Washington DC

Tuesday 27th March Now in the UK I rarely ever ventured forth with work but here the opportunities have come thick and fast and today I scooted off to Washington DC for a 1 day conference on the most recent changes in US patent law - the America Invents Act. The capital is a mere 2hr train ride from Philadelphia and it goes past some very interesting scenery along Chesapeake Bay (I think that some local camping will be required to check that out). The conference itself was much as you would expect but Daivd Kappos, head of the US Patent and Trade Mark Office, was a dynamic speaker. Although there was little time to explore I was reminded what a truly majestic city DC is, even Union Street station central concourse is on a scale that only Russian stations can compete with. We will need to return to do the Smithsonian justice. I also don't know who was more surprised to see the other - me or my old boss who last year decided to move to pastures new - it was good to catch up with him though and I am glad that things are gong well.