Paul A. Welter Award for Excellence in Trademark Law

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Request for Nominations
• Criteria
• Nomination Form
• About Paul A. Welter
• About the Judges
• Sponsors
• Award Rules

The second Merchant & Gould Paul A. Welter Award for Excellence in Trademark Law will be formally presented by Merchant & Gould P.C. during the 2008 INTA Leadership Meeting in Boca Raton, Florida. This award honors outstanding inhouse trademark counsel who have distinguished themselves by their career accomplishments and service to the community. Upon recommendation from the trademark community, top candidates will be interviewed and presented to the nominations committee for final consideration.

The recipient will be presented a plaque and a $5,000 honorarium to the charity of his or her choice.

We invite you to submit nominations for this award. Nominations will be accepted through July 1, 2008.
Nomination Form

Please return completed forms to: Paul A. Welter Award, c/o Scott Johnston, Merchant & Gould P.C., 3200 IDS Center, 80 South Eighth Street, Minneapolis, MN 55402.

CRITERIA

To be considered for the Paul A. Welter Award for Excellence in Trademark Law, the nominee must work in house for a corporation and demonstrate notable achievements in one or more of the following aspects of trademark practice:

- Managing a large portfolio of intellectual property for the corporation with an emphasis on trademarks;

- Practicing and promoting the highest standards of professional ethical conduct;

- Creating and maintaining efficient and streamlined processes to value, protect, maintain, and enforce intellectual property rights and improve performance practices, capabilities, and results;

- Promoting awareness of and enhancing the appreciation for the value of intellectual property within and outside the corporate workplace through presentations, publications, or corporate policies and procedures;

- Providing leadership within the corporation by mentoring others, recognizing the achievement of co-workers, and fostering a positive work environment;

- Providing leadership in the community and profession through service in not-for-profit professional and/or community organizations;

- Improving employee skills and career development through education and training programs;

- Fostering diversity in the workplace;

- Developing, coordinating, and enhancing positive relationships with outside counsel.

ABOUT PAUL A. WELTER

Paul grew up on a farm homesteaded by his grandparents and located outside of Bemidji, MN. From his educational start in a country schoolhouse, Paul went on to graduate cum laude from Bemidji State University with a degree in chemistry. He served as an officer in the U.S. Navy and later graduated cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law, which he attended at night.

Paul joined Merchant & Gould in 1965, where he found a vocation that he loved and that would last him the rest of his life. In his years with Merchant & Gould, Paul served as Treasurer, Administrative Vice President, as President, as a Member of the Board of Directors, and as Managing Partner of the firm, all while handling a number of the firm's major clients. He was frequently listed in the publication Best Lawyers in America, and often dubbed a "Superlawyer" by the Minnesota Journal of Law & Politics. Above all, Paul was known by his colleagues, his clients and the legal community as a man of unwavering integrity. Paul was an active member in the Twin Cities community, both in and outside of legal circles. A member of the Minneapolis Rotary Club since 1973, Paul served on the Board of Directors of the Fund for the Legal Aid Society; as a member of the Board of Directors and President of the Minnesota Intellectual Property Law Association; on the Board of Directors of the William Mitchell College of Law Alumni Association; and generously donated time and financial contributions to political and social organizations, most notably The United Way.

Paul enjoyed spending time with his family in a variety of settings. He never outgrew his appreciation for the north woods, and particularly enjoyed spending time with his wife and children at their family cabin, an unassuming cabin on a small, secluded lake, but surrounded by sixty acres of untouched woods where Paul cleared paths for walking in the summer and cross-country skiing in the winter. In later years, the family also spent time every winter at their condominium on Sanibel Island in Florida. Whether walking the woods in Minnesota or the beach in Florida, Paul took pleasure in pointing out the variety of wildlife around him and surprising the rest of his family with the extent of his knowledge about the natural world.

Paul passed away on Friday, January 6, 2006 of complications from colon cancer.

ABOUT THE JUDGES

Phyllis Welter
Phyllis Welter, Paul's widow, was an active trademark practitioner for over 20 years. Once their young sons were in school, instead of utilizing her MBA in marketing and re-entering the business world, she attended William Mitchell College of Law and graduated cum laude in 1979. During her legal career, Phyllis held in-house counsel positions at Land O'Lakes, Inc., Munsingwear, Inc., and Minnetonka, Inc., each of which included the practice of trademark law. She then founded Survey Counsel Inc. in 1987 and served as a trademark survey expert in a multitude of trademark infringement cases. Phyllis is the author of the authoritative treatise Trademark Surveys, first published in 1993 by Clark, Boardman, Callaghan and annually updated by her through 1999.

John Gould
A key lawyer in the growth of Merchant & Gould, John served as its managing partner, President and Chairman of the Board from 1973 to 1988. John has over 40 years experience as a trial lawyer throughout the United States in the field of Intellectual Property law. In addition to the numerous cases he has tried as lead counsel, John has assisted in the trial of many others, and has also successfully negotiated settlement before trial in a significant number of cases. John is registered on the Rule 114 roster of the Minnesota General Rules of Practice as a mediator and arbitrator. He has served as an arbitrator and court-appointed mediator in several matters. This year, the Hennepin County Bar Association named John as the recipient of its prestigious Professionalism Award.

Ken Port
Professor Port focuses on U.S. and international trademark law and policy. He is fluent in Japanese and also conducts research and writing on a host of issues regarding law in Japan. He twice has been a Fulbright visiting scholar to Tokyo University and won the Ladas Memorial Award in 1995, which annually recognizes the best published trademark law article in the world, for the article "The Unnatural Expansion of Trademark Rights: Is a Federal Dilution Statute Necessary?" 18 Seton Hall Legislative Journal 433 (1994).

William Mitchell College of Law: director of Intellectual Property Law Studies, 2003-; professor of law, 2002-; visiting professor of law, 2001-02.

Jim Voegeli
Mr. Voegeli is assistant chief intellectual property counsel for 3M, where he works almost exclusively in the area of trademarks. He started his trademark work as an examining attorney at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the "USPTO"), where he coauthored several key USPTO publications and received an award from the American Intellectual Property Law Association for the quality of his examination work. He was promoted to staff attorney in the Office of the Assistant Commissioner for Trademarks. After moving to Minnesota in 1993 he eventually became a shareholder at two Minneapolis firms, Leonard, Street and Deinard, and later at Merchant & Gould. His practice has involved counseling major corporations, small businesses and individuals on selection, clearance, registration, use and protection of trademarks on a domestic and worldwide basis. He is a speaker at conferences, has taught at a local law school and is actively involved with various bar activities.

SPONSORS

Merchant & Gould

William Mitchell College of Law

AWARD RULES

1. The Paul A. Welter Award is an award of merit and shall be given annually to honor outstanding achievements in in-house management in the field of trademark law. The award honors outstanding in-house trademark counsel who have distinguished themselves by their career accomplishments and service to the community. The Paul A. Welter award was founded by Merchant & Gould, P.C. and The William Mitchell College of Law in honor of Paul A. Welter.

2. Awards shall be conferred at an annual Awards Presentation ceremony held at the INTA annual meeting. The Merchant & Gould Paul A. Welter Award will be formally presented by Merchant & Gould P.C. during the 2008 INTA Leadership Meeting in Boca Raton, Florida.

3. The competition is open to all in-house counsel and paralegals responsible for managing trademarks and trademark law of their corporation. No restrictions, such as level of experience or years in practice, apply. You must be a legal resident of the United States at the time of entry and when the award is awarded. Employees of Merchant & Gould, William Mitchell, and any company for which a judge in the competition works, their respective parents, affiliates, divisions, subsidiaries, advertising and promotional agencies (collectively "Sponsors"), and the immediate family members and persons living in the same household as such individuals, are not eligible to participate or win.

4. One first prize will be awarded consisting of a plaque and a $5,000 honorarium to the charity of his or her choice. The prize may not be transferred or assigned except by Merchant & Gould, P.C. in their sole discretion. Only the listed prize will be awarded and no substitutions, cash equivalents or redemptions will be made.

5. The Award entry period commences ends upon January 31, 2008. Upon recommendation from the trademark community, top candidates will be interviewed and presented to the nominations committee for final consideration. To enter yourself or nominate another, complete the official nomination form, which is located at www.merchantgould.com. By entering, you consent to being contacted by a panel of fact gatherers to gather information for the panel of judges to further evaluate credentials for the award. Please return completed forms to: Paul A. Welter Award, c/o Merchant & Gould P.C., 3200 IDS Center, 80 South Eighth Street, Minneapolis, MN 55402.

6. Candidates will be judged according to critieria related to work in house for a corporation and the demonstration of notable achievements in one or more of the following aspects of trademark practice:

• Managing a large portfolio of intellectual property for the corporation with an emphasis on trademarks;

• Practicing and promoting the highest standards of professional ethical conduct;

• Creating and maintaining efficient and streamlined processes to value, protect, maintain, and enforce intellectual property rights and improve performance practices, capabilities, and results;

• Promoting awareness of and enhancing the appreciation for the value of intellectual property within and outside the corporate workplace through presentations, publications, or corporate policies and procedures;

• Providing leadership within the corporation by mentoring others, recognizing the achievement of co-workers, and fostering a positive work environment;

• Providing leadership in the community and profession through service in not-for-profit professional and/or community organizations;

• Improving employee skills and career development through education and training programs;

• Fostering diversity in the workplace; and

• Developing, coordinating, and enhancing positive relationships with outside counsel.

7. A panel of judges will evaluate each candidate's qualifications. The judges' evaluations of the candidates should not be affected by their personal views of the corporations for which they work. Other these specific rules, the committee of judges shall have sole discretion to make all necessary interpretations of these Rules.

8. The potential winner will be notified after selection. Winner will be required to sign, notarize and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability Release (and where lawful, a Publicity Release) and provide any additional information (such as social security number), that may be required by Sponsors. Except where prohibited by law, winner's acceptance of prize constitutes permission for Sponsors to use such winner's name, address (city and state only), statements, photograph, voice and/or likeness for any advertising and promotional purposes relating to the Award without further notice, compensation, consideration, review or consent. By entering, participants: (a) release and hold harmless the Sponsors their from any and all liability.

9. NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE DOES NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. ENTRY FOR CONSIDERATION FOR THIS AWARD CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. This Award is governed by the laws of the United States. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.

10. For information, rules, nominations or to opt-out of this Award, contact:

Paul A. Welter Award
c/o Scott Johnston
Merchant & Gould P.C.
3200 IDS Center
80 South Eighth Street
Minneapolis , MN 55402 .

sjohnston@merchantgould.com