Week of August 18 - August 24, 2003 ~ v.5, n.33
Top Stories

The Politics of Outsourcing
Legislators advocated trade barriers in the 1980s as a means of protecting American manufacturing jobs. The outsourcing issue has returned in 2003 as the IT industry increasingly relies on foreign workers.

Trade Secrets 101
Is your company properly protecting its trade secrets? Make sure you have the most thorough systems and agreements in place to stop valuable assets from walking out the door.

New White Paper from Larta Research
Nanotechnology: What to Expect

Promising breakthroughs, innovative applications, and increasing federal support and venture capital funding have raised hopes for the nanotechnology industry, which must overcome some fundamental challenges in order to realize its potential.


Fidelys at NAWBO University
The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) hosts its 7th Annual NAWBO University "Building Entrepreneurial Competence" event on September 5, 2003. Rocky Spingstead, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Fidelys, Larta's for-profit consulting partner, will participate in the "Access to Capital" and "One-on-one Meetings with Key Executives" sessions.

Save the Date! Venture Forum 2004
The 10th Annual Venture Forum will take place April 1, 2004 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel. The Venture Forum has generated over $500 million in funding in its nine-year history. Don't miss the premier showcase of cutting-edge technologies and investment opportunities.
read about last year's Venture Forum 2003

Bioinformatics White Paper
Learn more about bioinformatics and the obstacles preventing it from emerging into a profitable sector within the life sciences industry.

Technology Fellowship Grants
The Technology Excellence Fellowship (TEF) Program offers competitive grants to cover a share of the costs of hosting middle to senior level managers and executives for professional training in U.S. business practices. TEF helps American organizations form relationships with potential customers, distributors, or partners in Israel who can assist in facilitating profitable international transactions. Any American profit or nonprofit organization or institution may apply.

Tech Interns Available
Technology entrepreneurs from Japan are available for unpaid, part-time internships with US technology companies. These hand picked and innovative entrepreneurs are determined to offer tangible help to your business. In addition to their internship work, they can serve as an introduction point for emerging trends in Japanese technology. For further information, please email David Katz at dkatz@larta.org.

Full list of Larta's publications >

Send comments and submissions to James Klein, Larta VOX Editor, at voxeditor@larta.org

Larta University

PricewaterhouseCoopers Expert Access Series
Combines Larta University’s classroom-style seminars with the advisory expertise of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). A set of four high-impact workshops that address finance, audit, tax and accounting topics for technology start-ups. Classes are interactive and structured to present the most important aspects of accounting for growth and start-up companies. Instructors are PwC Partners with extensive experience serving technology companies and who understand the key business and accounting issues that are inherent in the industry. Classes are basic to intermediate level and require no prerequisites and no advanced preparation. CPE credits are available for Accounting and Auditing and/or Taxation.
Locations: Los Angeles and Irvine

August 26: Protecting Trade Secrets from Employees and Contractors
Trade secrets are some of a company's most important assets, but unlike patents, they're often overlooked and not properly protected. Many companies are not even aware that certain lists, techniques, formulas, processes and/or methods are considered trade secrets, which can be legally protected. This session will teach you to identify your trade secrets, take appropriate practical and legal measures to protect those trade secrets, and will discuss why doing so provides a competitive edge and adds value to your company's bottom line.
Location: Downtown Los Angeles

September 17 & 18: Entrepreneurship Series #4: Protecting Your Technology: Intellectual Property Rights
Intellectual property can be the primary asset of a technology company, and strategic management of IP can attract capital and monetize revenue, and impact the long-term results of a company's success. This workshop covers the most crucial legal and business strategies any company should know before exposing its technology to a competitive marketplace, including: copyrighting and trade secrets, working with an independent contractor to develop a product, and licensing.
Locations: Century City and Irvine

September 23: Successful Negotiation Series #2: The Difficult Negotiation
Effective, professional tactics for dealing with real-life difficult negotiation situations, such as "uphill" negotiation where one party has substantially more negotiating power. Structural techniques for successfully dealing with uncertainty in negotiations will also be discussed. The three-hour workshop includes interactive team and individual exercises that help to consolidate new negotiation skills. The instructor is Eric Klein of Shaw Pittman LLP.
Location: Downtown Los Angeles

Larta University's full course schedule >

Tech Sector News
Sponsored by LATimes.com

Top Stories in Hot Technology Sectors

Biotech
Chinese Create Hybrid Embryos (LAtimes.com)
Scientists used cloning techniques to fuse human skin cells with rabbit eggs, report says.

Wireless
Calls, E-Mails Get Through (WashingtonPost.com)
Communications Networks Withstand a Day of Strain.

Software
Microsoft to Change Distribution of Vulnerable Software (New York Times - registration required)
Microsoft acknowledged today that it planned to change the way it distributes its flagship Windows XP operating system software, in response to a malicious software "worm" that has spread over the Internet in recent days attacking tens of thousands of personal computers by exploiting vulnerabilities in Windows.

Internet
Microsoft expects to fend off worm (CNN.com)
Microsoft has defended its handling of the "Blaster" crisis and says it expects to defeat an attack on its Web site.

Investments
Techs Waffle as Wall Street Copes With Power Outage (Wall Street Journal - registration required)
Technology shares moved little as Wall Street attempted to run business as usual despite a massive power outage hitting parts of the US and Canada, including much of Manhattan.

Events Calendar

This events calendar is provided as a service by Larta about events vetted and endorsed by Larta.

August 20: Build Your Brand with Public Relations
Brown bag lunch series by LACCDC's Business Technology Center. A public relations campaign is essential for launching new products, creating new markets and establishing the credibility of new technology companies. Successful public relations consultants Michael Goldstein and Robert Sax will discuss strategies and tactics that will put your company on the road to recognition and riches.

August 20: The Four P's of Homeland Security: People, Packages, Places, and Packets
TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) Southern California explores the challenges and opportunities for investors, entrepreneurs, and businesses that want to benefit from this market opportunity. Featuring Deepak Chopra, Chairman and CEO of OSI Systems, a leading vendor of scanning and detection systems to the US and International governments.

August 21: Big eSchmooze
The San Diego Regional Technology Alliance (RTA) presents the fifth annual Big eSchmooze at the San Diego Aerospace Museum. The RTA has partnered with UCSD CONNECT and BIOCOM to make Big eSchmooze 2003 the biggest and most powerful tech and biotech networking event San Diego has ever seen.

August 26: Protecting Trade Secrets from Employees and Contractors
Trade secrets are some of a company's most important assets, but unlike patents, they're often overlooked and not properly protected. This Larta U session will teach you to identify your trade secrets, take appropriate practical and legal measures to protect those trade secrets, and will discuss why doing so provides a competitive edge and adds value to your company's bottom line.

August 26: Venture Physics I – Harnessing Market Forces for High-Tech Venture Growth
The Business Technology Center hosts this program for high-tech companies. Markets adopt advanced technology in a predictable and characteristic manner. This characteristic is the result of powerful economic and market forces governing the adoption of new technology and the sensitivity of buyers to risk and uncertainty. By harnessing these forces, ventures can catapult themselves into new markets with minimum cost and effort.

September 4: Where Does Wireless Go From Here?
Part of the Los Angeles Venture Association (LAVA) Presidents & Distinguished Speakers Series. Find out how Nokia went from a regional paper company to the world’s leading cell phone provider. KP Wilska, Nokia’s President, who has been with the company over 26 years and and a key player in the corporate evolution, will give his view of the past, present and future of the wireless industry.

Larta's full events calendar >

***** Tech Marketplace *****
FIDELYS
			Investment Banking Services
World Nano-Economic Congress
			Sept. 8-10
			Washington, DC
smalltimes
			BIG NEWS IN SMALL TECH
			get your free subsciption
Now Available From Larta
			The Medical Device Industry White Paper
Now available from Larta
			The Sand Dollar Report 2003
PricewaterhouseCoopers
			MoneyTree Venture Capital Survey & More
			The most comprehensive survey of venture capital investment
Rainmaker & Sun
			Integrated Marketing
			Contact: Rena Conner for free marketing consultation
			818.789.9928
******** About Larta ********

Since 1993, Larta has been the leader in convening technology companies, researchers, and investors. We help our clients access the technology industry through world-class conference and training services, industry research, and capital-raising.

Companies helped by Larta have raised over $1.5 billion in capital. Larta's conferences and seminars provide insights to thousands of businesspeople each year. Larta's weekly magazine on business innovation is read by over 20,000 people.

www.Larta.org

714 W. Olympic Blvd.
Suite 750
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Tel: (213) 744-1314

Fax: (213) 744-1791

Orange County Office
16269 Laguna Canyon Road
Suite 100
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 789-1110

 

Larta is the think tank for technology businesses. We apply knowledge in practical ways on behalf of cutting edge companies, investors, governments, and professionals. Larta drives the technology markets through four core services: business training, market research, consulting, and capital programs.
			  

714 W. Olympic Blvd.
Suite 750
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Tel: (213) 744-1314
Fax: (213) 744-1791
www.Larta.org 


Orange County Office
16269 Laguna Canyon Road,
Suite 100
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 789-1110 


Larta VOX Brought to you By:
Staff Writer and Reporter - Wendy Hall
Larta Research Economist - Ketaki Sood
Editor - James Klein
Managing Editor - Victor Hwang
Publisher - Rohit Shukla
Technical Advisor - Stefanie Chao

Sponsorship: To sponsor VOX or other Larta events or publications, contact
Carlos Gutierrez