station to the airport, and the hotel provides a free airport shuttle from Denver International Airport. Or take the light-rail service to the Gateway Park station mentioned below, and walk the remaining 25 minutes.
RTD light rail. The A line of the RTD light rail has the 40th Avenue and Airport Boulevard – Gateway Park station, about a 25-minute walk from the event hotel.
EV charging. There is a Tesla supercharging station adjacent to the event hotel, with six 150-kW kiosks.
Guest room booking. The event hotel offers a special room booking rate that you can see here, which presently expires August 21, 2026 or sooner if the block of rooms gets used up. You may also wish to compare the ordinary room rates directly at the web site of the event hotel. There are a dozen hotels within a block or two of the event hotel which you might consider for your guest room booking. Some of those nearby hotels also offer a free-of-charge airport shuttle bus.