HARDAWAY TO MAKE PRESENTATION TO JAPANESE PATENT GROUPS

John B. Hardaway, III, a partner in the law firm of Nexsen Pruet Jacobs & Pollard, LLP and co-leader of the firm's Intellectual Property group, will travel to Japan this weekend to make a presentation to a number of Japanese intellectual property groups including the Japanese Patent Office and the Japanese Patent Attorneys Association. Mr. Hardaway will be speaking on the current status of U.S. case law in the intellectual property area.

Mr. Hardaway is the current chairman of the U.S. Bar/Japanese Patent Office Liaison Council which consists of a group from bar organizations around the U.S., with 15 outstanding IP practitioners appointed as members. The purpose of the group is to meet with officials of the Japanese Patent Office on an annual basis to facilitate the agenda of protection of intellectual property rights for U.S. interests in Japan. This is accomplished through a better understanding of procedures within the Japanese Patent Office and, when possible, by easing restrictions on U.S. applicants in the Japanese Patent Office. The Council has been very successful since its inception. The most notable accomplishment has been to change the rules in the Japanese Patent Office wherein they will now accept patent applications filed in the English language.

As Chairman of the Council, Mr. Hardaway will Chair a meeting in Tokyo in November of this year and will Chair a meeting in the State Department in Washington in November of 2000.