Vince hello...
The industry partner meeting for the ET Program has been rescheduled as a half day event and dinner on Thursday, November 29, and there is an impact conference on "Managing Knowledge Assets" the following day (Nov. 30).
You and any interested colleagues are welcome to attend one or both events. As you know, these are part of our research activities and there are no conference fees. RSVP information and agendas are enclosed below.
I would especially urge you to pass along this invitation to anyone at Enron concerned with intellectual property/patents, since the impact conference on Nov. 30 will focus on some new developments in this area that may be of special interest and value.
Within 2 weeks after the event, we will post conference summaries on our website, for those who cannot attend (<http://emertech.wharton.upenn.edu/>).
We are hosting and combining 2 EVENTS and a DINNER - the Industry Partner Workshop and Dinner on Thursday, Nov. 29 - "Developing New Technologies in a Tight Economy" - and the Wharton impact conference on the following day (Friday, Nov. 30 - "Managing Knowledge Assets: Changing Rules and Emerging Strategies."
Would you please re-confirm the names of any colleagues who will also be attending - you are welcome to circulate the agenda for the events below. Typically, up to 5 people from each company attend our events. There are no conference fees.
To confirm your attendance, please check the appropriate response below and reply to this email - thanks.
___ YES, we will attend ALL events
(November 29 meeting, Dinner, and Nov. 30 conference)
___ we will attend the Nov. 29 Partner Meeting & Dinner only
___ we will attend the Nov. 30 Impact Conference only
___ NO, we CANNOT attend these events
Other colleagues who plan to attend: (name, title, email pls.):
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HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS: If a room is needed for the night of Nov. 29, we have reserved a LIMITED block of rooms at the discounted rate of $169/night - to reserve a room at the conference rate, call the Inn At Penn at 215-222-0200 and indicate that this is for the MACK CENTER event).
Email or call (215-573-7722) if you have any questions. Based on current indications, we expect a very strong turnout for both events - we're hope to make this a valuable event for McKinsey.
Best regards,
Michael Tomczyk, Managing Director, Emerging Technologies Program (Mack Ctr)
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Wharton
2001 Industry Partner Workshop & Dinner - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER. 29, 2001
MANAGING TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
IN A TOUGH ECONOMY:
DOING LESS WITH LESS AND GETTING MORE
When markets sag and earnings are squeezed, top management attention shifts from growth prospects to immediate productivity gains. Yet technologies keep progressing, disruptive innovations challenge incumbents and a robust development portfolio is needed to keep growing. How are leading firms managing the tension between the immediate pressure to conserve and the long-run need to innovate?
During this timely workshop, the partners in the ET program will learn from each other how to ratchet up their development productivity with innovative processes, organization designs and partnership arrangements. This is a networking event where partners are invited to share their experiences, insights and fresh management approaches to problems of mutual interest and concern. We will also share with you our vision for the future of the ET program and seek your guidance on our priorities and initiatives.
AGENDA - Industry Partner Workshop/Dinner (Updated 10/12/01)
Location: Inn At Penn - Walnut St. between 36th & 37th St., Philadelphia, PA
12:00-1:15 WELCOMING LUNCH (Suite 300, Inn At Penn)
1:15-2:15 PROGRESS REPORT FOR PARTNERS
(George Day, Co-Director, Mack Center/Boisi Prof. of Marketing;
Harbir Singh, Co-Director, Mack Center/Bowman Prof. of Management;
Paul J.H. Schoemaker, Research Director, Mack Ctr./Prof. of Marketing;
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania)
- ET Program accomplishments and initiatives
-Vision for the future
2:15-3:00 MANAGING THE IDEA FLOW
(David Pensak, Chief Computer Scientist, DuPont; and
Terry Fadem, formerly Director, Corp. Business Development, DuPont)
- How is DuPont dealing with the long-run cost of discouraging
innovation when the idea flow doesn't slow?
- Partners will be invited to share their experiences

3:00-3:30 BREAK
3:30-5:00 CONNECT AND DEVELOP: BEYOND R&D
(Larry Huston, Vice President, Worldwide R&D; Procter & Gamble; and
Ranjan Chaudhuri, Director, Strategic Internet Development;
Consumer Healthcare; GlaxoSmithkline)
- Larry Huston will describe how P&G is transitioning to an IT-enabled,
dispersed development approach to suppplant (and supplement)
the large infrastructure, centralized model.
- Ranjan Chaudhuri will share how he is employing a 'viral vector'
to connect people and ideas in e-business markets
5:00-5:30 REVISITING THE PRIORITIES: THE ROAD AHEAD
(George Day, Harbir Singh and Paul Schoemaker)
6:00-6:30 RECEPTION (Woodland C&D, Inn At Penn)
6:30 DINNER & KEYNOTE ADDRESS (Woodland C&D)
(Speaker to Be Announced)
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Wharton Impact Conference - FRIDAY., Nov. 30, 2001
MANAGING KNOWLEDGE ASSETS:
CHANGING RULES AND EMERGING STRATEGIES
A Wharton Impact Conference sponsored by the William and Phyllis Mack Center on Technological Innovation
Co-Chaired by Mark Myers and Sid Winter, The Wharton School.
Knowledge may be the most important source of competitive advantage for a firm, but capturing the potential gains is a continuing challenge. Firms are filing patent applications at an unprecedented rate, while struggling to keep up with accelerating development cycles and shrinking lead times. Emerging technologies, changing legal interpretations and growing administrative burdens on the patent system are creating a new and unfamiliar context for the management of intellectual property. In response, firms are rethinking their strategies for realizing the rewards from their innovation.
The Mack Center at the Wharton School has assembled thought leaders from leading companies, government and academia to address issues such as the following:
- What strategies are firms using to create, protect and use their knowledge assets?
- Do mechanisms such as secrecy, control of complementary assetsand lead time play an important role as a substitute or supplement for patent protection?
- How is the U.S. patent and trademark office responding to the remarkable growth in patenting? Should they be protecting not only inventions but also ways of distributing and selling them? How should they deal with applications for patents on sequences of the human genome?
- In a world where technology is developed and employed globally, what are the prospects for international harmonization of intellectual property laws and practice?
- Are the patent office and the courts up to the task of creating and effectively enforcing clear intellectual property rights for emerging technologies?
AGENDA - Wharton Impact Conference (Updated 10/3/01)
Location: Yasuda Auditorium, 2nd Fl., Steinberg Conference Center
38th Street, The Wharton School, Philadelphia
8:00-8:30 Full Breakfast and informal networking (Dining Room #2)
8:30-9:00 FRAMING THE ISSUES:
KNOWLEDGE ASSET STRATEGIES
Sidney G. Winter, Deloitte & Touche Professor of Management
and co-director, Jones Center, The Wharton School
9:00-12:15 STRATEGIES FIRMS ARE PURSUING
Chair: Mark Myers, Senior Fellow, Mack Center, Wharton
"IBM's Strategies for the Creation, Protection and
Use of Intellectual Property in Software"
Lauren Brussino, IBM Research
"Protecting and Enforcing Patent
Rights in Semiconductors"
Rosemarie Ham Ziedonis,
Asst. Prof. of Management, Wharton
"Intellectual Property Strategies for Pharmaceutical Companies"
(Speaker to Be Announced), GlaxoSmithkline
"A Venture Capital Perspective on the Value of Intellectual Property"
Stephen J. Andriole, Labrecque Professor,
Dept. of Decision & Information Technology, Villanova University
12:15-1:45 LUNCH & KEYNOTE ADDRESS
"Twenty-First Century Challenges to the World's Patent Systems"
Gerald Mossinghoff
Senior Partner (Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maire and
Neustadt) and former Commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office
2:00-3:15 KNOWLEDGE ASSETS: PRESSING ISSUES
Chairman: Dennis Yao, Wharton
"How Valuable Are Strong Patents in 3M?"
Al Magrath, Director of Marketing, 3M Canada
"Emerging Challenges from Genomics"
James Wilson, John Herr Musser Professor;
Chair, Department of Molecular and Cellular Engineering;
and Director, Institute for Human Gene Therapy
"Are Business Method Patents Good for Business?"
Rochelle Dreyfuss, Newman Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
3:15-4:00 IS THERE AN IP BUBBLE? MIGHT IT BURST?
Sidney G. Winter, Wharton
4:00 ADJOURN
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