Saturday, October 20, 2001: Meeting Doubleheader!

New location for this meeting
Cleveland Park Library Large Meeting Room
3310 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Wash., DC

1:00 to 1:30 pm:  Break: Networking & Refreshments

1:30 to 3:30 pm
Handling Intellectual Property Issues in Business Transactions: Software
Panel: 
Paul M. Higgins, associate, trademark attorney
Leigh Ann Lindquist, associate, trademark attorney
Miku Mehta, associate, patent attorney
Mark A. Mais, associate 
Billy C. Raulerson, associate
Sughrue, Mion, Zinn, Macpeak & Seas, PLLC

A reliable accounting information system is essential for business success. Jina Etienne's presentation last September, entitled "Staying In Balance--Accounting Concerns for the Small Business," focused on basic accounting concepts, processes, and reports for small businesses and consultants. When she returns this month, she will demonstrate how to manage an accounting information system, using QuickBooks as the software tool. 

She will start with the basics, demonstrating how to use QuickBooks to manage a business checking account. Then she will demonstrate, using an expanded case study, how to use accounting information as a resource and foundation for making sound business decisions. Finally, she will take questions--so come prepared with your accounting, QuickBooks, financial statement, or even business tax questions. 

Come to this meeting and learn how to make your system work for you. Even if you don't use QuickBooks, the presentation topics are universal and can be applied to any accounting program or any size business. Learn how to use, to your advantage, that file cabinet, or shoebox, stuffed with receipts and canceled checks. 

If you have questions now, send them in advance to jina@etiennecpas.com. Time allowing, Jina will try to cover the answers in her presentation. Please use "CPCUG presentation" as the subject line.

Speaker: Jina Etienne, CPA, has more than 12 years of public accounting experience. She began her career with Deloitte & Touche, one of the "Big Eight" accounting firms, where her focus was tax planning and compliance for corporations, partnerships, and S corporations ranging from government contractors and vending companies to hospitality and retail firms. When she left Deloitte & Touche, her focus shifted to the needs of small- and medium-sized businesses. 

Now with her own practice, Jina Etienne provides a wide range of accounting services for businesses and individuals, including tax planning and preparation, and business consulting. Her client base is diverse, including retail and service-based businesses as well as consultants and contractors. For individuals, her services generally include tax return preparation and tax planning, including tax research and representation before the IRS. 

Ms. Etienne earned an M.S. in taxation in 1993 and a B.S.B.A. in accounting in 1989 from American University. Jina has also taught accounting as an adjunct professor at American University and currently teaches QuickBooks at local accounting seminars and conferences. She may be reached at jina@etiennecpas.com, and her Web site is http://www.etiennecpas.com.

Panel: 
Paul M. Higgins, associate, trademark attorney
Leigh Ann Lindquist, associate, trademark attorney
Miku Mehta, associate, patent attorney
Mark A. Mais, associate
Billy C. Raulerson, associate
Sughrue, Mion, Zinn, Macpeak & Seas, PLLC

The presentation will focus on software-related aspects of intellectual
property in business transactions. After a brief introduction to intellectual property, panelists will discuss how to perform an audit of your intellectual property holdings and how to protect those holdings. In addition, panelists will discuss ownership issues as related to employees and employment contracts, independent contractors and subcontractors, as well as independent/solo programmers. 

We will discuss the steps necessary prior to negotiations, such as confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements, and their risks and benefits. We will present a practical scenario of a licensing negotiation, from the perspective of the intellectual property owner and the potential intellectual property purchaser, including a discussion of the fields of use, cross-licensing, negotiation strategies, and royalties. The presentation will conclude with a brief discussion of enforcement, duration of the license, and other tips. 

Panelists will field questions at various stages during the presentation.
 

Panelists:

Paul M. Higgins, Associate, Trademark Attorney

Mr. Higgins, a member of the Sughrue, Mion, Zinn, Macpeak & Seas Trademark Practice Group, prepares and prosecutes trademark applications, and participates in litigation at the district and circuit court levels. He also advises clients on a variety of copyright issues. He practices law in the District of Columbia and Massachusetts and before the U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, and the U.S. District Court, District of Columbia. 

Paul Higgins was recently involved in Washington Speakers Bureau, Inc., v. Leading Auths., Inc., 217 F.3d. 843 (4th Cir. 2000). At Bode & Beckman, LLP, he participated in litigation, at the district and circuit court levels, of cases concerning cybersquatting, trademark infringement, trademark dilution, antitrust, and general commercial matters. At Regan, Halperin & Long, Mr. Higgins participated in litigation, at the state and federal trial and appellate court levels, of cases concerning tort and contractual liability.

Mr. Higgins earned his B.A. in political science from the University of New Hampshire and his J.D., cum laude, from the Catholic University of America, where he was a member of the Moot Court. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the District of Columbia Bar Association, and the International Trademark Association. 

Mr. Higgins may be reached at phiggins@sughrue.com.
 

Leigh Ann Lindquist, Associate, Trademark Attorney

As part of the Trademark Practice Group at Sughrue, Mion, Zinn, Macpeak & Seas, Ms. Lindquist is involved in the preparation and prosecution of trademark applications through the opposition and appeal processes as well as in assisting with trademark litigation matters. She has also been involved in domain name dispute resolution proceedings before WIPO. In addition, Ms. Lindquist advises clients on various trademark and copyright matters. She practices in the District of Columbia and Maryland, and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Prior to joining Sughrue, Ms. Lindquist was an intern at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and a law clerk at the U.S. Department of Energy, in the office of the General Counsel for Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer.

Leigh Ann Lindquist earned her A.B. degree in history from Smith College and her J.D., with honors, from the George Washington University Law School, where she was the Notes Editor of the Journal of International Law and Economics. She is a member of the American Bar Association and the International Trademark Association, where she is on the Brand Names Education Foundation Committee. In 1999 she published "champagne or Champagne? An Examination of U.S. Failure to Comply with the Geographical Provisions of the TRIPS Agreement" in the Ga. J. Int'l & Comp. L. 

Ms. Lindquist may be reached at llindquist@sughrue.com.
 

Miku H. Mehta, Associate, Patent Attorney

Mr. Mehta prepares and prosecutes patent applications in the computer/electrical engineering, Internet, optics, and medical device fields as a member of both the Internet, e-Commerce, and Software, and the Electrical/Mechanical Engineering Patent Practice Groups at Sughrue, Mion, Zinn, Macpeak & Seas. He practices in the District of Columbia and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

As a lawyer, prior to joining Sughrue, Mr. Mehta prosecuted domestic and foreign patent applications, performed patentability and validity searches and opinions, and developed and managed new clients at Kleshner & Kim, LLP. Previously, he also prosecuted provisional, utility, and trademark applications; performed trademark searches and opinions; conducted examiner consultations; conducted corporate, employment, and regulatory/environmental legal research and analysis; and drafted briefs to Immigration and federal courts.

As a programmer/analyst, Miku Mehta was involved in object-oriented programming and created client/server RDBMSs for recruiting, federal budgeting, and scientific information storage systems. As an environmental engineer, he performed scientific analysis of federally regulated hazardous waste sites, including contamination migration, toxicity studies, and engineering analyses of industrial facilities.

Mr. Mehta earned a B.S. in Systems Engineering, Environmental Sciences, from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from the George Mason University School of Law. He has spoken at .com'n ground on the topic "What Is Intellectual Property, What Is a Patent, and How Do I Get One?" He may be reached at mmehta@sughrue.com.
 

Mark A. Mais, Associate

Mark A. Mais is part of the Sughrue, Mion, Zinn, Macpeak & Seas Electrical/Mechanical Engineering Practice Group. He joined the firm as a law clerk and became an associate in 2001. His practice relates to the electrical/mechanical arts, including the technical areas of Internet technologies, computer hardware, computer communications, telecommunications, digital and analog circuits, and various other electrical arts for several major Japanese computer and electrical equipment manufacturers.

Mark's legal experience includes patentability, validity, and infringement ppinions, preparation of patent applications, responses to office actions, and client letters.

Mark Mais received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy and his J.D. from Franklin Pierce Law Center. He is a member of Phi Alpha Delta (Legal Fraternity), the Licensing Executives Society (LES), and AIPLA. He may be reached at mmais@sughrue.com.
 

Billy C. Raulerson, Associate

Mr. Raulerson is part of the Electrical/Mechanical Engineering Practice Group at Sughrue, Mion, Zinn, Macpeak & Seas, PLLC. Prior to joining Sughrue, he performed research and writing on various issues relating to patent, trademark, and copyright matters at Jacox, Meckstroth & Jenkins in Dayton, Ohio. Mr. Raulerson also has experience as a system administrator, applied researcher, and applications programmer in C / C++.

Billy C. Raulerson earned a B.S.C.S. and a B.S.C.I.S., both summa cum laude, from the University of South Florida, where he was inducted into Tau Beta Pi, the National Engineering Honor Society, and Upsilon Pi Epsilon, the National Computer Science Honor Society. He earned his J.D. cum laude from the University of Dayton School of Law, where he was associate editor of the Law Review and an officer in the Intellectual Property Society. Mr. Raulerson is a member of the American Bar Association and the Ohio State Bar Association. 

He may be reached at braulerson@sughrue.com
 

Sughrue, Mion, Zinn, Macpeak & Seas, PLLC

The law firm of Sughrue, Mion, Zinn, Macpeak & Seas, PLLC, is engaged in the practice of law relating to intellectual property: patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, maskworks, and unfair competition forms. The firm's diverse client base, encompassing a broad spectrum of multinational corporations, high technology growth companies, and small startup ventures, requires varied litigation, licensing, and client counseling in emerging technologies, such as superconductors, multiprocessors, biotechnology, and robotics, and in established technologies, such as data processing, nuclear engineering, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, photography, telecommunications and semiconductors.

The firm represents its clients before federal and state courts nationwide, as well as before federal agencies having jurisdiction over matters that concern issues of international trade and intellectual property acquisition and protection. Moreover, the firm's proximity to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office provides a unique opportunity to directly represent clients before that agency and, in particular, its appellate boards. The firm's licensing and counseling activities strive to optimize return on client investments in research, development, and studies as well as enable effective commercialization of client products and services. 

Sughrue, Mion, Zinn, Macpeak and Seas, with offices in Washington, Tokyo, and Menlo Park, has 35 partners and almost 100 attorneys. 

Presentation Description | Speaker Information | Meeting Agenda | Location  | Registration

Location: One-half block south of the Cineplex Odeon Uptown movie theatre on Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC

Parking: Very small lot, off Macomb St., to left of library. 

Metrorail--Cleveland Park Station on the Red Line (on Connecticut Avenue, just 1.5 blocks north of meeting site) 

Free