The USPTO will be hosting a two-day seminar this week (November 7th and 8th) in San Jose, California, to educate companies and individuals as to how to protect themselves against intellectual property theft from China. This seminar, entitled “USPTO China Road Show – Protecting Your Intellectual Property in China & The Global Marketplace,” will include seminars on copyright, international trade, export resources, design patent v. copyright protection, electronics counterfeiting, U.S. Customs and Immigration, and an hour-long interactive case study on protecting the IP rights of a fictitious company. The speakers include people from the USPTO, law firms, foundations, and officials from the U.S. and Chinese governments. According to the USPTO announcement (link below), “[t]he program is for any company that wants to learn about protecting its products from counterfeiting and piracy - even those companies that have no plans to sell or manufacture their products in China,” noting that “China was the number one source of counterfeit products seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in 2006, accounting for 81 percent of all seizures.” Links to the seminar webpage, including the full agenda and FAQ site, are provided below.

USPTO Announcement: LINK
Seminar Webpage: LINK
Seminar Agenda: LINK
Seminar FAQ: LINK