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Tom Picone of Schering-Plough Elected President of Licensing Executives Society
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Al Rickard, 703-402-9713 or arickard@associationvision.com VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, October 17, 2007 - Thomas A. Picone, Ph.D., Vice President, Strategic Alliances for Schering-Plough Corporation, was elected President of the Licensing Executives Society (LES) (USA & Canada) at the LES Annual Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Picone is the first pharmaceutical company executive to be elected to the top LES leadership post. LES represents more than 6,000 intellectual property licensing executives engaged in the transfer, use, development, manufacture and marketing of intellectual property. LES members include a wide range of professionals, including business executives, lawyers, licensing consultants, engineers, academicians, scientists and government officials. "Because LES represents so many industry sectors, I believe one of the greatest strengths of our organization is its ability to encourage and leverage the interactions of multiple disciplines," Picone said in his acceptance speech. "I continue to be amazed at the learning that take place across industries, whether it’s attending the electronics sector committee meetings or a chemical committee meeting or a healthcare meeting. There is always insight to be gained and lessons to be learned that transfer across industries." Throughout 2007, many developments in the political and judicial arenas have threatened to impose major changes in patent law and intellectual property licensing. This includes landmark Supreme Court rulings affecting the validity and value of patents, pending patent reform legislation in the U.S. Congress, and significant U.S. Patent & Trademark Office rule changes. "We all must work together across our various industries to strengthen intellectual property laws that protect inventors and are the growth engine of innovation worldwide," Picone said. "There can be no risk unless there are built-in rewards in the system. Strong patent protection is the reward. Without risk and rewards, we will not develop new, breakthrough products." Picone identified three goals for his upcoming year as LES President, including:
As President of the USA & Canada Chapter of LES, Picone noted that the worldwide LES organization, encompassing chapters from many other nations, includes nearly 12,000 members. "One of our goals for the next year is to enhance the interaction of these 12,000 people," Picone said, "to build a network that is more global that will meet their business needs and to learn from each other the things that work and the things that are important to licensing professionals in different countries." In education, Picone noted the strong lineup of 12 educational programs during the past year and pledged to offer an advanced strategy course that will supplement these offerings and provide new learning opportunities. Finally, Picone spoke about the launch of the Certified Licensing Professional (CLP) program. "The program will certify people who have taken certain course work and also have experience doing deals so that when an executive is looking to hire someone and they want a licensing professional, they can be sure if someone lists that they are a CLP, that they are getting someone that has certain credentials, relevant training and most importantly, ‘on the ground’ deal negotiation experience." He noted that employers will benefit from this certification and employees will enjoy the important recognition and validation of their work experience. # # # Editors: Interviews with Tom Picone are available. Please contact Al Rickard at 703-402-9713 or arickard@associationvision.com. |