IPLAC Newsletter Recap Guide
Ideally, an IPLAC event recap will be a couple short paragraphs sharing what was discussed at your committee's recent event. You should highlight any interesting insights, and include any photos or screenshots you took.
At its most basic, the goal of the recap is to inform the IPLAC membership. But, this submission also provides a great advertising opportunity for your committee! Remember, your recap is an opportunity to get members and non-members excited about attending your next event!
Examples of great past recaps:
General Outline:
If you’re stuck, try this outline as a starting point!
- First sentence: phrase the description of the event you used in advertising for the event in the past tense.
- Second sentence: describe the main focus of the event.
- Middle sentences: two or three of the following:
- An interesting insight most attendees may not have considered
- A thought-provoking question posed to the audience
- A fun and memorable moment
- Direct and memorable quotes
- Last sentence: A call to join your committee, a note about a planned future committee event, or a reminder to look out for future events from your committee.
If your recap is less than four sentences, it’s probably too short. On the other hand, if you feel like sending us a novel, we have no real word limit. Just know that only the first paragraph or so will show up in the main newsletter, with the rest of recap behind a link.
Example of a “bad” recap, and how to improve it
Here’s a recap from a fictitious event that could use a boost. Notice that it doesn’t share any information you couldn’t have guessed before attending the event:
On October 5, 2022, the Newsletter Committee hosted an event called Communicating IP Issues, featuring guest speaker Arvin Hosseini. Arvin discussed several ways to communicate issues and news to the IP community. He then took questions from the audience.
Let’s improve this by applying the outline above:
On October 5, 2022, the Newsletter Committee hosted an event called Communicating IP Issues, featuring guest speaker Arvin Hosseini. The focus of Arvin’s lecture was on the importance of balancing brevity with complete information. Arvin stresses the importance of knowing your audience: that IP practitioners are busy, but that doesn’t mean they want click-bait. Among Arvin’s tips to execute this balance is to always give interested audience members an avenue to research further by providing easy-to-follow links and sources.
When addressing questions from the audience, one speaker asked how to make their content catchier when communicating about dull topics. Arvin’s response was that there are no dull topics in IP. “Patent law is tech law. Copyright law is art law. Trademark law is marketing law. Every step of every procedure already has a story to tell! But if you find your own topic dull, your audience will too.”
The Newsletter committee invites any interested new members to join their team. Send an email to Adam Sussman or Arvin Hosseini if interested in joining!
Still stuck? Send an email to Arvin Hosseini or Adam Sussman and we’ll be happy to help!
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