San Francisco, CA/February 11, 2004/Licensing Executives Society - Three teams of finalists in the LES Foundation-sponsored Graduate Student Licensing Competition joined members at the LES Winter Meeting in San Francisco. The top teams came from the University of Colorado at Boulder, Waterloo University in Ontario, and Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, New Hampshire, to present their business plans to a lively audience of LES members and contest judges in a forum on Wednesday, February 11, 2004.

LES Local Chapters enlisted and advised many of the competition teams, who came from schools across the United States and Canada. Based on the licensing aspects, investment potential, and overall quality of the plans, competition judges selected three teams to continue on as finalists. The top teams were rewarded with a trip to San Francisco for the Winter Meeting, where they presented their plans and answered questions in an animated dialogue with the judges. The judging panel was an elite group that included Q. Todd Dickinson, former Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the USPTO, and Michael G. Lyons, prominent venture capitalist and Stanford University professor. The top presenters later shared their experience in the workshop How to Write a Compelling Business Plan Involving Substantial IP Licensing Issues, moderated by Art Rose. Licensing veterans Linda Chao, Ada Nielsen, Art Nutter and Dwight Olson were presenters at the workshop.

The top team, Tangam Gaming Technology, Inc., introduced an automated system for monitoring gaming tables. Prem Gururaian, Harish Patel and Ethan Henry of Waterloo University calculated that their system could save casino operators millions of dollars in decreased operating expenses and reduced fraud.

The other two teams, NetDog from the University of Colorado and Authorized Bootlegs from Franklin Pierce Law Center, presented a proposal for marketing an improved computer security system and a unique strategy for licensing and distributing music recordings.

This was the first year of the competition, implemented by the LES Foundation to encourage students interested in intellectual property matters, bring greater recognition to licensing issues, and involve local chapters in strengthening ties between LES and the academic community. The competition was open to students currently enrolled in a graduate degree program, with submissions restricted to business plans that contained a significant intellectual property or licensing component.

The Licensing Executives Society (U.S.A. & Canada), Inc. is a professional society comprised of over 5,500 members who are involved in the transfer, use, development, manufacture and marketing of intellectual property, including professionals in the field of law, academics, science government and the private sector.

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Source: LES (703) 836-3106
http://www.usa-canada.les.org