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Event Description

The FTC, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), and the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology co-sponsored a conference to address patent reform and how it might be implemented. The event brought together government officials, business representatives, scholars, lawyers, and leading members of the patent community to discuss the most significant recommendations of two recent reports on patent reform ‰Û" one from the FTC and one from the NAS that was issued the week of April 12. In October 2003, the FTC issued a report on how to promote innovation by finding the proper balance of competition and patent law and policy. The FTC report contained ten recommendations to reform the patent system, including legislative and regulatory changes to improve patent quality. FTC Commissioner Mozelle W. Thompson and Deputy General Counsel for Policy Studies Susan S. DeSanti participated in the conference, along with government representatives from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the European Patent Office. Industry participants included representatives from CISCO, Chiron, eBay, Eli Lilly, Genentech, Google, Inflexion Point Strategy, Intel, and Microsoft. Representatives from the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law, and the Intellectual Property Owners Association also participated.

FTC Privacy Policy

Under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) or other laws, we may be required to disclose to outside organizations the information you provide when you pre-register. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments, whether filed in paper or electronic form, and as a matter of discretion, we make every effort to remove home contact information for individuals from the public comments before posting them on the FTC website.

The FTC Act and other laws we administer permit the collection of your pre-registration contact information and the comments you file to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate.  Under the Freedom of Information Act or other laws, we may be required to disclose to outside organizations the information you provide when you pre-register.  For additional information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see the Commission’s Privacy Act system for public records and comprehensive privacy policy.

This event will be open to the public and may be photographed, videotaped, webcast, or otherwise recorded.  By participating in this event, you are agreeing that your image — and anything you say or submit — may be posted indefinitely at ftc.gov or on one of the Commission's publicly available social media sites.