WASHINGTON, April 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) David Kappos will be providing the keynote address at MDB Capital Group's Bright Lights Conference in New York City on May 10-11, 2011.

Mr. Kappos will be speaking on the vital role intellectual property (IP) plays in today's innovation economy and increasing America's competitiveness globally. Mr. Kappos will also be addressing the need for modernization of the patent system and how it influences the optimization of technological achievements. Since his appointment to the USPTO, Mr. Kappos has made it a major priority for the USPTO office to serve as a conduit for making the process of innovation more efficient by upgrading the patent system.

David J. Kappos is the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  In this role, he advises the President, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Administration on intellectual property matters.  Before joining the USPTO, Mr. Kappos led the intellectual property law department at IBM.  He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Intellectual Property Owners Association, and the International Intellectual Property Society.  He has held various other leadership positions in intellectual property law associations in Asia and the U.S. and has spoken widely in Asia, Europe and the U.S. on intellectual property topics.  Mr. Kappos received his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of California-Davis in 1983, and his law degree from the University of California Berkeley in 1990.

Christopher Marlett, CEO of MDB Capital Group, commented, "Having a distinguished keynote, such as Kappos is a great addition to the Bright Lights platform.  The USPTO focus on driving American innovation aligns closely with MDB's commitment of advancing the markets' understanding of IP as a primary source of asset creation in emerging technology companies.  Our Bright Lights conference is a one-of-a kind forum that bridges together IP innovation leaders with institutional investors in an environment that shapes policies and strategies for IP monetization and value creation."

About MDB Capital Group

MDB Capital Group, LLC is an institutional research and investment banking firm focusing exclusively on small and micro-cap companies possessing market changing, disruptive intellectual property.  For more information on MDB Capital Group, visit:  http://www.mdb.com

About PatentVest

PatentVest® is a proprietary intellectual property (IP) business intelligence platform developed by MDB Capital Group. PatentVest quantifies the appropriate valuation of IP and enables the emergence of IP as an investible asset class. For more information on PatentVest please visit: http://www.patentvest.com

DISCLAIMER

Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. MDB Capital Group, LLC expects to receive or intends to seek compensation for investment banking or other business relationships with the covered companies mentioned in this press release. For important disclosure information regarding the covered companies in this press release, please contact: The Director of Research at (310) 526-5000 or write to: MDB Capital Group, LLC, Attention: Director of Research, 401 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1020, Santa Monica, CA 90401.