Greetings and Salutations! What a productive fourth quarter the BPLA has had! First, we are continuing our efforts to influence policy to be aligned with the interests of our innovation community. On the national level, the BPLA is monitoring patent subject matter eligibility legislation before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property. Locally, our Legislative Committee is working with other interested parties and with Senator Lesser’s office to improve bad faith patent enforcement legislation. I thank the Legislative Committee for its efforts regarding this bill, as well as our Board of Governors, who has provided essential input to refine the Legislative Committee’s positions on these issues. In addition, this fall, through the efforts of our outstanding Patent Office Practice Committee, the BPLA submitted comments in response to the USPTO’s Request for Comments on patenting artificial intelligence inventions. You can read the comments we submitted under the News & Advocacy tab of our website at . The BPLA’s event calendar has been packed with activities -- in the last few months, we have held and co-sponsored 10 events! One of the BPLA’s top signature events, the Invented Here! Awards program, was especially inspiring, with Featured Honoree interviews by Hiawatha Bray, a technology columnist for The Boston Globe. Congratulations to all the Honorees, and thank you to the Invented Here! Committee Co-Chairs, judges, and all the volunteers who made the event a success. Thank you also to our Committee Co-Chairs who also held events on myriad aspects of IP law, including patent licensing and damages, staff structure, trademark law, pro bono opportunities, Supreme Court cases, and European and Canadian patent practice. Our BPLA’s Annual PCT and Madrid Protocol seminars were highly informative, and we thank the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for providing terrific speakers. You can learn more about these and future events in this edition of the Newsletter and at the Community Calendar page under the “Meetings & Events” tab at . Our final signature event of the year, the Annual Meeting luncheon, is being held at the Seaport World Trade Center on December 6th, with Keynote Speaker Judge Jacqueline D. Wright Bonilla, USPTO Deputy Chief Administrative Patent Judge of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. In addition to voting on the BPLA’s next Board of Governors, we will vote on a change in our bylaws to permit foreign counsel to be members of the BPLA. The Board is proud to announce that the BPLA is making a donation to the Greater Boston Legal Services in connection with the luncheon. I am honored to have been President of this wonderful organization, and I thank everyone who helped me this year and during my time on the Board. My special thanks to my fellow members of the BPLA Board of Governors, who provided thoughtful insights on every issue that came our way, far beyond just their respective typical Board member tasks. Thank you also to our terrific Committee Co-Chairs, with my personal thanks to Kristen Salvaggio, who supported me with talent and good cheer in her role as this year’s Activities Chair. Notable thanks goes to Amelia Pennington, our first-ever Social Media chair, with special thanks to our Executive Assistant and Website Administrator, Constance Brennan, and to Seppo Sahrakorpi for his helpful assistance. Thank you also to my firm, Hamilton Brook Smith Reynolds, for supporting me this year as President, and every step along the way on the Board. My sincere thanks to Judy White, Coreen Cordeiro, and Kristine Ferrigno for all of their assistance on this year’s BPLA signature events, and to my wise and patient legal assistant, Deb Scheel dos Santos. Lastly, a special thank you to you, Dear Reader, for taking the time to read this Newsletter and for participating in the BPLA community. Without your support and participation, this year would not have been a success. In closing, I encourage you to keep participating in the BPLA and the special innovative and entrepreneurial community of which we are a part, by joining a BPLA committee, attending BPLA events, influencing government policy, judging a BPLA competition, or contributing to the BPLA Newsletter. Again, it has been my honor to serve, and I look forward to working with Michael Bergman as he leads the BPLA as President in the coming year. Thank you all, Deirdre E. Sanders President, Boston Patent Law Association