The next Business Opportunity Form is Thursday,  July 26, 2012 beginning at 12:30 pm.   We would love to have you attend.   Reno continues to attract attention.   We have presenters from all over the country as well as our local Startups.  This months presenters are:

Billions of dollars are changing hands for patent portfolios, for both offensive and defensive purposes. Millions, if not billions more, are spent licensing, enforcing, or defending against those portfolios. Many of the patents in question were written under legal interpretations which have changed dramatically in the last 10 years, with numerous Supreme Court, Federal Circuit, and now even District Court decisions. But with all this money changing hands, is anyone paying attention to the effects of those interpretations? This panel, spanning a range of different experiences and areas of expertise, will provide retrospective and prospective viewpoints on assessing and building patent portfolios.

Join Kenyon & Kenyon LLP and the Licensing Executives Society’s Silicon Valley Chapter as their illustrious panel discusses whether, and how businesses should be assessing the impact of the current state of the law on patent portfolio valuation.

MODERATOR
Frank Bernstein, Partner, Kenyon & Kenyon LLP

PANELISTS
Eric Janofsky, Vice President General Legal Affairs, Lam Research Corporation
Ron Laurie, Managing Director, Inflexion Point Strategy, LLC
Nader Mousavi, Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

REGISTRATION
Early, by Friday, July 20, 9 PM PST
LES Members: $45
Non-Members: $50

After Friday, July 20, 2012
LES Members: $50
Non-Members: $55

Online Registration Deadline: Monday, July 23
After July 23, contact James House, siliconvalleywriting@gmail.com

Hosted by the Nevada Small Business Development Center –  8am to 5 pm

Scientists and engineers frequently reach points in their careers where they think about being brave and striking out on their own, being their own boss, and building a company.  It’s easier said than done, and many who have tried, have failed.  The factors that determine success or failure are complex, interrelated, and sometimes not intuitive.  This workshop identifies the business planning process that everyone who takes this path should follow to maximize the likelihood of success.  The workshop leader has over forty years of experience in business planning and guiding start-up businesses to success..

Fred Patterson has been involved with guiding companies through technology development into commercialization for over forty years, including having worked with the SBIR Program and all of its aspects virtually since its inception. As a co-founder and executive officer of two of Texas’ most successful SBIR award winning companies (SPEC and Radiant Photonics), he has been involved in the execution of over 150 SBIR and STTR contracts and grants, one third of those Phase II programs, totaling nearly $50 million, and led efforts which secured Phase III commercialization funding in excess of $25 million. Called The SBIR Coach®, he is also the former Director of Planning for Tracor Aerospace, preceded by five years in the Planning Department of The Dow Corning Corp. Fred works with several Texas sponsored technology accelerator initiatives, including the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (as “The ETF Coach”), Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), and international groups such as The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE).  Fred’s company works with many private sector investment sources to continually refine its trademarked “Funding Readiness Level (FRL)®” index (a combination of Technology Readiness, Business Readiness, and DealsmanshipTM) that the company uses to prepare clients for the challenges of seeking, securing, and managing funding for commercialization and growth.  For further information contact Dr. Fritz Grupe at 775-813-7407 or email him at fritz@unr.edu