The IP Strategy Summit: Los Angeles
The IP Strategy Summit
Los Angeles – September 11, 2025
Los Angeles sits at the intersection of entertainment, technology, and innovation, making it a pivotal landscape for the evolution of intellectual property strategy. As organizations face accelerating innovation cycles, AI-generated content, global enforcement challenges, and high-stakes litigation, IP leaders are navigating increasingly complex terrain.
The IP Strategy Summit: Los Angeles brings together senior in-house counsel, legal strategists, and industry experts to address the operational and legal frameworks shaping today’s IP landscape. From aligning patent portfolios with business goals to managing trade secret risk across distributed teams, this summit explores the critical intersections of law, technology, and enterprise value.
With a focus on actionable insight and peer-driven discussion, sessions explore topics such as the strategic use of trade secrets versus patents, the impact of generative AI on IP ownership, trends in global brand enforcement, and litigation developments affecting IP strategy. Attendees will gain practical tools to strengthen their organization’s IP posture, manage cross-functional collaboration, and adapt to emerging threats and opportunities.
This program is designed for IP professionals leading at scale—those tasked with protecting innovation while enabling growth in a fast-changing regulatory and technological environment. Through a mix of panels, case studies, and peer exchange, participants will engage with the realities of IP protection and strategy in 2025 and beyond.
+ CLE Pending Approval CA
- Portfolio Management & IP Strategy: Aligning Business Goals
- Copyright in the Streaming and Content Boom
- Trade Secrets in 2025: Prevention, Protection & Internal Education as Core Strategy
- AI, Generative Content, and IP — Who Owns What?
- Patent Litigation Trends
- Global Brand Protection: Winning Strategies Across Jurisdictions
- Chief IP Counsel
- Chief Legal Officer / General Counsel
- Deputy, Associate, or Assistant General Counsel
- VP or Director of IP Strategy
- Head of Intellectual Property or Licensing
- Patent Counsel / IP Counsel
- Trade Secret Counsel / Confidential Information Officer
- Trademark & Brand Protection Counsel
- Copyright or Digital Rights Counsel
- Director of Business and Legal Affairs
- Director or VP of Legal, Product, or R&D Counsel
- Head of Litigation / Litigation Counsel
- Corporate or Commercial Counsel
- Legal Operations Leaders Supporting IP Strategy
- Innovation or Technology Counsel
Agenda
One-to-One Meetings begin. If interested in participating, email info@centerforceusa.com
A strong IP portfolio doesn’t just protect innovation—it drives strategic growth, competitive advantage, and long-term business value. Legal teams are evolving their patent and trade secret strategies to better align with corporate priorities, R&D investment, and global expansion. As innovation cycles accelerate and budgets tighten, IP leaders are rethinking how to measure value and make tradeoffs across portfolios. From early-stage idea capture to monetization and divestment, portfolio management is becoming more integrated with corporate planning.
This panel will discuss:
- How to assess and adjust portfolio strategy based on evolving business needs
- Balancing patenting, trade secret protection, and licensing in a resource-constrained environment
- Governance models that improve visibility across R&D, legal, and commercial teams
- Metrics and tools that help IP leaders demonstrate value to the business
Joslyn Garcia is a registered patent agent and engineer at American Honda Motor, where she strategizes protections over inventions, manages a growing patent portfolio, and improves IP workflow processes. She is passionate about and involved in the advancement, protection, and success of a variety of technologies at Honda, including aerospace, automotive, software, business processes, artificial intelligence, spatial computing, and more. Joslyn is a listed inventor for several pending Honda patents.
Previously, Joslyn was a Manufacturing Electromechanical Engineer at Northrop Grumman and Stellant Systems, serving as a lead engineer over the production of satellite microelectronic packages for various government programs. Prior to working in the space industry, Joslyn served in various engineering roles as a MATLAB instructor, roller coaster engineer (Disney Imagineering), test engineer (HP and Northrop Grumman), body design engineer (Toyota), and software engineer (NASA). Her breadth of exposure provides a diverse background for not only patent prosecution, but IP business strategy.
Joslyn received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), specializing in Design, Robotics, and Manufacturing. Joslyn is also a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) from the Project Management Institute.
Kevin currently serves as Associate General Counsel, Patents for Meta, where he has pioneered new ways to increase patent submissions from underrepresented inventor groups at Meta. He also counsels on legal issues related to the development of augmented and virtual reality products, including the Meta Quest line of VR products. Kevin currently resides in Southern California. His hobbies include golf and teaching his four-year-old son how to surf.
If interested in participating, email info@centerforceusa.com
With the explosion of digital content creation, licensing, and distribution, copyright law is being tested like never before. Streaming platforms, user-generated content, and AI tools have upended traditional content ownership and royalty models. This panel will unpack current copyright challenges facing companies that create, license, or distribute media and content. Panelists will explore recent legal disputes, legislative developments, and enforcement trends that in-house counsel must stay ahead of. Topics include derivative works, platform liability, international rights management, and AI-generated works. Whether you’re in media, tech, or entertainment, this session offers practical insights into managing copyright in the age of rapid creation and consumption. Expect real-world takeaways from leaders in the field.
This panel will discuss:
- Copyright risks and considerations in streaming and digital content
- Enforcement trends and platform responsibilities
- Strategies for rights management and licensing in global markets
- The role of AI in content creation and implications for ownership and infringement
Zach Sinick has spent his career music supervising, producing, licensing, editing, and placing songs in film, TV, ads, trailers, and games. His work has garnered awards and nominations from Cannes, the Clios, the Emmys, the VMAs, and AICP. First he ran the award-winning music house Squeak E. Clean, followed by the sync licensing dept. at Universal Music’s KIDinaKORNER label. Now Zach helms his own sync and supervision shop WOOFER (a pun on his love for both music and dogs).
Over the years he’s collaborated with artists, directors, and producers like Imagine Dragons, Karen O, Kanye West, Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, and Alex Da Kid. Zach has also been a panelist at the Billboard/Hollywood Reporter Film & TV Conference, California Copyright Conference, and a guest speaker at both UCLA and USC.
Kelly W. Cunningham is a partner at Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP and Chair of its IP Department. Kelly is a registered patent attorney with 25 years of experience in patent, trademark, and copyright litigation in district and appellate courts throughout the country, and before the USPTO; counselling clients on optimizing their IP protection; and prosecuting patents and trademarks in the U.S. and throughout the world.
U.S. House Representatives consulted Kelly when drafting the 2012 America Invents Act. The LA and SF Daily Journals named Kelly a top 100 IP lawyer in California the past two years, the Los Angeles Times named him a top legal visionary, and Lawdragon named him a top 500 leading global IP lawyer.
As threats to confidential information grow more complex, trade secret protection is becoming a top priority for in-house legal teams. From employee mobility and hybrid work to increased vendor access and generative AI, the risk of trade secret leakage has never been higher. In 2025, prevention is the new defense, with leading organizations embedding trade secret awareness across engineering, product, and business units. Legal teams are also strengthening internal policies, training programs, and cross-functional collaboration. We will examine the real-world strategies companies are using to map, label, and protect proprietary know-how.
This panel will discuss:
- How to operationalize trade secret protection with internal stakeholders
- Legal and technical controls to mitigate risk across distributed workforces
- Real-world lessons from recent trade secret litigation and investigations
- Embedding trade secret education and accountability into employee workflows
Sanjesh Sharma is Assistant General Counsel, Patents at Johnson & Johnson Vision, where she manages all aspects of intellectual property for the company’s Refractive Surgery and Laser Cataract Surgery product lines, including managing domestic and international patent portfolios, litigation support, opposition practice, product clearances, due diligence for asset acquisitions and licensing, as well as copyright and trademark compliance. Before moving in-house, she worked at various national and global law firms, focusing mainly on patent and trademark litigation, licensing, due diligence, and counseling involving a wide range of technologies, including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and consumer electronics.
Sanjesh received her undergraduate degree in Microbiology from University of California, San Diego, and her law degree from Loyola Law School. She currently serves as a member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Patent Interest Group for the IP Section of the California State Bar. She regularly speaks on patents and in-house practice, and has been named Rising Star in Intellectual Property by Super Lawyers.
If interested in participating, email info@centerforceusa.com
The rise of generative AI has shaken foundational assumptions about intellectual property ownership. When AI models produce text, images, inventions, or code who owns the output? This panel will dissect the intersecting challenges across copyright, patent, and trade secret law, with a focus on how in-house counsel are navigating uncharted territory. From employee use of AI tools to vendor contracts and internal model development, new questions are emerging about authorship, originality, and protection. As the law lags behind the technology, corporate IP leaders must define their own playbook.
This panel will discuss:
- Legal theories of ownership for AI-generated content across IP types
- Internal policies for managing employee and third-party use of generative AI
- Risks to trade secrets and confidential information in AI training and outputs
- Contract clauses and governance strategies to future-proof IP rights
JP Shih is Director, Associate General Counsel at Rivian and is the company-wide legal lead for Privacy and Cybersecurity. JP also serves on Rivian’s AI Advisory Committee. Prior to Rivian, JP was Strategy Counsel at Google, where he oversaw a cross-functional team of legal and compliance professionals that strategized on company-wide/high-stakes issues across Alphabet. Before Google, JP was Associate General Counsel and legal lead for Meta’s suite of Media, Gaming, and Strategic Community products from concept through launch.
JP was also formerly the head attorney for EA Los Angeles (regional legal team) and served as primary counsel for many premium product development studios at EA, including Maxis (Sims/SimCity), BioWare (Mass Effect), Respawn (Apex Legends, Titanfall), PopCap (Bejeweled, Plants v. Zombies), The Simpsons: Tapped Out, Scrabble, Monopoly, and more.
JP was formerly an Associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, where he practiced in the Intellectual Property, Data Privacy & Technology departments. JP was also previously associated with Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, as well as Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Before law school, JP was a management consultant in the financial services and health care industries where he specialized in managing the development and execution of business turnaround plans.
Malgorzata “Gosia” Kulczycka is an experienced attorney in the firm’s San Jose office with a broad-based IP law practice. With more than 15 years of legal experience, Gosia works to protect and support her client’s intellectual property through patent preparation and prosecution and by employing trademark and brand protection strategies for and against infringement claims.
Inventor herself, Gosia practices in various IP areas and technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, communication technologies, complex software, and more.
Gosia also has extensive experience in computer graphics and computer networks. She has procured and managed large IP client accounts in computer graphics and AI.
Patent litigation remains a moving target, shaped by venue preferences, new case law, litigation funding, and shifts in global enforcement. This panel will explore how in-house counsel are preparing for and responding to litigation threats amid increasing complexity and cost. From NPEs to competitor suits to ITC actions, litigation strategy now demands faster decision-making, budget transparency, and collaboration across teams.
This panel will discuss:
- Top patent litigation risks and emerging venue trends in 2025
- Strategies to reduce exposure and increase leverage in active litigation
- The impact of litigation funding and how to prepare internally
- Key legal developments and decisions shaping patent litigation outcomes
Protecting your brand across global markets has never been more critical or more complex. From counterfeit enforcement to online infringement to navigating local trademark regimes, brand protection requires coordination between legal, compliance, and marketing teams. We will explore how companies are evolving global brand protection strategies in response to regulatory shifts, ecommerce challenges, and enforcement gaps. With brand equity increasingly tied to IP enforcement, this session delivers timely insights for cross-border success.
This panel will discuss:
- Trends in global brand enforcement and jurisdiction-specific risk factors
- Online enforcement strategies and platform collaboration models
- Working with customs, local counsel, and global enforcement teams
- Building a scalable and proactive brand protection program
If interested in participating, email info@centerforceusa.com
Rotating, 20-minute discussions hosted by a topic expert
RT 1: Competitor vs. Competitor IP Litigation: Offensive and Defensive Strategies
Speakers
Joslyn Garcia is a registered patent agent and engineer at American Honda Motor, where she strategizes protections over inventions, manages a growing patent portfolio, and improves IP workflow processes. She is passionate about and involved in the advancement, protection, and success of a variety of technologies at Honda, including aerospace, automotive, software, business processes, artificial intelligence, spatial computing, and more. Joslyn is a listed inventor for several pending Honda patents.
Previously, Joslyn was a Manufacturing Electromechanical Engineer at Northrop Grumman and Stellant Systems, serving as a lead engineer over the production of satellite microelectronic packages for various government programs. Prior to working in the space industry, Joslyn served in various engineering roles as a MATLAB instructor, roller coaster engineer (Disney Imagineering), test engineer (HP and Northrop Grumman), body design engineer (Toyota), and software engineer (NASA). Her breadth of exposure provides a diverse background for not only patent prosecution, but IP business strategy.
Joslyn received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), specializing in Design, Robotics, and Manufacturing. Joslyn is also a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) from the Project Management Institute.
Zach Sinick has spent his career music supervising, producing, licensing, editing, and placing songs in film, TV, ads, trailers, and games. His work has garnered awards and nominations from Cannes, the Clios, the Emmys, the VMAs, and AICP. First he ran the award-winning music house Squeak E. Clean, followed by the sync licensing dept. at Universal Music’s KIDinaKORNER label. Now Zach helms his own sync and supervision shop WOOFER (a pun on his love for both music and dogs).
Over the years he’s collaborated with artists, directors, and producers like Imagine Dragons, Karen O, Kanye West, Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, and Alex Da Kid. Zach has also been a panelist at the Billboard/Hollywood Reporter Film & TV Conference, California Copyright Conference, and a guest speaker at both UCLA and USC.
JP Shih is Director, Associate General Counsel at Rivian and is the company-wide legal lead for Privacy and Cybersecurity. JP also serves on Rivian’s AI Advisory Committee. Prior to Rivian, JP was Strategy Counsel at Google, where he oversaw a cross-functional team of legal and compliance professionals that strategized on company-wide/high-stakes issues across Alphabet. Before Google, JP was Associate General Counsel and legal lead for Meta’s suite of Media, Gaming, and Strategic Community products from concept through launch.
JP was also formerly the head attorney for EA Los Angeles (regional legal team) and served as primary counsel for many premium product development studios at EA, including Maxis (Sims/SimCity), BioWare (Mass Effect), Respawn (Apex Legends, Titanfall), PopCap (Bejeweled, Plants v. Zombies), The Simpsons: Tapped Out, Scrabble, Monopoly, and more.
JP was formerly an Associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, where he practiced in the Intellectual Property, Data Privacy & Technology departments. JP was also previously associated with Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, as well as Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Before law school, JP was a management consultant in the financial services and health care industries where he specialized in managing the development and execution of business turnaround plans.
Kevin currently serves as Associate General Counsel, Patents for Meta, where he has pioneered new ways to increase patent submissions from underrepresented inventor groups at Meta. He also counsels on legal issues related to the development of augmented and virtual reality products, including the Meta Quest line of VR products. Kevin currently resides in Southern California. His hobbies include golf and teaching his four-year-old son how to surf.
Sanjesh Sharma is Assistant General Counsel, Patents at Johnson & Johnson Vision, where she manages all aspects of intellectual property for the company’s Refractive Surgery and Laser Cataract Surgery product lines, including managing domestic and international patent portfolios, litigation support, opposition practice, product clearances, due diligence for asset acquisitions and licensing, as well as copyright and trademark compliance. Before moving in-house, she worked at various national and global law firms, focusing mainly on patent and trademark litigation, licensing, due diligence, and counseling involving a wide range of technologies, including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and consumer electronics.
Sanjesh received her undergraduate degree in Microbiology from University of California, San Diego, and her law degree from Loyola Law School. She currently serves as a member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Patent Interest Group for the IP Section of the California State Bar. She regularly speaks on patents and in-house practice, and has been named Rising Star in Intellectual Property by Super Lawyers.
Malgorzata “Gosia” Kulczycka is an experienced attorney in the firm’s San Jose office with a broad-based IP law practice. With more than 15 years of legal experience, Gosia works to protect and support her client’s intellectual property through patent preparation and prosecution and by employing trademark and brand protection strategies for and against infringement claims.
Inventor herself, Gosia practices in various IP areas and technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, communication technologies, complex software, and more.
Gosia also has extensive experience in computer graphics and computer networks. She has procured and managed large IP client accounts in computer graphics and AI.
Kelly W. Cunningham is a partner at Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP and Chair of its IP Department. Kelly is a registered patent attorney with 25 years of experience in patent, trademark, and copyright litigation in district and appellate courts throughout the country, and before the USPTO; counselling clients on optimizing their IP protection; and prosecuting patents and trademarks in the U.S. and throughout the world.
U.S. House Representatives consulted Kelly when drafting the 2012 America Invents Act. The LA and SF Daily Journals named Kelly a top 100 IP lawyer in California the past two years, the Los Angeles Times named him a top legal visionary, and Lawdragon named him a top 500 leading global IP lawyer.
Sponsors
Steptoe LLP
Steptoe is well known for integrating legal, strategic policy and advocacy, and pragmatic business considerations to develop effective solutions to regulatory challenges for our clients. In more than 110 years of practice, Steptoe has earned an international reputation for vigorous representation of clients before governmental agencies, successful advocacy in litigation and arbitration, and creative and practical advice in structuring business transactions. Steptoe has more than 500 lawyers and other professional staff across offices in Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington.
Patterson + Sheridan
Patterson + Sheridan LLP is a boutique IP firm with eight offices nationwide. Our firm’s broad and deep technical expertise sets us apart with 80+ attorneys, patent agents, and technical advisors spanning disciplines in engineering, physics, computer science, biology, materials science, and chemistry. P+S combines technical expertise with an in-depth understanding of intellectual property law and our clients’ business objectives to provide a pragmatic, efficient approach to support licensing and litigation efforts.
With a focus on patent preparation and prosecution since our beginning, P+S has formed decades-long partnerships with companies working seamlessly together to build, leverage, and protect their IP assets. P+S also works with some of the world’s best-known brands, providing cost-effective IP strategies and protection for a range of assets.
Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP
Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP is a full-service law firm based in the heart of Beverly Hills. For over 70 years, ECJ has served as trusted counsel to entrepreneurs, private businesses, global companies and high-net-worth individuals. Our attorneys combine strategic thinking with practical solutions, offering deep experience across litigation, real estate, corporate, tax, IP, employment and more. With a culture rooted in collaboration, agility and client service, ECJ delivers big-firm sophistication with boutique-firm responsiveness. We pride ourselves on building long-term relationships and delivering results that reflect both legal excellence and business acumen. At ECJ, we’re not just legal advisors; we are strategic business partners who understand the demands of high-stakes matters, the importance of discretion and the need for forward-thinking solutions.
Venue
TBA
Los Angeles, CA
Pricing
| Register By | In House Counsel | Law Firms & Vendors |
|---|---|---|
| September 11, 2025 | $395.00 | Contact info@centerforceusa.com |
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- Please note that speakers and topics were confirmed at the time of publishing, however, circumstances beyond the control of the organizers may necessitate substitutions, alterations or cancellations of the speakers and/or topics. As such, CenterForce reserves the right to alter or modify the advertised speakers and/or topics if necessary. Any substitutions or alterations will be updated on our web page as soon as possible.
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