UPTON, NY — A talk on “Intellectual Property — What It Is and How to Protect It” will be featured at an Entrepreneurs’ Foundation Workshop to be held at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory on Monday, January 24, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Sean Grygiel, a principal at the New York office of Fish & Richardson, a national law firm specializing in intellectual property, will be the featured speaker.

Aimed at the technology entrepreneur, Grygiel’s talk will cover the basics of intellectual property and highlight mechanisms most frequently used by technology-based companies to obtain and maintain competitive advantage.

The workshop is open to the public. There is a $10 fee, and advance online registration is required. Online registration and payment by credit card is available at the Entrepreneurs’ Foundation Workshop website. Registrants may also pay the fee at the door by cash or check. All visitors to the Laboratory age 16 and over must bring a photo ID.

The workshop schedule includes refreshments and networking from 5 to 5:30 p.m., the talk with time for Q & A from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., and more refreshments and networking from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. For more information, call 631 344-4151, or e-mail elcess@bnl.gov.

Grygiel’s practice focuses on patent and intellectual property development in the medical and diagnostics, telecommunications, and engineering technologies, as well as advising early stage companies and investors on intellectual property strategy. Prior to joining Fish & Richardson, Grygiel was co-founder and chief operating officer of his own start-up technology company. Grygiel’s technical experience includes serving as an engineer in the U.S. Coast Guard, working in both operational and regulatory communities.

Brookhaven National Laboratory, the Small Business Administration, Stony Brook University, and the New York State Small Business Development Center at Stony Brook developed the Entrepreneurs’ Foundation Workshop Series to help those interested in starting up small technology companies. Fish & Richardson is sponsoring the January workshop. Information about additional workshops will be posted at the workshop series website (provided above) as soon as it is available.

Brookhaven Lab is located on William Floyd Parkway, one and a half miles north of Exit 68 of the Long Island Expressway.