Steven W. Collier, J.D., Ph.D.
Lisa M. Hemmendinger, J.D., Ph.D.

The ability to effectively protect intellectual property developed in the laboratory and facilitate its patenting is crucial in today's academic and commercial environments. Commercialization is a necessary step in bringing life-saving therapeutics to the public and the patent system creates the economic incentives that make commercialization possible.

The goals of this course are to provide the scientist-inventor and the scientist-manager with a fundamental understanding of the patent system to guide the participation in:

1. Recognizing potential intellectual property in the work place;
2. Implementing procedures to facilitate acquisition and prevent forfeiture of patent rights;
3. Assisting their patent attorney or technology transfer manager in planning, drafting, filing and prosecuting patent applications;
4. Using the domestic and international patent literature as a scientific resource to monitor competitors' technology and business plans, and to serve as a guide to successful patenting strategies.

The course will use relevant examples from the patent literature to illustrate fundamentals and introduce advance concepts of which the participant should be aware. Important differences in domestic and foreign patent practice will be discussed including the Patent Cooperation Treaty. 

Course Contents:

About the Presenters:

Steven W. Collier, J.D., Ph.D., is a member of the Pharmaceutical Research & Development Division of Pfizer Incorporated in Groton, Connecticut. Prior to joining Pfizer he was with the Beveridge, DeGrandi, Weilacher & Young intellectual Property Group of Smith, Gambrell & Russell LLP in Washington, D.C.  Although presently devoting his full-time attention to counseling inventors and drafting and prosecuting pharmaceutical patent applications, Dr. Collier has had patent prosecution experience in the chemical, biotechnological, software, traditional Chinese medicine, food, cosmetic, dental implant, and eyelet arts.

Lisa M. Hemmendinger, J.D., Ph.D., is an associate attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of the intellectual property law firm of Banner & Witcoff, Ltd.  Prior to earning her law degree, she spent over twelve years conducting basic research in a variety of fields, including molecular biology, neopharmacology, and neuroanatomy, development neurobiology, monoclonal antibody generation, and in vitro model systems. She focuses her practice ont he prosecution of patents for biotechnology inventions, including those in the fields of recombinant DNA technology, diagnostic and therapeutic methods, and pharmaceutical compounds.