Washington In The West Speakers 2024

2024 SPEAKERS

Speaker updates occur frequently.

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Keynote Speaker

Mary Fuller, Regional Director, United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Silicon Valley Regional Office

As Regional Director of the USPTO’s Silicon Valley Regional Office, Mary Fuller carries out the strategic direction of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO and is responsible for leading the USPTO’s Western regional office in San Jose, California. Focusing on the region and actively engaging with the community, Ms. Fuller ensures the USPTO’s initiatives and programs are tailored to the region’s unique ecosystem of industries and stakeholders.

Additionally, Ms. Fuller received Watermark’s Emerging Leader Award in 2015, was recognized as one of Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 100 Women of Influence in 2020, and she received the Northern Arizona University President’s Alumni Award for the College of Engineering, Informatics, and Applied Sciences in 2022.

Todd Adler, Senior Managing Counsel, Oracle

Todd Adler is Senior Managing Counsel in the Trademark, Marketing & Copyright group at Oracle and has been with the company for over fifteen years. He manages clearance, prosecution and enforcement of the global trademark portfolio for the Oracle brand, handled trademark issues for the Oracle Park naming rights deal with the San Francisco Giants, and negotiated the naming rights agreement for Oracle Arena where the Golden State Warriors played until 2019.

Toshihiko Aikawa, Partner, Orion International Patent Office

Toshihiko Aikawa is a partner of Orion International Patent Office in Japan. His practice includes patent, design, and trademark prosecutions and related disputes such as opposition, invalidation trial as well as advising his clients on Intellectual Property strategy. He obtained b.s. and m.s. in industrial chemistry and ph.d. in mechanical engineering. He used to work for an intellectual property boutique firm in the United States.

Michelle Armond, Founding Partner, Armond Wilson LLP

Michelle Armond is an intellectual property trial attorney litigating patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. Her “winning formula fuses her Caltech electrical engineering education with her natural talent for writing” (Daily Journal). IAM 1000 lauded her as “brilliant” and an “outstanding lawyer who ranks among the best PTAB specialists nationwide.” Michelle represents Fortune 500 companies, international market leaders, universities, and innovators as lead counsel in legally and technically challenging cases.

Scott Boalick, Chief Judge for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, USPTO

The Honorable Scott R. Boalick is the Chief Judge for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). In this role, he leads the PTAB as it conducts post-grant trials, including inter partes reviews, post-grant reviews, covered business method patent reviews and derivation proceedings, and as it hears appeals from adverse examiner decisions in patent applications and reexamination proceedings. Chief Judge Boalick was appointed to the Board in 2007. Prior to becoming the Chief Judge, he served as an Administrative Patent Judge, Lead Judge, Vice Chief Judge, and Deputy Chief Judge.

Nick Bassil, Partner (London), Kilburne & Strode

Nick is a partner in our life sciences and chemistry team in London. His practice concentrates on pharmaceutical chemistry, regenerative medicine, immunotherapy, genome mapping and synthetic genome assembly. He has been significantly involved in patent applications relating to cloning (somatic cell nuclear transfer), stem cells, cancer immunotherapy / CAR-T cells, regenerative medicine, gene therapy, and monoclonal antibodies / novel antigen receptor proteins (IgNARs/VNARs).

Liz Brannen, Partner, Stris & Maher

Elizabeth Brannen is the Managing Partner of Stris & Maher, a trial and appellate litigation boutique based in Los Angeles that represents clients in complex, high-stakes, and high-profile business disputes throughout the country. The firm is a certified Women’s Business Enterprise. Liz leads the firm’s intellectual property litigation practice and handles a wide range of matters in patent and other technology-related litigation. She has tried high-stakes business cases to judgment and obtained countless successes for clients at the trial and appellate levels.

Kyrie Cameron, Partner, Patterson + Sheridan LLP

Kyrie Cameron joined the firm in 2015 and has since developed a diverse range of technical expertise, with special emphasis on energy, oil and gas, and electronics and semiconductor technologies. Inspired by a love for science and strong family ties to the legal industry, Kyrie obtained her undergraduate degree in biology from Baylor University and immediately began carving out a reputation for herself as a valued contributor at South Texas College of Law.

Jennifer Chiang, IP Counsel, Stripe

Jennifer Chiang is IP Counsel at Stripe, where she manages the company’s patent strategy, patent portfolio development, and open source licensing. Prior to joining Stripe, Jennifer worked at Slack Technologies (acquired by Salesforce) as the company’s first patent attorney where she developed Slack’s patent portfolio and IP strategy. Prior to going in-house, Jennifer worked in private practice advising clients on patent strategy and portfolio development, standards, licensing, acquisitions, and litigation matters. Jennifer has a background in computer engineering and previously worked as a software developer at Microsoft prior to practicing law.

Jay Choi, Senior Director, IP, Uber Technologies, Inc.

Jay Choi is a senior director of intellectual property at Uber Technologies, Inc. His responsibilities include patent portfolio development, patent acquisition and licensing strategy, and patent dispute resolution. He also advises the company on M&A, IP-related transactions, and open source licensing. Prior to joining Uber, Mr. Choi worked in private practice specializing in portfolio development and patent strategy, advising various software and tech companies. Mr. Choi joined Uber in 2014 as Uber’s first IP attorney and over the years, has helped build Uber’s IP legal practice.

Scott Commerson, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine

Scott Commerson is a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. Scott focuses his practice on trademark, brand protection, and other IP litigation for clients ranging from major retailers to small start-ups. Scott has obtained temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions, and ex parte seizure orders on behalf of trademark owners, and he has also represented clients before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Scott prides himself on being a cost-effective, cut-to-the-chase litigator.

Amy Cotton, Deputy Commissioner for the Trademark Examination Policy, USPTO

Amy Cotton is the Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy. In this role, she oversees many offices, including Petitions, Legal Policy, and Identification and Classification Policy. Ms. Cotton joined the USPTO in 1998 as a trademark examining attorney. She moved to the Office of Policy and International Affairs (OPIA) in 2001, where she soon served as Senior Counsel for Trademarks.

Chris DiLeo, Assistant General Counsel – IP, Becton Dickinson

Technology transactions and IP attorney experienced in software and networked systems. As a technically savvy technical lead with excellent communication skills I can leverage my strengths, interests, and experiences working with both people and technology along with law degree to practice intellectual property and technology law. My practice also includes advising clients on data privacy, GDPR, big data, and terms of service.

Jamie Duncan, Associate General Counsel, HID Global

Jamie Duncan is an Associate General Counsel at HID Global, an ASSA ABLOY company. Jamie’s practice focuses primarily on technology-based litigation (particularly IP), technology transactions, mergers & acquisitions, product security, and general corporate risk management. Before joining HID, Jamie spent 12 years in private practice in the IP Litigation groups at Akin Gump and Eversheds Sutherland.

Sui Q. Duong, Sr. Counsel – Marketing and Trademark, Pure Storage

Sui Duong is Senior Counsel at Pure Storage Inc., where he leads the company’s trademark, copyright, marketing review, and domain name legal functions. Valued at $8 billion USD and founded in 2009, Pure Storage is a pioneer in developing all-flash data storage hardware and software solutions.

Stefano Ferro, Bugnion

After graduating in Law from Padua University 1995), I started to deal with intellectual property thanks to a post-graduation course managed by Convey in Turin (1997). Subsequently, I worked at the Franzosi law firm in Milan (1998-99). In Europatent since January 2000, in Bugnion since January 2015 as of counsel. I am a member of the Legal Department of Bugnion. Languages: English, French, Spanish.

Nicholas Fung, Partner, Morrison & Foerster

Nick Fung is a partner at Morrison & Foerster LLP. Nick advises clients on a broad range of intellectual property issues, with a focus on high-stakes patent litigation and trade secrets disputes. With a degree in electrical engineering and computer science, Nick has litigated matters spanning a broad range of technology, including semiconductors, medical devices, and computer hardware and software. Nick has counseled companies at all stages of their life cycles/growth, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, and has represented clients in federal and state courts, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

Troy Grabow, Fractional IP Counsel, Grabow Law

Troy Grabow recently founded Grabow Law to serve as fractional general and IP counsel to startups and small and medium enterprises. Troy started his IP career as a patent examiner at the USPTO and then as a law clerk at the Federal Circuit for the Honorable Timothy B. Dyk. He was an associate and partner at Finnegan Henderson in Washington, DC, with an emphasis on patent litigation and appeals, before moving to the west coast for in-house positions as GC and VP of IP at Cabeau in Woodland Hills and as AGC of IP & Product at PAX Labs in San Francisco. Troy earned his J.D. from George Washington University and his B.S. in mechanical engineering from Union College in Schenectady, NY.

Brian Horne, Partner, Knobbe Martens

Brian Horne is an experienced trial lawyer who litigates throughout the country for both plaintiffs and defendants. Mr. Horne’s cases involve a variety of industries, and he has won trials involving a wide range of disputes, including patent, trade secret, trademark, trade dress, and breach of contract. Mr. Horne is the Managing Partner of Knobbe Martens’ Los Angeles office.

Peter Jovanovic, Legal Director, IP, Dell

Peter Jovanovic is a Legal Director, IP at Dell Technologies. At Dell, he is primarily responsible for patent portfolio development, patent litigation, open source management, and license drafting and negotiation. Before joining Dell, he was an associate patent attorney providing prosecution, litigation, and licensing services. Prior to becoming an attorney, Peter was a software engineer, having experience in computer security, satellite communications, and logistic planning software.

Milan Kapadia, Sr. IP Counsel, Palo Alto Networks

Milan currently is Senior IP Counsel at Palo Alto Networks and manages all aspects of the company’s IP strategy. Previously Milan was at Boeing, where he had been a Patent Portfolio Strategist for Boeing’s software-related innovations since 2014. Milan was also previously corporate counsel at a real estate software products company, a Patent Attorney for multiple national law firms, and worked for more than two years as a Patent Examiner at the US Patent & Trademark Office. Milan was also a 2007-2008 Fulbright Scholar researching developments in Indian software patent law.

Diane Gabl Kratz, Director, IP Strategy & Operations, Dolby Laboratories

Diane Gabl Kratz is a four-time IAM Strategy 300 World’s Leading IP Strategist and USPTO-registered patent attorney. As Director, IP Strategy & Operations at Dolby, she leads an 18-person global team, developing and executing domestic and international patent filing strategies. She also heads Dolby’s worldwide trademark portfolio.

Tomoya Kurokawa, Vice President, SOEI Patent and Law Firm

Tomoya Kurokawais is Vice President and the Director of Trademark Department of SOEI Patent and Law Firm in Tokyo, Japan. Since joining SOEI in 1997 and qualifying as a Japanese patent attorney in 1999, he handles not only patent prosecutions, oppositions, and expert opinions, especially in the fields of mobile communications, computer architecture, and software, but also counsels his clients on establishing and maintaining their trademark portfolios and protecting their brands.

Adam Kwon, Munger, Tolles & Olson

Adam Kwon is an attorney at Munger, Tolles & Olson. Adam’s practice involves handling complex IP and commercial litigation matters at any stage of a case, including prelitigation strategy, discovery, motions practice, oral advocacy, trial, and appellate work. Adam also maintains an active pro bono practice assisting with appeals before the Federal Circuit. Prior to joining MTO, Adam clerked for Judge Otis D. Wright II in the Central District of California, and for Judge Jimmie V. Reyna at the Federal Circuit.

Stephen Lee, Partner, Chief IP Counsel, Target

Stephen Lee is Chief I.P. Counsel at Target and has been with Target for the past 20 years. His practice covers the entire spectrum of I.P. matters. Particularly rewarding is the fact that his team provides legal services and advice to practically every business team within Target and has touched almost every one of Target’s key strategic initiatives. He manages a team of 22 and has first-hand experience leading his team through the ups and downs of the retail landscape transformation. Prior to joining Target, Stephen practiced law as a partner at Fish & Richardson and Faegre & Benson both in Minneapolis. Stephen is a proud graduate of the University of Texas where he received both his B.A. and J.D. degrees.

Josepher Li, Partner, Armond Wilson LLP

Josepher Li has a robust IP litigation practice spanning nationally in federal courts and before the U.S. Patent Office. An MIT-trained engineer, he has litigated patent, trade secret, and copyright cases involving all types of technologies. For his IP litigation work, he been recognized as a Southern California “Rising Star” by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers and on Best Lawyers’ “Ones to Watch” list.

Mai Lin Mai Lin, Simone Intellectual Property Services (SIPS)

Mai Lin counsels her clients on protecting and enforcing their intellectual property rights in China. She spent over 15 years in Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai before returning to the United States in 2021. She is currently based in Los Angeles. While living abroad, Mai worked at major international law firms, advising companies on intellectual property protection in China, including trademark portfolio management, IP enforcement and commercial IP transactions.

Erin G. Mehta, Senior Intellectual Property Counsel, Northrop Grumman

Erin Mehta is Senior Counsel in the Intellectual Property & Technology Department at Northrop Grumman, where she is dedicated to supporting the Space Systems Sector.

Prior to joining Northrop Grumman in 2023, Erin was Principal Litigation Counsel at Disney focusing on Technology and IP. Erin spent most of her in-house practice at Hulu (which was acquired by Disney in 2021) where she was Head of Patents, managing patent litigation and prosecution, establishing invention disclosure review committees, developing software protection strategies, and supporting international Hulu engineering sites.

Xinlin Li Morrow, Parnter, Morrow Ni

Xinlin Li Morrow is a strategic trial lawyer with deep experience in complex business and IP disputes. Ms. Morrow regularly guides companies and individuals through high-stakes disputes arising from breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, IP infringement, and trade secrets misappropriation, consistently delivering exceptional results for her clients. Beyond civil matters, Ms. Morrow also defends business leaders in federal and state criminal investigations and actions, leveraging her experience as a former prosecutor.

Jordan Nefekh Jordan Nafekh, Associate, Irell & Manella

Jordan Nafekh’s practice includes a broad range of intellectual property disputes with a focus on high-stakes patent infringement litigation. Jordan has comprehensive experience through all stages of litigation, from pre-filing investigation to trials and appeals. He has experience drafting and arguing both discovery and dispositive motions, including claim construction motions, working with fact and expert witnesses, taking and defending depositions, and examining witnesses at trial.

Ben Pelletier, Partner, Haynes and Boone

Ben Pelletier is a partner in the Precision Medicine and Digital Health Practice Group in Haynes and Boone’s San Francisco office.

His practice focuses on advising clients in the complex and fast-evolving areas of biology, medicine, engineering, and data science. Ben has significant experience building patent portfolios relating to monoclonal antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), CAR-T cells, stem cells, tissue engineering, 3D bioprinting, biosensors, genomic sequencing, and bioinformatics, as well as companion diagnostic assay systems and devices.

Ryan Pixton, Partner, Kilburn & Strode

Ryan handles a wide variety of trade mark matters. His practice includes clearance searches, the filing and prosecution of applications, oppositions and cancellation actions, and advising on licences and assignments. He has substantial experience of filing and managing worldwide applications via the Madrid Protocol. He is particularly experienced in clearance searches and was awarded the prize for the highest mark for the searching paper in the Final qualifying examinations. He works for clients ranging from start-ups to multinational corporations. His clients are drawn from fields including telecommunications, food and drink, gaming, fashion and music, whilst he has a growing ‘greentech’ practice.

Ashe Puri, Partner, Maynard Nexsen

Ashe is a recognized trial attorney whose practice focuses on intellectual property litigation, including cases involving patents, trademarks, copyright, trade secrets, and unfair competition. From startups to major corporations, Ashe helps companies resolve their IP disputes.

Technology and innovation is not only Ashe’s passion, it is what drove him to become an engineer and brings him into close and frequent contact with other innovators. His success in the courtroom has enabled him to negotiate many settlements.

Catherine Rifai, Senior Associate, Munck Wilson Mandala

Catherine “Cat” Rifai is a senior associate in Munck Wilson Mandala’s robust group of trademark, copyright, and patent attorneys, serving clients globally in transactional and dispute matters. Cat’s practice ranges from negotiating and drafting business and IP agreements to analyzing and managing IP portfolios.

Richard Rochford, Partner, Haynes and Boone

Richard Rochford has been handling patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret cases—at trial and through successful motion practice and favorable settlements—for more than 25 years. World Trademark Review’s WTR 1000 (Law Business Research) recognized Rich as one of New York’s top lawyers in enforcement and litigation in 2019, noting he is hailed by clients as “a fantastic trial lawyer.” Many of Rich’s victories have come in all-or-nothing conflicts, for both multinational corporations and emerging companies built on innovation. Rich has served as lead counsel in more than 100 intellectual property matters in federal district courts from Oregon to Georgia, and he has argued and won many appeals in the Federal, Second, and, most recently, Third Circuit.

Avi Schwartz, Vice President, Intellectual Property Counsel, Edwards Lifesciences

Avi Schwartz is VP, IP Counsel at Edwards Lifesciences, the world-leading heart valve and medical technology company headquartered in Irvine, California. His practice focuses on patent litigation, trademarks, trade secrets, and IP aspects of mergers and acquisitions. Avi’s patent litigation experience at Edwards includes a focus on post-grant proceedings such as IPRs and EPO oppositions, in addition to managing litigation in courtrooms across the United States and Europe.

Conor Tucker, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Conor Tucker is a litigator in the Century City office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and a member of the firm’s appellate practice. He has served as counsel of record in the United States Supreme Court and briefed and argued appeals in federal and state appellate courts. He has represented both trademark owners and accused infringers throughout the litigation process, including as amici before the Supreme Court in Jack Daniel’s v. VIP Prods. He has litigated a wide range of issues, including issues of first impression, in a wide range of fora and is a regular commentator on trademark and trade secret law.

Justin P. Thiele, Associate, Hanson Bridgett

As part of the Litigation Practice Group, focuses on copyright, trademark, and trade secrets litigation. Justin represents clients in diverse industries such as entertainment, technology, finance, fashion, and cannabis. Additionally, he has experience with arbitration, copyright licensing and royalties, and trademarks and domain name disputes.

Prior to joining the firm, he worked for the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office as a legal intern in Bangkok, Thailand under the Overseas IP Attaché for Southeast Asia.

Bryan Wahl, General Counsel, Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Bryan Wahl, MD, JD is the General Counsel and Head of Business Development at Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Bryan has 18 years of legal experience and 23 years of medical experience as both a practicing attorney and physician, respectively. At Tarsus, Bryan has expanded Tarsus’ IP portfolio, led contract negotiation, compliance, and corporate governance legal functions, and legal aspects of public company SEC filings. He also leads business development at Tarsus, including the evaluation of external and internal innovation and pipeline opportunities, out-licensing, and corporate strategy.

Asa Wynn-Grant, Patent Litigation Counsel, Netflix

Asa Wynn-Grant is Patent Litigation Counsel at Netflix. Asa spent a year at Apple as a secondee in the Patent Assertions group, and worked as a patent litigation associate at DLA Piper after clerking for Judge Gilliam in the Northern District of California. Asa serves on the board of Legal Services for Children, an education and immigration advocacy nonprofit based in San Francisco.

In addition to the Juris Doctor that he earned from Stanford Law School, Asa also has a degree in Computer Science from Brown University.

Raffi Zerounian, Partner, Hanson Bridgett

Raffi specializes in intellectual property and commercial litigation, with an emphasis on trademark and copyright litigation. Raffi has a 360-degree trademark practice, handling all facets of counseling, clearance, prosecution, enforcement, and litigation. He has pursued hundreds of trademark enforcement disputes and has been lead counsel in many federal court trademark infringement actions. He has extensively litigated opposition and cancellation proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, as well as domain name disputes through the Uniform Domain Name Resolution Policy (UDRP).

Molly Kocialski, Regional Director, Rocky Mountain Regional United States Patent and Trademark Office

As the Regional Director of the Rocky Mountain Regional United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), since January 2016, Mollybeth (Molly) Kocialski carries out the strategic direction of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, and is responsible for leading the Rocky Mountain regional office. Focusing on the nine states within this region and actively engaging with the community, Ms. Kocialski ensures the USPTO’s initiatives and programs are tailored to the region’s unique ecosystem of industries and stakeholders.

Hector Agdeppa, Partner, Sheppard Mullin

Hector Agdeppa is a partner in the Intellectual Property Practice Group in the firm’s San Diego (Del Mar) office. Hector specializes in patent application drafting and prosecution in the electrical, mechanical and computer software arts, as well as in the medical device field, and he is well-versed in the management and monetization of patent portfolios. He is also experienced in inter partes review proceedings, tech transfer and licensing, IP due diligence and opinion/freedom to operate assessments, and he provides patent litigation support for a variety of clients, large and small, covering a broad range of industries.

Bryan Blumenkopf, Associate, Morrison & Foerster

As a seasoned engineer from some of California’s leading game development and space/defense companies, Bryan Blumenkopf applies his experience developing cutting-edge electronics and software systems to advising innovative clients on patent prosecution, patent litigation, and intellectual property strategy. He has represented technology companies in mission-critical matters relating to artificial intelligence, mobile devices, audio systems, semiconductor devices, wireless communications, computer software, optics, virtual reality, and interactive media — fields in which he often has first-hand experience as a practitioner himself.

Arka Chatterjee, Senior IP Counsel, Natera

As an in-house counsel at a nimble and expanding life-sciences company, Arka advises on litigation and risk management while helping to develop intellectual property strategies that expand the company’s innovation and business options. His work covers a wide gamut of IP activities including patent prosecution and litigation, trademark registration and enforcement, deal support, and day-to-day advising of both R&D and executive leadership.

Alesha M. Dominique
Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP

Alesha Dominique represents clients in intellectual property litigation, with an emphasis on patent, trademark, false advertising, and unfair competition matters. Alesha’s experience includes representing clients before federal district courts, the U.S. International Trade Commission, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. She also counsels clients on trademark clearance, prosecution, and enforcement matters. Alesha’s experience cuts across multiple industries, including the entertainment, music, fashion, beauty, food and beverage, software and e-commerce industries.

Tom Hadid, Corporate Counsel, Trademark; Amazon

Tom Hadid is Corporate Counsel, Trademark at Amazon where he supports various businesses and brands in the Devices organization on trademark, copyright, domain, and marketing review matters. Tom was previously an associate at Cooley LLP and Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP in the Trademark, Marketing & Advertising practice groups.

Jordan Keglovits, Legal Manager, Taylor Guitars

Ms. Keglovits is the Legal Manager at Taylor Guitars, the market leading brand in the global acoustic guitar industry headquartered in San Diego, California.

Jordan manages company legal functions, including management of the company’s IP portfolio with the mission of protecting proprietary innovations and brand rights, and defending against infringements and counterfeits. She additionally manages corporate governance, contracts, and compliance functions.

She has a Bachelor’s in Political Science from the University of Kansas, and a Juris Doctorate from Thomas Jefferson School of Law.

Harry Harden, Partner (London) & Senior VP (San Francisco Liaison Office), Kilburn & Strode

Harry heads-up our San Francisco Liaison Office. With a background in physics, he primarily works on software, automotive and autonomous driving technologies. His practice involves advising on filing strategies across the globe, particularly for Silicon Valley companies, with a focus on balancing efficiency with strength of IP protection. Harry has particular expertise in risk assessment (freedom to operate) and patent portfolio strength analysis as companies approach IPO. Recent work has involved detailed patent due diligence investigations to advise on commercial implications of patent portfolios.

Tim Hance, Senior Counsel, Brands & Content Intellectual Property; NBCUniversal

Tim Hance is Senior Counsel in the Brands & Content Intellectual Property group at NBCUniversal. He advises some of the company’s major business units such as NBC Sports, NBC News, and NBC Entertainment on a variety of IP clearance, prosecution, enforcement, and licensing matters. He also serves as the Brands & Content Group’s Co-Enforcement Chair, where he develops and implements strategies to protect NBCU brands on third party platforms and before IP offices. Before joining NBCU in 2018, Tim was an associate in Cooley LLP’s Trademark, Copyright, and Advertising practice group, where he counseled both large and emerging companies on IP issues across many different industries.

Christopher Jackson, Senior Counsel, IP, Warner Bros. Entertainment

Chris Jackson is senior intellectual property counsel at Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Previously, Chris worked for an international law firm, where he gained experience across a number of intellectual property matters.

Chris earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Utah. After working briefly as an engineer, Chris earned his J.D. and Certificate in Intellectual Property Law from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

Lauren Keller Katzenellenbogen, Partner, Knobbe Martens

Lauren Katzenellenbogen litigates all types of intellectual property disputes, including claims pertaining to patents, trademarks, unfair competition, trade secrets and copyrights. For nearly two decades, she has represented clients in litigation involving an array of industries, including computer software, medical and mechanical devices, consumer products, fashion, energy drinks and entertainment.

Alexander Korenberg, Kilburn & Strode

Alexander Korenberg is a partner in our Tech team and leads the firm’s AI practice. With over 20 years in the profession, Alexander is a Tech maestro with a solid grip on the legal aspects of patent prosecution and extremely technically savvy, who builds futureproofed patent strategies in cutting-edge areas such as AI (in the words of industry publications). His passion for everything AI stems from his time gaining a PhD at the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, then led by Geoff Hinton. His work there included early studies into the use of unsupervised learning for inference and artificial neural network models of human motor control.

Paul Liu, Global Head of IP, TuSimple

Paul Liu is the Global Head of Intellectual Property at TuSimple, a global self-driving truck (e.g., autonomous vehicle) company based out of San Diego. At TuSimple, he oversees a global team of practitioners to align the company’s intellectual property with the business to obtain proactive, high impact, and creative protection via patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and copyrights. He has over a decade of experience as a subject matter expert for intellectual property assets associated with mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science technologies.

Donald Min, VP of IP, Virgin Hyperloop

Specialties: Intellectual Property including patent preparation, patent prosecution, client counseling, and trademarks.

Helen Omapas, Director Senior Counsel of IP & Marketing, Harman International Industries, Inc.

I’m Helen Omapas, Director Senior Counsel of Intellectual Property & Marketing at Harman International Industries, Incorporated. I manage the global trademark and design patent portfolios for Harman. In addition, I manage global enforcement and marketing for the company. I was a board member of LAIPLA and current member of LAIPLA’s Women in IP. I am a committee member of INTA’s anti-counterfeiting committee and involved with a number of my company’s internal organizations including Harman’s Women’s Network and Harman’s PrideERG.

Sasha Rao, Partner, Maynard, Cooper, Gale

Widely recognized as one of Silicon Valley’s leading intellectual property lawyers, Sasha Rao has an established record of success for some of the world’s top companies.

Chair of Maynard’s nationwide Intellectual Property Practice, Sasha regularly leads intellectual property and commercial litigation for her clients, including cases involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, unfair competition, and complex commercial disputes.

Beverly Shin, Group VP of IP, The Beachbody Company

Beverly Shin is Group Vice President for Intellectual Property at Beachbody, a worldwide leader in health and fitness headquartered in Santa Monica, California. Prior to joining Beachbody, Ms. Shin was Vice President for Intellectual Property and Marketing for Harman International, and International Enforcement Manager for Oakley.

Shirin Tefagh – Director, IP Legal Counsel, Dexcom

Shirin Tefagh is currently Director of IP at Dexcom, where she leverages her technical background and experience in computer software and hardware to manage several key IP portfolios for the company. Prior to this role, she served as Patent Counsel, Senior Director for Qualcomm in San Diego. Her experience in various fields of intellectual property law include patent procurement, client counseling, IP litigation, and licensing and transactions. Shirin holds a bachelor’s in Information and Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine and a J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law.

Ian Schick, Founder & CEO, DraftBuilders; Co-Founder & CEO, Specifio

Ian C. Schick is an internationally recognized intellectual property strategist and leading voice in patent law practice innovation. He has a technical background in physics, electrical engineering, and materials science, and completed his B.S. and Ph.D. at Colorado School of Mines. Ian started his career in patent law with Carr & Ferrell LLP, a Silicon Valley boutique law firm, and later moved to Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittmann LLP, where he helped establish the firm’s West Coast presence for “new media” clients. Ian founded Specifio in 2017, an artificial intelligence startup that auto-generates large portions of patent application text. He also founded Draft Builders in 2020, an on-demand platform providing large law firm patent practices with the drafting capabilities of a technology-enabled network of vetted solo practitioners.

Cyndi Wheeler, Former Head of IP, Slack

Cyndi Wheeler was most recently Senior Director of Intellectual Property and Litigation at Salesforce Inc., where she was responsible for all aspects of intellectual property and litigation for Slack Technologies LLC, a Salesforce company, including patents, trademarks, and open source, as well as IP and securities litigation matters. After graduating from the Colorado School of Mines, Cyndi began working as an electrical engineer at Intel. While serving as an engineer at Intel, Cyndi attended Santa Clara University School of Law and graduated cum laude. Cyndi began her legal career as a patent attorney at Intel and continued on at Apple, where she held various roles managing Apple’s iPhone patent portfolio, the Apple v. Samsung litigation, and Apple’s PTAB practice. Cyndi is also on the Board of Directors of ChIPs, an international non-profit organization advancing women in law, technology & policy.

Josue Villalta, Partner, Knobbe Martens

Josué A. Villalta focuses on patent protection, including patent prosecution, patent portfolio management, IP due diligence and general counseling on infringement issues. He represents clients in a wide range of technologies, including medical devices.

Before joining the firm, Josué was a senior mechanical engineer with General Electric’s Power Generation division, where he performed heat transfer and fluid dynamics analyses of commercial nuclear power plants under transient operating conditions.

Richard Yoon, Cepheid, Business Development Dir. Licensing and New Ventures

I am business lawyer with an intellectual property and business development emphasis. My career has taken me from a big law firm to start-up to a Fortune 500 company. Through that time I have evolved my skill sets to cover a broad range of business and legal skills. My early experience was focused particularly on patent law, including prosecution, litigation, and client counseling. In the past 10 years, I have evolved my legal expertise towards business development, licensing, and other agreements where intellectual property is a key driver of the deal. I take pride as a problem solver and someone able to bridge gaps between parties.

David Ashton, Associate, Patterson and Sheridan

When inventors partner with Dallas attorney David Ashton, they quickly learn that he’s much more than a patent prosecutor. He is also a technical expert with advanced knowledge of the engineering field, a critical thinker who offers solutions for complex legal issues and a dependable advisor who always goes the extra mile to ensure his clients’ success.

David joined the firm in 2017 and focuses his practice on securing IP protection within the U.S. and internationally. He primarily supports our semiconductor and manufacturing clients, putting to work his broad expertise in such areas as manufacturing, industrial and systems engineering, operations research, computer architecture and control systems. As an attorney who is passionate about client education, he offers straightforward advice regarding patents and product development, empowering inventors to make the most informed decisions for their business.

Alfred Chu, Senior Lead IP Legal Counsel at Dexcom

Senior Lead IP Legal Counsel at Dexcom, Inc. with experience in driving U.S. and international patent
preparation and prosecution, European oppositions, trademark protection and enforcement, and
competitive landscape analysis in the medical device field relating to data science, artificial intelligence,
and machine learning.

Stephanie Curcio, IP Lawyer and CEO, NL Patent

Stephanie Curcio is an IP lawyer and CEO of NLPatent – makers of an industry leading AI patent search platform used by Am Law 100 firms and fortune 500 companies. Her work at the intersection between AI and patent law has made her a sought after expert on matters regarding AI/IP, including advising national patent offices on AI policy. She sits on the Board of the Global IP Alliance, holds leadership positions at IP organizations in Canada and the U.S., and has been recognized as a global leader in IP strategy (IAM Strategy 300) as well as a “powerful woman in IP” (WIPF).

Theresa Conduah, Partner, Haynes and Boone, LLP

Theresa Conduah is a partner in the Intellectual Property Practice Group of Haynes and Boone, LLP. Theresa counsels both Fortune 500 and startup clients on scaling IP portfolios, brand protection, and licensing matters. Theresa is also a registered patent attorney and focuses her practice on design patents. Prior to returning to private practice, she served as in-house IP counsel at leading global brands, including United Airlines and Toyota. Theresa is a frequent speaker on intellectual property and diversity in the law.

Colette Durst, Vice President and Chief Trademark Counsel, 3M

Colette manages a global team of trademark professionals and leads the anti-counterfeiting program for 3M respirators and other 3M products. Prior to joining 3M in 2018, Colette was Legal Director at Johnson Controls and managed all trademark-related activities globally for JCI. Before the Tyco merger with JCI in 2016, Colette led the trademark function at Tyco and prior to that she was Assistant General Counsel at Walmart Stores. Colette started her career as a trademark paralegal. After graduation from law school Colette became an associate at Pattishall.

Puja Detjen, Partner, Patterson + Sheridan

Puja’s practice focuses on patent preparation and prosecution of both domestic and international patents, global brand protection, and IP due diligence. She has experience preparing and prosecuting in a wide range of evolving technologies – from telecommunications systems to consumer devices.

Brittany Estell, Director and Senior Counsel of Trademarks, Western Digital Corporation

Brittany Estell is Director and Senior Counsel of Trademarks at Western Digital Corporation. Her role includes management of the company’s global trademark portfolio, supporting marketing and branding efforts across the organization, and maintaining and developing usage guidelines to protect the company’s IP assets.

Jerrah Edwards, Supervising Patent Examiner, Western Regional United States Patent and Trademark Office

Jerrah Edwards is a Supervisory Patent Examiner in TC 3700, managing a team of examiners in the area of medical prosthetics. After practicing as an attorney specializing in patent prosecution for several years, Jerrah joined the USPTO in 2010 as an examiner in the areas of computerized vehicle control, navigation and robotics. Before becoming a supervisor, she served on several details, including GS-14 Trainer for TC 3600, GS-14 Patent Academy Trainer and Assistant Outreach Coordinator for the West Coast Regional Office. Jerrah received her BS in Physics from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and her JD from the University of Michigan Law School.

Sharmini Green, Associate General Counsel, Intel Corporation

Sharmini has 22 years experience as a patent attorney specializing in computer software, the past 17.5 years as an in-house attorney with Intel. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and received her J.D. from Santa Clara University. Sharmini is currently one of the Deputy Directors of Patents in the Intel Patent Group. In this role, she defines and executes patent filing strategies for Intel’s new and cutting edge technologies such as Internet of Things, autonomous driving, drones, augmented reality and artificial intelligence.

Jonathan Hyman, Partner, Knobbe Martens

Jonathan A. Hyman is a partner in our Los Angeles office. He is also the Co-Chair of the firm’s CBD and Legal Cannabis Group.

Jonathan’s practice includes domestic and foreign trademark prosecution, enforcement and searches, proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), intellectual property licensing, copyrights, rights of publicity, domain name disputes, entertainment law, and client counseling. He also frequently conducts in-house seminars to assist clients in managing and protecting trademark portfolios.

Kurt Kjelland, Vice President, Legal Counsel, Qualcomm

Kurt M. Kjelland is a Vice President, Legal Counsel at Qualcomm Incorporated. Kurt represents the company in antitrust, patent, and licensing matters, including regulatory investigations and litigation. Kurt led the inside/outside counsel team that obtained a full victory in a seminal antitrust case involving standard essential patents, FTC v. Qualcomm, 969 F.3d 974 (9th Cir. 2020). He is a co-author of a book chapter “FRAND Licensing of Standard-Essential Patents” in Patents and Standards, first published in 2018. He received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles and his J.D. cum laude from the University of Notre Dame. Kurt is a registered patent attorney and admitted to the California Bar. He was named Corporate Counsel of the Year in 2021 by Global Competition Review.

Kristin Lamb, Head of IP, Oura

Intellectual Property Law practitioner with experience in patent, trademark, and copyright preparation and prosecution, and IP licensing and litigation across various technological fields, with an emphasis on consumer products, automation, medical device, health and fitness monitoring, software, energy, and natural resource technologies.

Joyce Liou, Partner, Morrison & Foerster

Joyce Liou co-chairs the Trademark Group and is a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property Group. She engages in a broad intellectual property practice, with an emphasis on both IP counseling and litigation for a diverse roster of clients. Joyce has litigated numerous district court disputes involving trademark, copyright, false advertising, right of publicity, and unfair competition claims, and has secured preliminary injunctions, summary judgment rulings, and trial verdicts for her clients.

Jason Lott, Managing Attorney for Trademarks Customer Outreach

Jason Lott is the Managing Attorney for Trademarks Customer Outreach at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) where he specializes in helping small business owners understand trademarks and the federal trademark registration process. He conceptualizes and delivers educational content using live presentations, creative videos, and other multimedia platforms. He also presents to experienced practitioners on advanced trademark topics, providing them the tools and expertise to better serve their clients. Jason began his career at the USPTO in 2000 as a trademark examining attorney.

Susan Natland, Partner, Knobbe Martens

Susan Natland advises on all aspects of domestic and international brand protection and enforcement, advertising law, unfair competition, copyright, and data privacy and security matters. By investing the necessary time to understanding her client’s business and specific goals, Susan delivers solutions that maximize efficiencies and opportunities. Responsive, accountable and results-oriented, Susan is dedicated to serving as both a trusted legal and business advisor.

Melissa Patterson, Senior Associate, Sheppard Mullin

Melissa Patterson is an associate in the Intellectual Property Practice Group in the firm’s San Diego (Del Mar) office. Melissa focuses her practice on the preparation and prosecution of patent applications, particularly in the areas of software, computer hardware, mobile communications, AI, robotics and financial networks. She has prosecuted more than 500 U.S. and foreign patent matters. Melissa has also assisted with over 100 trademark matters, conducted non-infringement and invalidity analyses for numerous IP litigation matters and assisted with patent licensing matters.

Michael T. Rose, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent at IP Rights Coordination Center

Michael Rose is a supervisory special agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and joined the Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center in November 2020. Mr. Rose leads the intellectual property and outreach and training sections, with operational oversight of all HSI intellectual property investigative programs. Mr. Rose manages Operation Stolen Promise, the IPR Center’s effort in the fight against COVID-19 related fraud, focusing on the threat posed by counterfeit personal protective equipment.

Steven Shape, Managing Partner, Dennemeyer

Steven Shape is a registered patent attorney and electrical engineer who has represented preeminent technology companies in complex, high-stakes Intellectual Property litigation and foreign patent and trademark prosecution matters since 1982.

Nick Transier, Partner, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP

Nick Transier is an accomplished patent attorney with nearly a decade of experience in both prosecution and litigation. He currently focuses on building international patent portfolios for clients, especially in the areas of data science, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, software, telecommunications, automotive technologies, and consumer electronics. He has also defended mechanical and electrical innovations including consumer electronic devices, computer software systems, display technologies, and medical devices.

Jason Weintraub, Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel of Jacuzzi Group

Jason Weintraub is Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel of Jacuzzi Group, a global, private equity-owned consumer products manufacturer with over 5,000 employees. Mr. Weintraub manages Jacuzzi Group’s legal, compliance, risk management and real estate functions. His responsibilities include protecting the company’s iconic, globally famous Jacuzzi® trademark and other intellectual property. Mr. Weintraub also leads Jacuzzi Group’s regulatory and corporate compliance program and supports the company’s ESG efforts.

Alex Yap, Partner, Morrison Foerster

Alex Yap is a partner in the Intellectual Property Group. As a former administrative patent law judge at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), he helps clients navigate post-grant adversarial proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). He focuses his practice on America Invents Act (AIA) trials before the PTAB, as well as IP litigation matters.

Prior to rejoining the firm, Alex served as an administrative patent judge at the USPTO in San Jose, CA. In that capacity, he presided on more than 200 ex parte appeals, inter partes review (IPR), and covered business method (CBM) patent proceedings.

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