Inventors Network

Past Meetings

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Meeting information on this page dates back to January 2005. Our Newsletters page covers meetings from January 1999 to December 2004. Learn more about even earlier meetings and how INCA was founded by reviewing our Early History of the Inventors Network of the Capital article written by INCA past president Maurice Daniel. The article contains information dating back to November 1983.

See photos of our past meetings on our Photo Gallery page.

Past Meetings 2012

The January 23, 2012 Inventors Network of the Capital Area meeting is 5:30 pm at the Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library, 7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22043-2099. Note that this meeting is on the fourth Monday of the month due to observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day the week before. Networking starts at 5:30 pm and goes until 6:30 pm. Speakers are introduced after announcements at 6:30 pm. Meetings generally go to 8:30 or 9:00 pm.

Mr. Lawnie H. Taylor is the speaker at this month’s meeting. Lawnie is an experience chemist and inventor. Here is an article that shares about some of Mr. Taylor’s inventing adventures: Professional Inventors Alliance Announces: Here It Is, Again — David and Goliath. A brief excerpt from this article reads: “Lawnie Taylor, a noted African American scientist, working in his laundry room laboratory, discovered a way to modify hypochlorite bleach such that it could be used without damaging cotton.” See his patent application US20070287652 and patent US7109157 for more on some of his inventions.

Mr. Taylor will be speaking on a recent patent law and practice related case in which he was involved, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit re Lawnie H. taylor, 2011-1275. Lawnie will be talking about exceptions to the absolutely restricted definition of “consisting of”. “Consisting of” is special patent law and practice language. For more about what “consisting of” means to the US Patent & Trademark Office see MPEP 2111.03 Transitional Phrases [R-3] – 2100 Patentability.

Past Meetings 2011

January 13, 2011
The Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) Catonsville in Catonsville, Maryland opened an MIT Fab Lab (fabrication lab) in January 2011. The first open house was Thursday January 13, 2011. An MIT Fab Lab is a workshop open to the public where inventors and product developers can get help making prototypes of their inventions. After taking safety and other training classes users will have access to a ShopBot CNC milling/routing machine, UPrint 3D printer, Roland vinyl cutter, laser scanners, and CAD (computer aided design) software. Check back here or watch the INCA Google group and the CCBC MIT Fab Lab Meetup group page for announcements on Fab Lab classes and the times the lab will be opened to the public.

The community college is located off of interstate 95 at exit 47B, which is about fifteen minutes (no traffic) south of Baltimore and one hour (no traffic) north of Washington DC.

After taking exit 47B you will be on 195 West and will be heading northwest. 195 West continues as the left part of a fork/”Y” you will come to. At this fork follow the sign that says 166 on it (this is a left at the fork). Do NOT take the right part of the fork/”Y” that says “UMBC Only” as the “UMBC Only” exit will take you to the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), not the Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville (CCBC and UMBC are two different colleges and are located at two different campuses).

195 West ends at/runs into 166/South Rolling Road. You will still be traveling northwest while on 166/South Rolling Road. Once on 166/South Rolling Road look for Campus Drive (Campus Drive will be on your left and is opposite of Valley Road). Turn left onto Campus Drive when you see the sign for the Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville (this blue sign also includes an electronic messaging display). You will be now heading southwest on a long curvy driveway and up a fairly large hill. When you come to another fork/”Y” in the road take a right. You will then be going counter clockwise on the “ring road” that encircles the CCBC Catonsville campus. Drive until you see the sign for parking lot number 5. Parking lot number 5 is the closest parking lot to building H.

The general physical address of the community college is 800 S Rolling Rd, Baltimore, MD 21228-5317.  The Fab Lab is located in room H145 of building H on the Catonsville campus. A vertical sign in front of the building with an “H” also designates this building. This building also has a blue awning that says “Applied Technology Center” on it. Go in the door with the blue awning. There will be a short jog to the right once you go in this door. After the jog to the right the Fab Lab is at the end of the long hall and on the right side. The Fab Lab is across from a room that has air traffic control and flight simulators.

Buildings on this campus are well marked, but see the campus map for the exact location:http://www.ccbcmd.edu/directory/cat/camp_map.html. You can also find the lab on Google Maps athttp://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=%22CCBC+MIT+Fab+Lab%22

Park only in the spaces with white lines (parking in spaces with red, blue, or green paint stripes may result in your vehicle being ticketed). If you have to park in a parking lot that is a bit far from Building H, and you don’t want to walk, you can ride a shuttle bus that runs during normal business hours.

For more on the CCBC MIT Fab Lab events see http://www.meetup.com/CCBC-MIT-Fabrication-Lab/. For general information on MIT Fab Labs see  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fab_lab and http://fab.cba.mit.edu/.

January 24, 2011
This month’s speaker is Rob Pegoraro. Mr. Pegoraro is The Washington Post’s technology columnist. In addition to writing about patents, Rob has written about Net Neutrality, AppleTV, internet privacy, Google Instant Search, Facebook and other technology and social issues. Mr. Pegoraro’s bio and recent articles can be found at The Washington Post. Another bio for Rob can be found at NetCaucus.org.

February 7, 2011 – All Day – 3 Separate Training Classes at CCBC MIT Fab Lab
The CCBC MIT Fab Lab will have its first training classes “Introduction to Fab Lab” on February 7, 2011. Right now three classes are planned for this date. Each class is three hours and fifteen minutes long. One class will begin at 8 am, another 12 pm, and the last at 4 pm. Contact Bill Werneke at wwerneke @ ccbcmd.edu or 443-840-4401 and if you are interested in taking a class and which and at what time. The class costs $99.00. Please contact Bill to find out about how to pay for and register for this class.  Register and pay for this class before you come to the lab on that Monday. You may want to bring paper, a few pens, and a USB thumbdrive to the class.

If you are taking one of Monday’s (02-07-2011) “Introduction to Fab Lab” classes, or are thinking about taking  this class, below is a list of equipment on which you will receive training. You  will also be trained on the software that is associated with the operation of these machines. You will learn the basics of how to design and create  products using these machines, with the exception of the UPrint 3D printer,  which uses 3 dimensional computer aided design (CAD) files for its input. The community college teaches separate 3D CAD classes in the CAD lab which is one  floor above the Fab Lab.

- ShopBot CNC milling/routing  machine
- UPrint 3D printer
- Roland vinyl  cutter
- Epilog laser  cutter

This class will also cover shop safety. See http://www.meetup.com/CCBC-MIT-Fabrication-Lab/ for more information on the CCBC MIT Fab Lab.

February 28, 2011 – Evening – Monthly INCA Meeting
Our February 2011 meeting is 5:30 pm on Monday, February 28, 2011 at the Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library, 7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22043-2099. Patent attorney and licensing expert Ray Van Dyke is February’s speaker. Ray will be speaking on the history of technology and intellectual property. After his talk he will reply to general intellectual property questions from the audience. INCA president Glen Kotapish will also briefly talk about the CCBC MIT Fab Lab classes and hours of operation. The Fab Lab is a place where members of the public can get help building a prototype after taking an introduction class. See more at CCBC MIT Fab Lab.

March 21, 2011 – Evening – Monthly INCA Meeting
Our March 2011 meeting is 5:30 pm on Monday, March 21, 2011 at the Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library, 7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22043-2099.

Our meeting will feature INCA member Donald Wullfinghoff. Don will be speaking on “…most of the presentation will be a review of patents and the process of getting a patent, as seen through the eyes of a successful first-time applicant.  As examples, I plan to cite several patents, including Chuck Popenoe’s bolt patent, the car top carrier patent of the INCA member whose name I do not recall, my own patent, and other successful applications.” His PowerPoint presentation can be downloaded here: My First Patent.

This meeting will also feature demonstrations of the UP! Personal Portable 3D Printer and MakerBot’s newest 3D printer the Thing O Matic. See more at PP3DP and MakerBot. This meeting will also have elections for INCA president, vice-president, and treasurer (and secretary if anyone is interested).

April 18, 2011 – Evening – Monthly INCA Meeting
Our April 2011 meeting is 5:30 pm on Monday, April 18, 2011 at the Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library,7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22043-2099. This meeting will be an “inventors roundtable discussion.” Don Kelly, patent agent and founding member of INCA, will be moderating the discussion. The floor will be open to questions, stories, and sharing of advice on a range of topics from patents, trademarks, marketing to prototyping and more. The meeting will feature a demonstration of a 3D printer and 3D design software. This meeting will also have a raffle of 18 copies of One Simple Idea: Turn Your Dreams into a Licensing Goldmine While Letting Others Do the Work, by Stephen Key. Stephen donated the copies of his latest book to the Inventors Network of the Capital Area. Click the book cover image below to read reviews on Amazon.com.

May 16, 2011 – Evening – Monthly INCA Meeting
Our May 2011 meeting is 5:30 pm on Monday, May 16, 2011 at the Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library, 7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22043-2099. INCA vice president Maurice Daniel will be hosting this month’s meeting. This meeting will feature local inventor Dan Amzallag. Dan will be speaking about the prototyping and patenting of his Push-Up Press invention as revealed in US2008/0070764A1.

Monday June 20, 2011 Inventors Network of the Capital Area Meeting: 3D Printing & Prototyping Extravaganza! This meeting will host Robert Gootzit of PCS Engineering. Bob will be presenting about PCS’s host of engineering and prototyping services that include:

- Plastic & Metal Rapid Prototyping

- Finishing Options (Painting, Plating, Heat Treating, etc.)

- Digital Capture (Reverse Engineering, 3D Scanning)

Bob will be bringing sample pieces from a variety of 3D printers including the top of the line Objet system of 3D printers. The samples will be from the Objet’s desktop, Eden, and Connex family of printers. Many of the Objet systems can now print in multiple types of materials during the same print. See objet.com for more or watch the Objet 500 Connex multiple material 3D printer in action at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbjcfplk8Ig

Mr. Gootzit’s previous presentation at INCA a few years ago was very interesting. This is a meeting you don’t want to miss!

Glen Kotapish will also be bringing one or more of the following 3D printers for a demonstration after Bob’s presentation.

- RepRap http://reprap.org/wiki/Main_Page – 3D printer kit for around $580

- MakerBot Thing O Matic www.makerbot.com – 3D printer kit for $1299

- UP! http://pp3dp.com/ – Made in China FDM 3D printer available for less than $3000

If any of you are taking the build a RepRap 3D printer class at the CCBC MIT Fab Lab the weekend before the June 20, 2011 INCA meeting, please let Glen know if you would like to talk about your experience building the RepRap during the INCA meeting.

The July 18, 2011 Inventors Network of the Capital Area meeting is 5:30 pm at the Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library, 7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22043-2099. Note, that the meeting is on the third Monday of the month. This meeting will feature two experts in the area of patent law, Raymond Van Dyke and Adam Mossoff. Many you already know Mr. Van Dyke from previous INCA  meetings. Ray is a patent attorney and licensing executive. Mr. Mossoff is  a Professor at Law at George Mason University who specializes in intellectual  property, internet law, legal history, natural rights  philosophy, patents and property law. See both Ray and Adam’s bios at the  following two links respectively.

http://www.rayvandyke.com/about
http://www.law.gmu.edu/faculty/directory/fulltime/mossoff_adam

The July 18, 2011 meeting will also feature Dennis Van Dusen and Michael Rutler of the new startup company Incremensa. According to Mr. Rutler Incremensa is “currently developing a platform to help with the process of innovation. Key themes are ontologies, taxonomies, crowd-sourcing, and mapping/tree/database technologies.” Mr. Van Dusen, Incremensa’s founder, is a board member of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Washington & Baltimore. Dennis and Michael will speak about their company for about 5-10 minutes and field questions from the audience for an additional 5-10 minutes.

The August 15, 2011 Inventors Network of the Capital Area meeting is 5:30 pm at the Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library, 7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22043-2099. Note, that the meeting is on the third Monday of the month. The meeting starts with networking at 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm, followed by announcements and  the introduction of the speaker or meeting topic. This month’s meeting we will have an inventors roundtable discussion and extended networking time. An inventors roundtable discussion is an open forum where people can ask questions about the patenting, prototyping, licensing, marketing, and other product development issues. This type of discussion format may be of special interest to newer guests and members as it provides an opportunity to get answers to a variety of basic to advanced questions. Let me know if you would like to serve on a panel that helps moderate the inventors roundtable. The extended networking time will allow extra opportunities for members, guests, and first time meeting attendees to trade ideas, share information, and to get to know one another.

The September 19, 2011 Inventors Network of the Capital Area meeting is 5:30 pm at the Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library, 7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22043-2099. Note, that the meeting is on the third Monday of the month.   The meeting starts with networking at 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm, followed by announcements and  the introduction of the speakers and meeting topic. This meeting will include a panel discussion on how the recent patent reform bill may alter patenting strategy and practice for small business and independent inventors. The discussion panel will host local inventor and INCA vice president Maurice Daniel,  patent attorney Steve Ngo,  patent attorney Arash Behravesh, and Litman Law’s Chief Patent Officer Richard J. Apley. The discussion panel may host several other patent professionals as well. With the patent law landscape changing this may be a meeting you don’t want to miss.

Just to note: An INCA meeting in the near future will feature a speaker(s) from the US Patent & Trademark Office’s Office of Independent Inventor Programs who will explain the new changes to patent law.

The Licensing Executives Society invites members of the Inventors Network of the Capital Area (INCA) to attend their 12:00 pm Friday, October 14, 2011 Chapter Meeting: How to fix or at least survive the patent reforms of the legislation. Paul Michel, former Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will be the speaker.

This event is free for INCA members. If you plan to attend this event send your RSVP to Ray Van Dyke at ray @ rayvandyke.com.

The October 17, 2011 Inventors Network of the Capital Area meeting is 5:30 pm at the Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library, 7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22043-2099. Note, that the meeting is on the third Monday of the month.   The meeting starts with networking at 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm, followed by announcements and  the introduction of the speaker or meeting topic.  Christopher Hawker and Abraham Alexander of Trident Design LLC are this month’s speakers. Christopher and Abraham are inventors, industrial designers, and marketing & licensing gurus.  Trident Design LLC’s website states “Trident Design works with companies and inventors to develop innovative products that inspire desire and transform markets with a combination of joyful design, perfected function and superb quality.” Christopher and Abraham will be speaking at INCA via Skype meeting. Their presentation will include three case studies on three different inventions. Each case study has a different story of how an inventor brought their invention to market. One case study is about someone who manufactures and sells their invention. Another case study is about an inventor who has their invention manufactured by a contract manufacturer and then sell their product to consumers. Another case study is about an inventor who licensed their invention directly to a company without manufacturing it first. Christopher and Abraham will also present on their company’s process on how they take an invention from the very first stages all they way to licensing. There will also be an opportunity to as them questions about their company and the inventing process.  We will also try to have their presentation broadcast via the internet so you might be able to watch via the web at home.

The November 21,  2011 Inventors Network of the Capital Area meeting is 5:30 pm at the Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library, 7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22043-2099.  The meeting starts with networking at 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm, followed by announcements and  the introduction of the speaker or meeting topic. This month’s meeting will feature Brian Fried of GotInventionRadio.com. GotInventionRadio.com features experienced inventors and intellectual property experts as guests on its weekly internet radio show. Brian will be joining the meeting via Skype meeting. We will also try to have his presentation broadcast via the internet so you might be able to watch Brian’s presentation via the web at home.

The  Inventors Network of the Capital Area holiday party will be Tuesday December 13, 2011 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax, 2709 Hunter Mill Road, Oakton, VA 22124. The party will be in the Social Hall of the Program Building. Award winning inventor and INCA member Raoul Drapeau will be hosting this event. Please bring your favorite dinner entree, salad, or dessert dish to the party for a pot luck holiday feast. The Social Hall has a kitchen so if you bring a crock pot or fondue pot that needs to stay connected to power, you’re in luck. Also bring a prototype or production model of your favorite patented invention.

Past Meetings 2010

January 19, 2010
Keith Barritt of Fish & Richardson PC. Mr. Barritt will be giving a presentation “Trademarks 101.” Keith’s bio can be found at http://www.fr.com/my_bio.cfm?id=50.

February 16, 2010
John Weatherspoon Ph.D. Esq. of Weatherspoon IP Law will be speaking on filing PCT patent applications.

March 15, 2010
This meeting will feature patent attorney and IPWatchdog.com founder Gene Quinn. Mr. Quinn will be speaking on patenting basics and patent reform. He will also be talking about his brand new creation, the IPWatchdog Social Network, “A Social Network for Inventors, Entrepreneurs, Attorneys, Artists and Businesses.” Gene will be available before and after the formal part of the meeting to answer your questions concerning intellectual property.

April 26, 2010
The Licensing Executives Society  (LES) DC chapter, US Patent & Trademark
Office (USPTO) and the Inventors  Network of the Capital Area (INCA) are
planning a joint meeting/class on  intellectual property licensing for World IP
Day. The class is “PDS 100:  Commercializing Technology Through the Power of
IP Licensing”. This class will start at 8:30 AM in the Jefferson Building first floor conference room.

A free networking reception, “Around the World”,  hosted by LES and the
USPTO will take place, 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm, after  the licensing class. If you
are not attending the above class please  register online for this free
reception. This networking reception is also at  the US Patent Office location
mentioned above.

Our monthly INCA meeting will  take place after the LES networking event.
This meeting will  start at 6:30 pm and go to approximately 8:00 pm. The
meeting format  will be a roundtable discussion and networking time.
Instructors from the LES class will be available during this time for your  questions
about licensing. This meeting will also be held in the US Patent Office’s
Madison Auditorium.

May 24, 2010
Our May 2010 meeting is 5:30 pm on Monday, the 24th (fourth Monday of the month) at the Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library, 7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22043-2099. The speakers will include the following three individuals.

Peter Kosztolnik of Northern Virginia Graphics, Inc. is a professional patent illustrator with 25 years experience. Peter has major patent law  firms and inventors as clients. He will be speaking about patent drawings. His website is www.nvg-inc.com.

The other speaker, Scott Michnick, is a TV producer working on a series about inventors for the Discovery Channel. His website is www.krakenpictures.com.

Below is a photo of a MakerBot 3D Printer printing out a plastic pulley wheel. This printer uses ABS plastic filament, a “plastruder” heated plastic extruder nozzle,  X, Y, and Z moving components, and a computer running G-code to print 3D parts designed in CAD (computer aided design) programs. Glen Kotapish will be bringing this system to next Monday’s (May 24, 2010) INCA meeting for a demo and brief talk. This system is created from a kit available from MakerBot Industries, Brooklyn, NY. See more at www.MakerBot.com.

Past Meetings 2008

January 22, 2008
The meeting topic is on patent reform and how it may adversely effect both businesses and independent inventors. Chris Gallagher of Amberwave, Stan Fendley of Corning Inc., and Richard J. Apley of Litman Law will be our guest speakers.

February 19, 2008
The guest speaker is Allen L. Phelps, CEO of Innovation Data Solutions (IDS), LLC. Allen will be speaking on protecting intellectual property in a global marketplace. Mr. Phelps worked for the U.S. government in technology counter proliferation before founding his company. IDS provides its clients with information on companies that may potentially be infringing their technologies. Learn more about Allen’s company by visiting their website Innovation Data Solutions.

March 17, 2008
Our March meeting speaker is Andy Zhang. Mr. Zhang is a Braille mobile phone inventor, author, and entrepreneur. Andy will be speaking on doing business in China. His talk will cover the surge of patent applications in China, an overview of China and its market potential, how to apply for a patent in China, and how to find a business partner and or manufacturer in China. Check out his website www.AndyZhang.infoThis meeting will also include our annual INCA elected officer nominations and elections.

April 21, 2008
This meeting will feature an “Inventor’s Roundtable” discussion headed by our new President, Andy Kennedy. Come with your ideas, insights, opinions, questions, answers, and comments.

May 19, 2008
This meeting will feature local inventor Frampton Ellis who will speak on his footwear inventions and licensing experiences. John Calvert of the US Patent & Trademark Office will speak on an opportunity in which INCA can help inventors.

June 16, 2008
This meeting will feature Riaz Virani, an undergrad student at Johns Hopkins University. Riaz works for the Hopkins Technology Commercialization Agency (HTCA). He will speak on HTCA’s intellectual property research and consulting services and their current plans to reach out to private inventors.

July 21, 2008
This meeting will feature Riaz Virani, an undergrad student at Johns Hopkins University. Riaz works for the Hopkins Technology Commercialization Agency (HTCA). He will speak on HTCA’s intellectual property research and consulting services and their current plans to reach out to private inventors. Riaz spoke at the June 2008 INCA meeting that unfortunately was cut short due to bad weather and a power outage at the library.

August 18, 2008
This meeting will feature Keith B. Segerson, Managing Director of the Mason Enterprise Center of George Mason University . He will speak on how this organization helps entrepreneurs and small business owners succeed.

September 15, 2008
Michael Q. Lee, director of the Washington DC intellectual property law firm of Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein, & Fox P.L.L.C., and vice president elect of the Licensing Executives Society, will be speaking on commercializing intellectual property via licensing.

October 20, 2008
Inventors round table open discussion.

November 17,  2008
Licensing expert and attorney Andrew J. Levison will be speaking on licensing agreements best practices.Mr. Levison will be most likely returning to speak at an INCA meeting in 2009. Look to our meetings page for an announcement on his return. See his biography below.

Mr. Levison is a sole practitioner attorney in the area of intellectual property law who has also served as a corporate vice president of copyright and trademark licensing. He has over twenty five years of experience in the drafting and negotiation of licensing agreements from both the licensor (grantor of rights) and licensee (user of rights) perspective. He is also in the practice of drafting and negotiating all forms of business contracts. In addition, Mr. Levison, provides trademark and copyright registration services to his clients.

His clients have included manufacturing companies that make and distribute many types of products including toys, house – wares (both soft and hard lines), motor scooters and computer-related products. His practice also includes the representation of inventors and artists.

He has served as a Vice President of Licensing at ISIX, Inc., (a subsidiary of Hasbro Toys), Senior Director of Licensing at Universal Studios and Vice President of Licensing and Licensed Product Development at TSR Hobbies, Inc. (the creators of the Dungeons & Dragons Role Play Game System).

He has appeared as a panelist on symposiums on licensing at The American International Toy Fair and at the SURTEX Design Show in New York City, as a speaker at the Interactive Media Conferences in New York and Los Angeles on the topic of “Licensing In Interactive Media”.  Mr. Levison is an instructor of attorneys and licensing industry executives and managers at the annual symposium entitled, “Anatomy of a License Agreement” held in New York City.

December 8, 2008
The INCA holiday party will be at Jerry Porter’s house in Maryland. There will be plenty of food and snacks at the party, but feel free to bring your favorite holiday food.

Past Meetings 2007

January 18, 2007
Even if you are not planning on attending the Everyday Edisons casting call on Saturday 01-20-07, you may want to attend tomorrow night’s (01-18-07) meeting. In addition to being a judge on the Everyday Edisons casting crew, Louis Foreman is CEO of Enventys, a company that develops ideas from concept to distribution. Louis will be at tomorrow night’s meeting. I’ve asked him to share about his company, the TV show, and marketing.

January 23, 2007
Patent attorneys Russell S. Travers, Ph.D. Esq. and Konstantina M. Katcheves, M.S., Esq. (both ex-patent US Patent & Trademark Office patent examiners) will be sharing on how to deal with patent examiner “rejection” of your patent application.

February 26, 2007
Steven P. Hefferon will be speaking to INCA about marketing your product on the internet. One of Mr. Hefferon’s businesses/products can be found at www.losethebackpain.com.

We may also be hosting, Colin Drane, a representative of the Maryland-based television marketing/infomercial company Brand New Direct at the next/Monday 2-26-07 INCA meeting. He may give a short talk on his invention and also the inventions he has sold on TV. More information on his company can be found at http://www.brandnewdirect.com/home.html

March 28, 2007
Bob Gootzit of Precision CAD/CAM Systems (PCS) of Hunt Valley, Maryland will be speaking on prototyping and in particular rapid prototyping.

April 30, 2007
At our April 30 meeting Konstantina M. Katcheves, M.S., Esq of Travers Katcheves & Associates will be speaking on patent licensing basics. Her firm’s website is www.traverskatcheves.com. Be sure to be early to the April 30 meeting as we will be giving away twenty free copies of Inventors Digest magazine. Inventors Digest donated the copies as part of their upcoming re-launch under a new editor and publisher.

May 21, 2007
During our May 21, 2007 meeting patent attorney Russ Travers of Travers, Katcheves & Associates (www.traverskatcheves.com) will speak on patents and patent application basics. Russ is an inventor and formerly worked as a patent examiner at the United States Patent & Trademark Office. We still have some free copies of the latest Inventors Digest magazine to give away at this meeting.

June 18, 2007
During our June 18, 2007 meeting INCA Vice President Maurice Daniel will be leading a round table discussion.

July 16, 2007
During our July 16, 2007 meeting Ellen Galant and Catherine Shaw, of MediaStudio, will be speaking about branding and marketing. MediaStudio is a branding, marketing, media design, and strategy company local to Falls Church, Virginia. Visit their website MediaStudio.com.

August 20, 2007
During our August 20, 2007 former US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) patent examiner and current patent attorney Bijan Tadayon will be our speaker. Bijan will be answering your questions concerning patent claim construction, patent reform, and more (questions concerning patents, business, and entrepreneurship). He will also share about two lectures he is giving at the USPTO the week before this meeting concerning information technology issues and patent portfolio valuation.

September 17, 2007
Jean-Yves F. Van Halle a financial advisor with Citi Smith Barney will be this month’s speaker. In a roundtable discussion format Mr. Van Halle will present the financial side of commercializing an invention. He will focus on finding angel inventors, growing a company, and how to bring the company public. See his resume at: Jean-Yves Van Halle Resume

October 15, 2007
Richard Neifeld of Neifeld Law PC will speak on how recent changes to patent rules have changed the patenting world. Richard’s presentation will also cover proposed changes to patent laws and how they may impact the patent practice for patent attorneys/agents, inventors, and business. See his company’s website for articles he has written on these topics. Neifeld.com

For more background on these issues, especially the current patent reform bill before the senate, do a search on Google for “senate patent act 2007.”

November 19, 2007
John Melius, inventor of the award winning Mor-Fin low-drag scuba swim fins will be November’s speaker. He will speak on the patenting, prototyping, manufacturing, and retailing of his invention. Visit his websiteMor-Fin.com. Raoul Drapeau, inventor of a Henkel Innovation Trophy winning spray bottle, will also speak about his invention. Frampton Ellis will show a DVD video excerpt of his interview on Public Television’s Nightly Business Report concerning patent reform.

December 10, 2007
The INCA holiday party will be at Jerry Porter’s home. Jerry is the inventor of an improved turkey baster, newly designed sipper cup and many other inventions. Bring your prototypes to this meeting for your elevator speeches, demos, and show & tell. Also feel free to bring some desserts and snacks.

Past Meetings 2006

January 23, 2006
At this month’s INCA meeting we had the unique opportunity to host speakers that have a great deal of experience helping entrepreneurs and inventors in many different areas of business. Please read below the short topic descriptions and longer bios concerning the speakers.

Patricia Xeller, Business Development Manager, Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, will be speaking on a variety of programs available to entrepreneurs and inventors in the Maryland area. She has consulted with inventors, entrepreneur startup companies, and large companies such as Lockheed Martin. More info

Henry Ahn, M.B.A. is Program Manager, Technology Funding Programs, Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), will be speaking on programs to aid startup companies in the areas of product development and licensing. TEDCO’s focus is on high tech and biotech companies. More info

Dr. Martha Connolly, Director, Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS), University of Maryland will be speaking on programs designed to connect inventors and entrepreneurs with the University of Maryland and other institutions. More info

Ray Dizon of the Maryland Venture Fund will be speaking on issues related to raising venture capital for your business. An article on the Maryland Venture Fund (Note: there is no bio available for Mr. Dizon at this time.)

February 27, 2006
Arash Behravesh, patent attorney, will speak on the fundamentals of intellectual property law and strategy at. Website: www.pkpatentlaw.com.

Arash Behravesh’s extensive experience in drafting and prosecuting patent applications in the chemical arts includes technical expertise in metallurgy, organic chemistry as well as polymer chemistry. More info

March 27, 2006
Our president, Glen Kotapish, has held our march meeting open for inventor 5-minute and 10-minute presentations. VP Maurice Daniels has asked Ray Gilbert 703 971 7443 to preside over a 2006 – 2007 officer election.

Richard Leshuk will introduce this session with a brief discussion about “What an inventor can and should say about a product, idea or new process”.

Bryan Ruffner will update INCA members on his robotic project and his current needs. Bryan’s friend, Anthony Brown, a new inventor to INCA will share description of his project and his approach to its market.

E-mail includes a lot of comments about American Inventor. That subject’s pros and cons inevitably will be spoken-to during the meeting.

Ray will be conducting an election process that is compatible with our by-laws. A list of candidates has been offered by phone to him, and the March card also solicits volunteers for this year’s officer-ship.

April 24, 2006
INCA member John Melius will share about the creative, business, patent, and prototyping challenges he has experienced while bringing his evolutionary swim fin to life. See his website, www.mor-fin.com , for more on John’s really cool Mor-Fins.

May 22, 2006
Jonathan Aberman of Amplifier Venture Partners will be speaking at our MAY 22nd meeting on Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists.

June 26, 2006
INCA member David Whiteis talked on his recent appearance on the American Inventor TV show on ABC TV. He made it to the final 24 with his Video Gift Box invention, and video of his Bubble Ring Generator invention was shown on every single episode. Website: bubblerings.com

July 24, 2006
Bijan Tadayon spoke on the patenting process and invited an open discussion afterward. E-mail:bijantadayon@comcast.net and his number is301-294-0434

August 21, 2006
Open meeting.

September 18, 2006
Ron Riley, president of the Professional Inventors Alliance and founder of www.inventored.org.

October 16, 2006
Don Kelly, CEO of the Intellectual Asset Management Associates (IAMA), will be speaking on patenting, licensing and negotiating deals. Before founding IAMA Don worked in many other roles in the field of intellectual property which included working for the US Patent & Trademark Office.
See his bio

November 20, 2006
Richard J. Apley of Litman Law will be speaking on patents and other issues of importance to independent inventors. Before joining Litman Law Dick worked for the US Patent & Trademark Office’s Independent Inventor Program. See his bio

Speakers: James H. Daly and Daniel J. Eisenberg, Wood & Eisenberg PLLC www.Premierpatents.com

Topic points:

• Newest revision to “Procedure to Make Special” (effective 8/25/2006)
• Purpose/Goal of revision
• Claim limitations
• Additional application requirements
• New handling procedures for accelerated applications
• Who should/should not use the new procedure
• Pros and Cons
• Q&A

December 18, 2006
Mike Messenger, Director of Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox, P.L.L.C. will be speaking on the “Impact of U.S. Patent Reform Proposals on Inventors and Small Invention-based Businesses.”

Past Meetings 2005

January 24, 2005
Our speaker for this meeting is David Dougherty, Patent Attorney at Dennison Schultz, Dougherty & MacDonald, of Alexandria, Virginia.

February 28, 2005
Rodger Flagg, Inventor and patent research company, Express Search, owner and founder.

March 21, 2005
Frederick Provorny, Director of the Maryland Intellectual Property Legal Resource Center, University of Maryland, Baltimore.

April 25, 2005
Kathie Kirik of the USPTO and a supervisory patent examiner, also of the USPTO, will be speaking on the USPTO’s 2005 Independent Inventor Conference and on other issues. This year’s Independent Inventor Conference will be held at the site of the USPTO’s new headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.

May 16, 2005
Raoul Drapeau, INCA member, and Terri Raines of the USPTO will be speaking on the USPTO’s Electronic Filing System (EFS). Raoul will speak on his experience with the existing EFS and Terri will speak on the improved new version of the EFS.

June 20, 2005
Christopher Wood, a patent attorney with the firm Wood, Ngo and Eisenberg PLLC, will be speaking on patent application drafting in the biotechnology & biochemical art. He is also open to speaking on other topics related to the patent prosecution field. Chris has a B.S. with honors in Microbiology from the University of Wales, a M.S. in Biotechnology from the University of Central Lancashire, a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Glasgow, and a J.D. from the DePaul Law School. Chris has prepared and/or prosecuted over 100 patent applications in a variety of technical areas, including pharmaceutical, immunology, industrial, tissue culture, surgical devices, microbiological, downstream processing, chemical, biochemical, bioinformatics, agro biotechnology, telecommunications, software and mechanical. Chris is an expert in handling DNA and amino acid sequences. Chris has worked on patent projects for several Fortune 100 Companies including: ADM, Abbott, MERCK; and not-for-profit organizations including Scripps Clinic while working for top rated law firms.

July 18, 2005
Dr. Shyla Shirodkar, a patent attorney, will be speaking on “Design-Around Patent Strategies for Patentees and Competitors” (see abstract below). She received her Ph.D. from University of New Hampshire in Organic Chemistry, and her law degree from Pace University. Her experience includes working at national intellectual property firms of Fish and Richardson P.C. and Pillsbury Winthrop. Prior to her legal career, Dr. Shirodkar managed projects and obtained several patents as an inventor/research chemist at Texaco R&D. She prosecutes patent applications, prepares opinions such as non-infringement, validity and clearance opinions, counsels clients in all areas of chemistry, with emphasis on pharmaceuticals, small molecules, polymers, specialty chemicals and material sciences as well as advises clients on Food and Drug Administration regulations with special emphasis on Hatch-Waxman issues. In her spare time, she enjoys speaking on patent related topics, running, organic gardening and keeping up with her two rambunctious boys.

Abstract: Patentees and competitors must take proactive steps to handle design-around issues related to intellectual property matters. Scenario: Your company has created a new invention and secured an issued patent claiming the invention. Patenting your invention is an important step in commercializing and marketing an inventive product; you have a market-driven incentive to invest in innovation. But is your patent “design-around” proof? Using a design-around strategy, a competitor can produce an equivalent product which is legally non-infringing on a patentee’s issued patent. Successful design-around strategies can not only present a time and cost savings in terms of research and development costs, legal fees and potential litigation costs, but also minimize the delay in commercializing an equivalent product. For example, by designing around, a competitor has the incentive to potentially capture a significant market share by producing an equivalent product while undercutting the patentee’s profits. This talk discusses design-around strategies available to achieving both competitors’ and patentees’ goals.

August 15, 2005
Members of the product development and marketing team for the iBOT 4000(tm) will be speaking and demonstrating the iBOT 4000(tm) wheelchair. Martha Najib, a product consultant for iBOT(tm) will be one of the speakers.

The iBOT(tm) 4000, pictured below, is a four wheeled robotic wheelchair with gyroscopic stabilization and other technologies. This wheelchair has been designed to climb stairs and allow the user to access all of their kitchen cabinets while standing on its back wheels.

Independence Technology, LLC, who developed the iBOT 4000(tm) is a Johnson & Johnson company. The iBOT(tm) mobility system was invented by Dean Kamen (who also invented the Segway Human Transporter). See the links below to learn more about the iBOT 4000(tm):

The iBOT(r) Mobility System
Photo Gallery

September 19, 2005
Rodger Flagg, inventor and founder of Express Search. Rodger will be speaking on the value of receiving a thorough patent search.

October 17, 2005
Richard C. Levy, president of Richard C. Levy & Associates, is a professional inventor of toys and games and an author. In the past 26+ years, he has licensed 125+ concepts, including Furby, the animatronic creature that sold 43 million units between 1998-2000. An enhanced Furby has been re-introduced by Hasbro this year.

His licensees range from Hasbro and Mattel to General Foods and P&G. Richard has created best-selling board games such as these based upon popular books: Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus(Mattel), and Chicken Soup For The Soul (Cardinal).

Richard’s newest family board games include: (1) “Can You Beat Ken?” (University Games). Players match wits with Jeopardy! champ Ken Jennings; (2) “Mental Floss” (Pressman). Funny, quirky, trivia with a twist. www.mentalfloss.com; and (3) Adverteasing (Cadaco). Players recall popular commercials, slogans, and jingles.

Richard has written twelve books. The most recent titles are: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Cashing In on Your Inventions, and The Toy and Game Inventor’s Handbook, both published by Alpha, an imprint of Penguin-Putnam. These books can be seen here.

His products have combined retail sales of over $1 billion.

November 21, 2005
Dick Apley of Litman Law will be speaking patent applications and other intellectual property issues. Mr. Apley is the former head of the United States Patent & Trademark Office of Independent Inventor Programs.

December 20, 2005
INCA Holiday Party