Celebrate World IP Day! April 26, 2017

Every April 26th is World Intellectual Property Day (WIPD). This commemorative day was created many years ago by the World IP Organization in Geneva. As the Chair of the Washington, DC Chapter for the Licensing Executives Society (LES), I have been championing this day for many years at the Chapter. The intellectual properties, i.e., patent, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets, are critically important in today's economy, and I, as an intellectual property attorney, champion my clients in the protection of their various intellectual properties.

The celebration for this year, April 26, 2017, involves the use of Innovation for Improving Lives.

The United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) has graciously invited me to give a talk on this topic, technologies through history that improve lives and also the history of intellectual property. My part of the program will begin at noon in the Madison Auditorium at the USPTO in Alexandria, Virginia.

Earlier at 11 AM, however, a number of important people will be presenting, including the Chief Policy Officer of the USPTO, Shira Perlmutter, who will kick off the event. John Sandage, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Deputy Director General, Patent and Technology Sector, and Joseph Ferretti, Vice President and Chief Counsel, Global Trademarks at PepsiCo, Inc. and President of the International Trademark Association (INTA), will give opening remarks.

Beginning at about 11:15 a.m., two keynote speakers will address this year’s WIPD theme of Innovation: Improving Lives by showcasing technologies brought forward by their respective companies. Jeanine Hayes, Chief IP Officer of Nike, Inc., will present FlyEase technology. Mario Bollini, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Global Research Innovation and Technology, Inc. (GRIT), will demonstrate the all-terrain Freedom Chair for the disabled.

For those in the area, I welcome you to attend. The event is open to the public, but is chiefly focused on the Examiner Corps training. Nonetheless, the speakers and I will be entertaining! Please feel free to email me at [email protected] if you have any questions.

Raymond Van Dyke, Van Dyke Law, Washington, DC