Intellectual Property Strategy and Licensing will host the first installment of its “idea 2 INNOVATION Series” on Tuesday, March 27 from 12 to 1 p.m. in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, fifth-floor auditorium. The series kicks off with a lecture entitled “What’s the Big Deal with Patents?” by renowned intellectual property attorney Bonnie Weiss McLeod, of the law firm Cooley LLP. McLeod, who has extensive experience in assisting the life science industry in patent preparation and prosecution, will focus on demystifying the elusive world of patents for scientists ready to take their research from the laboratory to the market. In her talk,  McLeod will cover patentable subject matter, the attributes of a patent, the qualities that determine inventorship, the patent prosecution process, and the advantages and limitations of patent protection to inventors, industry, and the advancement of science.

McLeod is a former patent examiner in the biotechnology group of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and now specializes in counseling clients ranging from nonprofits to small and mid-size biotech companies. She has a long history of serving universities and the life science industry in the preparation and prosecution of biotechnology and pharmaceutical patent applications, reexaminations, and opinions involving non-infringement, invalidity, and freedom to operate.

Light refreshments will be served. For more information and to RSVP, contact Sharon Starkes at [email protected].