Patents and Trademarks for Dental Professionals

Many dentists and physicians dream up tools and inventions to ease their daily practice, but don't know how to go about seeking patent protection to monetize these inventions. They are unclear on what steps need to be taken before filing an application, what counts as patentable subject matter, or what the benefits associated with patent protection are. In addition to patent protection, many dentists entering into their own practice and business ventures would benefit from a clearer understanding of the trademark process and protecting their business name. This event will provide an overview of intellectual property law and the protection it can afford dentists, both in daily practice and in venturing into their own practices.

 
Objectives
• Discuss the fundamentals of intellectual property law, and the differences between patent and trademark protection
• Detail patent law basics (What types of patent protection exist, what is patentable subject matter, what steps you can take before hiring an attorney)
• Outline the patent application and prosecution process timeline
• Outline the trademark application and prosecution process timeline
• Distinguish between trade names and trademarks

Kaylee Hoffner & Trent Hoffman:

Kaylee Hoffner & Trent Hoffman are both 3Ls at ASU Law in the Intellectual Property Program. Kaylee has a B.S. in Materials Engineering (Ohio State) and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering (Johns Hopkins) and Trent has his B.S./M.S. in Aerospace Engineering (ASU). Trent is a registered patent agent at Snell & Wilmer. Kaylee previously worked as a robotics engineer, and while in law school completed 2 semesters in ASU’s patent clinic and 3 different summer associate programs at intellectual property firms.  After law school Trent will stay on as an associate at Snell & Wilmer and Kaylee will be going to work at an IP firm practicing patent law in Texas.  They look forward to providing the October 22 intellectual property presentation and answering your questions.  We hope you can join us.

Schedule:

6:00pm- 7:00pm (AZ time)