U.S. Patent commissioner to address Tampa inventors

TAMPA — U.S. Patent Commissioner Margaret A. Focarino will be a keynote speaker next week when the National Academy of Inventors gathers in Tampa for its annual conference. The event, on Feb. 21 and 22, brings together academicians and inventors from across the country to discuss developments in patent law, funding, and research.

Robert S. Langer, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has 810 issued and pending patents worldwide, also will address the gathering. His patents have been licensed or sub-licensed to more than 250 pharmaceutical, chemical, biotech and medical device companies, according to MIT. Langer is a former chairman of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's science board.

Representatives from the California Institute of Technology, Georgetown University, the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Draper Laboratory, and many other institutions have signed up for the conference, according to the NAI website.