TAG (The Technology Association of Georgie) will hold their January Entrepreneurs meeting on January 8, 2008 at the Hodges Room, 75 Fifth Street, Atlanta, GA in Suite 335.  There is a $20.00 fee for non-members.

The third annual Southeast Venture Conference (SEVC) will be taking place March 11-12, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. The SEVC allows companies centered in the southeast to showcase their most powerful and promising technologies. During the Conference, the Intercontinental Buckhead will act as a forum to pair entrepreneurs with venture capitalist, as available investment capital will be in abundance. The TechJournal South sponsored SEVC will provide a great opportunity for networking, especially for those new businesses centered in and around the Atlanta area.

This 20th anniversary conference lasts from December 2, 2008 through December 4, 2008 and will showcase.  It is being held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL.  There will be plenty of folks there from the power sector’s leading companies, including those from Atlanta, GA.  17,000 guests from 76 countries are expected.  Visit www.power-gen.com for more information.  Unfortunately, the golf tournament is sold out.

This forum will be held at the Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida, December 4-5, 2008.  (This is a fabulous old-time hotel that reeks of wealth and luxury - excellent location for an entrepreneurial meeting and a reasonable drive from Atlanta, GA.)  To attend or present, you must pass the selection committee.  A competition with a grand prize to the winning company presenting, 5k run, golf outing and tennis tournament are included.

The term ‘PRO-IP’ Bill is shorthand for the newly passed piece of legislation formally titled, “Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008.” This legislation was recently passed by the Senate (September 26, 2008) and by the House (September 28, 2008), finally being signed into law by President Bush on October 13, 2008. Generally, the bill focuses heavily on the counterfeiting and piracy markets; therefore, it would increase both civil and criminal penalties for intellectual property violations, such as trademark or copyright infringement. Also, the ‘PRO-IP’ Bill would create a new position within the Executive Office of the President, which will carry the title of Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator. Furthermore, a new Intellectual Property Enforcement Division would be established within the Justice Department.

Another major proposal of the Patent Reform Act of 2007 relates to controversial recently issued patents. Since the number of patent applications per year has sharply risen, so too has the number of challenges against issued patents, which are mostly being settled in court. The Patent Reform Act hopes to remedy this often long and costly process by establishing post-grant review proceedings, whereby any opposition over a recently issued patent can be brought before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, potentially bypassing the involvement of courts. Any patent issued after the passing of the Patent Reform Act would be eligible for review under these new proceedings, as long as a challenge is officially filed within 12 months from the patent grant date or, under a different set of circumstances, if a challenger can provide “substantial reason” that the continuing existence of a patent “causes or is likely to cause” the challenging party “significant economic harm.” The Patent Reform Act would also create a new Patent Trial and Appeal Board to oversee and rule on each post-grant review proceeding.

The annual meeting of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) will be held on October 23-25, 2008 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.. Along with the usual discussion of intellectual property related matters, there will potentially be a discussion centered on National Stage applications. The IP Practice in Latin America committee is trying to team with both the IP Practice in Europe committee and IP Practice in Japan committee to fuel a joint session discussion. The main focus will be on patent applications that will eventually lead to a National Stage application in Latin America countries, fertile ground for patent attorneys working in Atlanta. Topics will include how to best draft these types of applications to minimize further work or problems during the transition to potentially file a National Stage application in another country. For further information on the annual meeting please visit http://www.aipla.org/Content/ContentGroups/Meetings_and_Events1/Annual_Meetings/200814/Ann08FlyerNotDark.pdf to view the official AIPLA flyer.

One of the most noticeable proposals to be enacted by the Patent Reform Act of 2007 is a sweeping change of the patent application process switching it from a “first to invent” system into a “first to file” system. Currently, the United States is the only country working under the “first to invent” system, meaning when similar patent applications are filed, priority will be given to the one claiming the earliest invention date and not determined by the date of the actual application filing. This has led to complications in the U.S. application process, most notably, requiring the United States Patent and Trademark Office to hold lengthy interference hearings to correctly identify the date at which similar patents were invented in order to give proper priority. With the switch to a “first to file” system, priority for applications of similar patents will be wholly determined by the date at which the application was filed instead of the date the patent was claimed to be invented on.

The Patent Reform Act was introduced to the 110^th United States Congress in April of the year 2007 with the goal of making American patent law more similar to worldwide patent laws. The Patent Reform Act of 2007 is loosely based on the previous Patent Reform Act of 2005 that was left not voted on by the 109^th U.S. Congress. Many of the proposals written in the Act are direct results of reports filed by both the Federal Trade Commission and the National Academy of Sciences after studies of U.S. patent law were completed in 2003 and 2004 respectively. The House of Representatives passed their version of the bill (H.R. 1908) on September 7, 2007, however the Senate version is still under consideration. Most recently, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary ordered a report on the bill, which was then issued on January 24, 2008 under the title S. Rpt. 110-259.

On Saturday, August 23, 2008, the Inventors Association of Georgia will be holding its next regular Atlanta membership meeting. The event starts when doors open at 8:30 a.m. with the 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. time slot reserved solely for networking. During this time a buffet breakfast will be made available for a cost, while cold drinks and coffee are available for free. The actual meeting itself begins promptly at 10:00 a.m. with a scheduled presentation. This Atlanta membership meeting will take place in its usual Ryan’s Restaurant location, located at 7045 Jimmy Carter Blvd in Norcross, Georgia. For more information on this meeting or to learn how to become a member of the Inventors Association of Georgia please visit georgiainventors.com.