IAM IP Business Congress Converges on Chicago June 21-23

Next week, hundreds of patent practitioners, analysts and executives - including Chief IP Officers from Fortune 500 companies, heads of IP at other major companies, global IP thought leaders and senior policy makers - are gathering in Chicago for two days of top-level discussion at the "IP Business Congress 2009."

The event will feature plenary sessions addressing issues such as, strategic IP and business alignment, IP value creation and the state of play in major IP markets, as well as a range of breakouts examining legal, financial, strategic and business-related topics. The faculty of confirmed speakers includes:

Marshall Phelps, Corporate VP for IP Policy and Strategy, Microsoft
Ruud Peters, CEO, Philips IP & Standards
Carl Horton, Chief IP Counsel, GE
Scott Frank, President and CEO, AT&T Intellectual Property
Todd Dickinson, Executive Director, AIPLA
Ciarán McGinley, Head of the Controlling Office, European Patent Office
Beatrix de Russé, Executive VP of IP and Licensing, Thomson
Keith Bergelt, CEO, Open Invention Network
Sherry Knowles, Senior VP and Chief IP Counsel, GlaxoSmithKline
Marcella Watkins, Managing Counsel, IP, Shell Oil Company
Don Merino, General Manager Acquisitions, Intellectual Ventures
Damon Matteo, Chief IP Officer and VP IP, Palo Alto Research Center

For more information on the event and to register, visit http://www.IPBC2009.com/PR. It's not too late to register - IAM is offering a reduced rate of $1,350 (standard rate $1,500) for those that register online and enter the code WC10.

I will be attending, along with numerous other bloggers, including David Donoghue from the Chicago IP Litigation Blog, who also happens to be organizing a "meet the bloggers" session on the evening of June 23 (link). Many of us should be providing "on the scene" reports from the event. Hope to see you there!