John Hardaway to Represent The United States at International Intellectual Property Conference

Greenville, S.C. -- John Hardaway, a member of the Intellectual Property Group of Nexsen Pruet, LLC, will be the United States Delegate to the Executive Council Meeting of FICPI ( Fédération Internationale des Counseils en Propriété Industrielle).

The FICPI meeting will be held in Singapore January 31 through February 3, 2004. Executive Council will make final preparations for its working groups for the upcoming year, and pass on proposed memberships and appoint representatives for external meetings throughout the world in the coming year.

FICPI, the acronym for Fédération Internationale des Counseils en Propriété Industrielle, is unique as the only association whose membership consists solely of Intellectual Property Professionals in private practice. With members in 70 countries, FICPI is truly an international organization broadly representative of the profession. FICPI maintains high standards of excellence through its stringent admission criteria, providing its members with a prestigious network of foreign associates while at the same time maintaining standards of the profession worldwide.

John Hardaway received his B.S. degree in Ceramic Engineering from Clemson University and a Master of Science degree from Iowa State University also in Ceramic Engineering. Mr. Hardaway attended law school at Catholic University while also working as an Examiner in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He received a J.D. degree from the University of Tennessee while employed in the office of Chief Counsel of the Atomic Energy Commission for the handling of patent matters for Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

NEXSEN PRUET is one of the leading law firms in the Carolinas, with more than 170 attorneys and offices in Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, Hilton Head, and Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C. Founded in 1945, Nexsen Pruet provides a broad range of legal services to the business community and represents companies and other entities in local, state, national, and international venues. For further information, see www.nexsenpruet.com # # #