IP Strategy Summit – Palo Alto

Best boss ever

 Jim is the Senior Manager of the Patent Program at Autodesk, Inc. a producer of CAD and 3D design software used for product and building design as well as the motion picture industry.  He’s worked with product teams, researchers and software engineers helping them to articulate and characterize their innovations then developing a strategy for protecting those assets.  He started his IP career as a software engineer and got more interested in patentable work at Phone.com, where he worked on several of his own inventions, now issued patents.  Jim has several other issued patents and enjoys every aspect of the patent process.  Jim earned his B.A. in Russian and Eastern European Studies from the University of Michigan.

Thomas George is an Associate General Counsel and Head of the Patent Group at Samsung Research America (SRA). His responsibilites include managing invention evaluations, managing the preparation and prosecution of patent applications, patent analysis, publication clearance, export compliance, copyrights, and open source. He manages a team of patent attorneys, patent agents, and paralegals. He has worked at SRA for 12 years and prior to that worked in-house at Xilinx and Siemens and also worked at various law firms in Silicon Valley and New York.

Arthi Chakravarthy has been Chief Legal Officer since joining Enovix in April 2023. She has 20 years of experience as a business attorney for semiconductor and manufacturing companies. Most recently, Arthi was the General Counsel of Lightning eMotors (NYSE: ZEV), a zero emissions commercial vehicle manufacturing company. Previously, she served as Deputy General Counsel of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), a semiconductor company. Before Micron, she was Vice President, Commercial Legal Affairs at TiVo, Inc., a consumer hardware company. Arthi began her career at major law firms including Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Morrison & Foerster LLP. Since 2009, she has served as a Board Member of Hospital for Hope India, a non-profit hospital in rural India. Arthi received a J.D. from Stanford Law School where she served as Editor of the Stanford Law Review. She has a B.A. in Human Biology with Honors from Stanford University.

David Sanker is a Mathematician, a Software Engineer, and a Patent Attorney. David earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics from Berkeley, and returned to Berkeley 15 years later for his law degree after careers in academia and production software development. As a Patent Attorney at Morgan Lewis, David was a patent litigator for four years and a patent practitioner for more than 13 years. As a patent practitioner, David works with clients, inventors, the U.S. Patent Office, and associates throughout the world to build strong IP protection. This has included a lot of work with AI, and David continues to speak and write about AI. David also has an entrepreneurial spirit, launching his own small patent firm SankerIP in February 2024. In this way, David is able to provide high-quality work without the very high billing rates and conflicts of large law firms.

Brad Lawrence focuses his practice on intellectual property counseling including the protection of clients’ inventions through carefully planned patent procurement. His practice also includes analysis of the IP and product positions of others and the development of licensing strategies as well as performing product clearances in the form of non-infringement and/or invalidity opinions. He also has significant prior litigation experience that includes many aspects of patent, trademark, and trade secret litigation as well as licensing and other extrajudicial resolution of IP disputes

Kristopher B. Kastens advises and represents clients on issues at the intersection of law and technology. Kris represents clients in patent litigation across multiple technology areas, including computer security, cryptography, artificial intelligence, distributed systems, and network infrastructure. He also advises on the various legal issues intertwined with the development of blockchain technologies and has been a frequent author on blockchain-based technologies and the law.

Jonathan Tuminaro, Ph.D. is a director in Sterne Kessler’s Trial & Appellate and Electronics Practice Groups. Jonathan is an experienced trial lawyer who focuses his practice on complex electronics litigation in the U.S. district courts, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). He has represented some of the leading high-tech companies in patent litigation matters relating to telecommunications, network security, LCD flat-panel displays, computer graphics, automotive technologies, GPS location-based service, and wireless power transfer. Jonathan is particularly well known for his extensive experience handling economics issues in patent litigation—including damages in district court, domestic industry at the ITC, and objective considerations of non-obviousness at the PTAB. He has defended patents that have led to judgments worth nearly $25M and has defended against patents where the damages were alleged to exceed $100M.

Ed has a BS in Materials Science and Engineering as well as a PhD in Polymer Science and Engineering. He has working in the chemical industry and for several SF Bay Area high tech companies in process and materials development before becoming involving in technology licensing and becoming a patent agent. After completing law school he then started a private IP law practice. He is currently working part time for Meyer Corp with world wide responsibility for patent and trademark procurement for multiple affiliated companies, including freedom to practice opinions and analysis.

Glaser Weil Partner, Intellectual Property Department Chair, and Investigations, Compliance and Strategic Response Co-chair Lawrence “Larry” M. Hadley is a highly skilled patent and trade secret first chair trial and appellate attorney who represents a wide range of technology-industry clients. In addition to patents and trade secrets, Larry has extensive experience in trademark and copyright law. He is well respected for vigorously and successfully representing clients going up against tech giants and is consistently sought after as a creative problem solver whose deep and broad knowledge of intellectual property law allows him to decisively counsel his clients through complex litigation and achieve precedent-setting results.

Larry has handled intellectual property and complex litigation cases involving computer hardware and software design, networking and wireless communications, medical devices, telecommunications and transportation. His proficiency in technology has led him to appear in trial and appellate courts across the country and before the United States International Trade Commission (USITC).

Larry maintains a diverse practice built on his extensive experience in:

• Intellectual property litigation
  •  Patents
  • Trade secrets
  • Trademarks
  • Copyright
• Intellectual property strategic counseling and licensing
• ITC litigation
• Post-grant proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
• Cyber matters related to ransomware and online defamation
• Crisis management and strategic response

In addition to his decades-long legal career, Larry offers an exceptionally diverse background, having served as a naval officer, licensed commercial ship navigator and licensed pilot. He also previously served as a settlement officer in the Los Angeles Superior Court Voluntary Settlement Program.

A highly regarded thought leader in intellectual property legal issues, Larry acts as a frequent commentator on matters related to technology.

He is ranked in Best Lawyers in America as a leading lawyer in Patent Litigation, in Benchmark Litigation as a Local Litigation Star (Los Angeles) in Intellectual Property, and in Lawdragon as one of the 500 leading litigators in the United States.

Dr. Hongming Liu is a Senior IP Counsel at Tencent America.  He formerly worked at Nokia Technologies, a business group of Nokia Corporation, which also includes HERE and Nokia Networks. At Tencent America, Hongming’s primary function is patent portfolio management and invention harvesting. Prior to Nokia Technologies, Hongming worked as a software developer and software architect. Hongming has taught graduate and undergraduate computer science and software engineering courses at DePaul University, Chicago. Hongming received his juris doctorate and doctorate in Computer Science from DePaul University, and his undergraduate degree from University of Science and Technology of China.

As a former software entrepreneur and management consultant, Warren Braunig is particularly well suited to advise technology and software companies in solving their most difficult business and legal problems. Although he has tried more than a dozen cases in state court, federal court and arbitration, Warren also appreciates that sometimes the thorniest problems can be solved outside the courtroom. His approach to litigation is tenacious, creative, and always focused on the client’s ultimate objectives.

Warren’s practice is centered on intellectual property, but runs the gamut of complex commercial litigation, from antitrust and employment disputes to contract fights, copyright and patent infringement cases. He has particular expertise in issues of trade secret and employee mobility. His clients have included Qualcomm, Google, Roche/Genentech, Western Digital, Williams-Sonoma, Dialpad, and CREXi.

Among other prominent wins, Warren successfully defended SaaS software innovator Freshworks in a multinational trade secrets case brought by a competitor, and prominent chip developer and entrepreneur Gerard Williams in trade-secret litigation brought by a former employer. He won a complete defense verdict for a multinational law firm against a $60 million malpractice claim arising out of patent litigation in the ITC and Delaware. He defended Dialpad in multiple patent-infringement attacks launched by competitors. And, for more than a decade, he has steered the San Diego County Water Authority through various lawsuits against the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, obtaining more than $100 million in damages and fees for the ratepayers of San Diego County. He is currently defending commercial real estate platform CREXi in a major federal copyright case brought by a competitor.

Warren earned his J.D. from New York University School of Law and served as a clerk to Justice Kim McLane Wardlaw on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Prior to his law career, he was the director of product marketing at Emmperative, Inc. and is the co-inventor of two registered software patents. He regularly writes, provides news commentary, and presents on various trade secret law topics. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and three children.

Doug’s practice is focused on intellectual property contested matters in the areas of patents, trade secrets, and trademarks. His experience includes all aspects of federal IP litigation in numerous district courts across the country and in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

A precise advocate and experienced negotiator, Doug’s expertise spans every phase of the dispute resolution process, from pre-suit investigation through appeal. Doug also devotes a substantial portion of his practice to Inter Partes Review and other proceedings before the USPTO, where he is admitted as a Patent Attorney. He has also served as litigation counsel in numerous cases under the Hatch-Waxman Act and on behalf of various generic pharmaceutical companies. Doug has also represented clients in International Trade Commission matters, and has experience in arbitration proceedings and other alternative dispute resolution forums, such as the Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising Division.

In addition to his work on contested matters, Doug also counsels his clients on both patent and trademark strategy, including both filing strategy and enforcement strategy, as well as legal opinions such as freedom-to-practice, validity, and infringement opinions.

Rina Wang advises on a broad portfolio of legal matters as Senior Counsel at Peet’s Coffee. Since 2019, she has also trained companies on best practices for managing within the law and respectful workplaces. She previously worked as general counsel of a global software company, where she settled a federal misappropriation of trade secrets case against a former employee.

John Picone specializes in complex cases that deviate from standard practices and require meticulous research, comprehensive knowledge, and high-level creativity to protect clients’ interests.

An innovator in strategy development and execution, John blends his extensive mission planning, training, organization, situational awareness, and tactical skills acquired over his decades-long career as a Naval Aviator with his industry insight and courtroom experience to obtain the best possible outcomes.

With an emphasis on intricate litigation cases, John represents clients navigating patent, trademark, and copyright claims; trade secrets; labor and employment matters; and complex contractual disputes. He also specializes in technology-centric civil and criminal litigation, armed with an extensive background in semiconductors, software and programming languages, encryption, cellular / wireless technology, mining equipment and processes, avionics, optics, and e-commerce models.

A veteran leader of intellectual property teams, John has received multiple firm and individual honors for his work. He also has the unique experience of serving as an extern in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, as a member of the San Benito (California) County Panel Public Defender, and as lead special prosecutor with the San Benito County District Attorney’s Office. John continues to serve as Special Counsel for the Santa Clara (California) County Public Defender and is an active member of the Intellectual Property Section of the Santa Clara County Bar Association.

His other professional experience includes decorated military service of more than 20 years as a Naval Aviator stationed at the Naval Air Station in Moffett Field, California, flying the U.S. Navy’s P-3 “Orion” aircraft.

Maya James represents clients in criminal prosecutions and investigations, high-stakes commercial litigation, and government enforcement actions in state and federal courts nationwide. Most recently, she shielded a high-profile bank executive from criminal and civil liability; secured a sweeping injunction to protect her client’s trade secrets and helped the government successfully mount a criminal case against the individuals behind the misappropriation; convinced the DOJ to drop an antitrust investigation into her client; and succeeded in invalidating patents wielded by the other side in patent infringement cases.

Maya is also deeply committed to her pro bono practice, representing indigent criminal defendants in proceedings to vacate murder convictions secured under a California felony-murder statute that has since been reformed. She established a unique pro bono partnership between our firm and public defender offices in California to help vacate felony murder convictions, through which the firm has successfully vacated convictions for six individuals who have since been, or will soon be, released from prison.

Prior to joining Keker, Van Nest & Peters, Maya served as a law clerk to Judge Jesus G. Bernal of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Maya earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School and graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in philosophy. While in law school, she worked at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office and taught classes on substantive law and criminal procedure to incarcerated youth at the San Mateo County Youth Services Center. She also served as a course assistant in the Stanford Management Science & Engineering Department where she lectured on topics ranging from the application of Bayesian inference in criminal trials to statistical analysis of discrimination claims. She is a native Spanish speaker.

Daniel Richards is counsel in Ropes & Gray’s intellectual property group. He focuses his work on patent litigation involving a variety of technologies, including mobile device, semiconductor, computer software, RF, networking, LCD display, content distribution, signal processing, and telecommunications technologies. Daniel is experienced in all stages of district court and ITC litigation from pre-suit investigations, discovery, claim construction, pre-trial proceedings, trial, and post-trial briefing, and appeals. Daniel also has extensive experience in all stages of proceedings before the patent office. His experience spans all aspects of both bringing and defending against inter partes review petitions, as well as preparing ex parte reexamination requests.

Michael Rueckheim is the Litigation Department lead for the firm’s Silicon Valley office. He is a seasoned patent litigator with a background in technology, focusing on district court litigation, PTAB post-grant proceedings, ITC actions, and related IP matters. With nearly a decade of experience as a semiconductor process technician and analytical research chemist, he guides clients through all stages of litigation, from pre-suit investigations to appeals at the Federal Circuit, achieving success in jury trials, depositions, and inter partes review proceedings. Since 2020, Mike has been recognized by IAM Patent 1000, which commented that Mike is “highly knowledgeable and experienced in all facets of patents and patent litigation, which he uses to achieve great results.

Patrick is a seasoned patent attorney and CLP with 20 years of experience in electrical engineering, software, telecommunications, medical devices, and mechanical arts. He has a proven track record of securing hundreds of patents for clients in diverse fields like AI, blockchain, AR, and network security. Patrick leverages patent examiner insights and analytics to optimize patent quality and minimize costs. He is adept at licensing, negotiation, and IP transaction strategies. His practice also encompasses IP investigations, risk mitigation, and enforcement. Patrick’s expertise in IP protection and commercialization makes him a valuable asset for clients seeking to maximize the value of their intellectual property.

Nick is a seasoned patent attorney specializing in cutting-edge technologies like AI, cloud computing, and financial services. With over a decade of experience, he excels at securing high-value patents for clients. His innovative approach streamlines the patent process, saving clients time and money. Having managed global patent portfolios, he has a deep understanding of international IP law. Beyond prosecution, he advises on IP issues, including infringement, validity, and freedom-to-operate. Nick’s passion for technology fuels his practice and his commitment to client success.

Carson is a litigation associate in Winston & Strawn’s Silicon Valley office who focuses his practice on intellectual property matters. His degree in computer science gives him a robust foundation to advise clients on matters involving a variety of technologies, including artificial intelligence, software, semiconductors, computer architecture, data structures such as blockchain, cloud computing, and autonomous vehicles. Carson’s previous work experiences at a semiconductor startup and autonomous vehicle company give him a unique perspective into the business needs of clients, and the underlying intellectual property that forms the core of their industry.