12^th Annual Independent Inventors Conference

Erin Powell and Sandra Broome

Summary

The outreach efforts of the United States Patent and Trademark Office focus on the agency’s strategic goal of disseminating information to the public.  The annual independent inventors conference is one of the many and most successful endeavors the Office undertakes in this regard.  While independent inventors may be a small portion of patent filers (12%), they are the target audience with a great need for information about intellectual property protection.  Joint efforts with educational institutes, such as NC State’s College of Textiles, create a perfect venue to reach this audience. 

(From left to right)
Sandra Broome, Textiles Extension Education for Economic Development, NCSU, College of Textiles
Erin Powell, Textiles Extension Education for Economic Development, NCSU, College of Textiles
Elaine F. Marshall, North Carolina Secretary of State
Margaret J.A. Peterlin, Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO

The College of Textiles is proud to have co-hosted the 12^th Annual Independent Inventors Conference with the USPTO on September 13-15 on Centennial Campus. It was the first time that this national conference had been held in the Southeast region of the United States.  The USPTO and NC State University collaborated to provide Supervisory Patent Examiners and top USPTO officials, to engage North Carolina government officials and agencies, to enlist speakers regarding innovation and technology transfer, and to contact local bar associations to recruit patent attorneys/agents, which provided a full range of expertise to attendees. The National Inventors Hall of Fame also inducted a new member for 2007.

Proceedings

General Sessions were held each morning in the convocation center and included the speakers listed below. The Friday lunch Town Hall Meeting panel was moderated by a USPTO patent official as questions were fielded by Deputy Commissioner Focarino, Louis Foreman (Entrepreneur, Enventys), Deputy Under Secretary Peterlin, Joyce Ward (NIHF®F), and Montia Givens-Pressey (Trademark Attorney). Afternoon breakout sessions conducted by USPTO officials, NCSU representatives, and several local patent attorneys were interactive and educational. The team of presenters provided valuable information about the patent and trademark process and held one-on-one advisory sessions with the inventors. Attendees were able to ask questions and receive feedback regarding their inventions and ideas.

There were 214 attendees for this year’s conference, of whom 78 attendees were from North Carolina.  Attendees traveled from 21 states including: Hawaii, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Speakers:

John Calvert, Administrator, Inventors Assistance Program (USPTO)
Margaret Focarino, Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations (USPTO)
Louis J. Foreman, Founder and CEO, Enventys®
Percy Hooper, Industrial Design (NCSU)
Billy Houghteling, Director of the Office of Technology Transfer (NCSU)
Elaine F. Marshall, North Carolina Secretary of State
Margaret J.A. Peterlin, Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO
Theresa Spangler, Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED)
Michael Sykes, 2007 Modern Marvels Invent Now® Challenge Winner, Enertia®
Joyce Ward, Administrator, Inventors Assistance Program (USPTO)
James J. Zuiches, Vice Chancellor of Extension, Engagement, and Economic Development (NCSU)

College of Textiles
P.O. Box 8301
Raleigh, NC 27695-8301
Telephone: (919) 515-6632
FAX: (919) 515-3733
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Last Site Revision:
August 28, 2007