Posts Tagged: "robert snoep"

A Special Thank You to Our Guest Contributors!

Over the years IPWatchdog.com has continued to try and add additional perspectives from a wide variety of guest contributors, ranging from well respected practicing attorneys and agents to high profile academics to inventors and pro-patent lobbyists. It is hard to imagine providing such depth of analysis on such an array of topics without having truly wonderful guest authors. So we take this moment to say a very special thank you and to shine the spotlight on them. Each deserve to share in any recognition of IPWatchdog.com. Without further ado, here are the guest contributors in alphabetical order, along with their contributions for 2011.

AIPF 2011 Annual Meeting: A Recap of the Event

Last week the Association for Intellectual Property Firms (AIPF) held its 2011 Annual Meeting at the W Chicago City Center Hotel. The theme for this years event was “Enhancing IP Rights in a Time of Erosion.” The program covered topics and featured and a variety of professionals from across the IP spectrum and beyond, including Philip S Johnson, Chief IP Counsel for Johnson & Johnson, Kirk Goodwin, Senior Counsel for Whirlpool, Bruce Hendricks, Associate GC for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and of course, yours truly, The Social Media Diva of IPWatchdog.com. You could say the program technically started Sunday evening when the Board of Directors and Speakers got together at Mike Ditka’s in Chicago. The food and service were amazing, the company was friendly and conversations were stimulating. The only thing that could have made the night better was being able to stay and watch some football after the meeting. It was, after all, a sports bar. But I digress.

Trends in Protection on the Edge of the World: News From the Land of the Long White Cloud

In New Zealand, patents (equivalent to utility patents in the USA), registered designs (viz. US design patent) and trademarks are subject to normal substantive examination processes. Fortunately, due to smaller backlogs and a less bureaucratic system, overseas applications filed into NZ are often examined within a year of filing. Accelerated examination may also be requested with no official fee where applicants need a quicker indication as to the validity of their rights. Further, if you have a corresponding patent right granted in another major patent office, the NZ process can be accelerated assuming the NZ claims are similar to that in the corresponding right.