CHICAGO - From June 21st to 23rd 2009, global Intellectual Property (IP) thought leaders will be gathering to attend the second IP Business Congress, hosted by Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) magazine. To be held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago, the IP Business Congress is designed specifically to meet the needs of senior business executives responsible for the creation and management of IP value inside corporations, as well as those who advise them.

At this time of economic and financial uncertainty, it has never been more important for companies to focus on maximizing the value of their IP assets. If managed and exploited intelligently, IP rights have the potential to provide strategic flexibility, decrease corporate costs, build bottom-line return and increase shareholder value.

Many senior-level IP executives have already registered to attend the event, including delegates from Abbott Laboratories, Alstom, ARM Ltd, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, Kilpatrick Stockton, Nokia Corporation and Smart & Biggar.

As well as plenary sessions, a range of breakouts will examine legal, financial, strategic and business-related topics. Speakers at the IP Business Congress 2009 will include:

• John Amster, Co-CEO, RPX Corporation
• Todd Dickinson, Executive Director, AIPLA
• Francis Gurry, Director-General, World Intellectual Property Organisation
• Horacio Gutierrez, VP for IP and Licensing, Microsoft
• Caroline Kamerbeek, Director of Communications, Philips IP & Standards
• Pat Kennedy, CEO and Chairman, Cellport Systems
• Sherry Knowles, VP IP, GlaxoSmithKline
• David Koris, General Counsel - Head of Intellectual Property, Shell International
• Damon Matteo, Chief IP Officer and VP IP, Palo Alto Research Center
• Daniel McCurdy, Chairman, PatentFreedom LLC
• Ruud Peters, CEO, Philips IP & Standards
• Marshall Phelps, Corporate VP for IP Policy and Strategy, Microsoft
• Paul Ryan, Chairman and CEO, Acacia Technologies LLC
• John Squires, VP and Chief Patent Counsel, Goldman Sachs
• Pat Toole, VP Licensing and Standards, IBM

A host of other major names will be joining the speaking faculty over the coming weeks.

The first IP Business Congress was held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in June 2008 and brought together over 400 IP thought leaders.