The 4th Annual IP Strategy Summit: Boston

Mr. Hubbard is the Head of Patents for MilliporeSigma. MilliporeSigma, the U.S. life science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, has over 19,000 employees and 72 manufacturing sites worldwide, with a portfolio of more than 300,000 products enabling scientific discovery. MilliporeSigma comprises the legacy EMD Millipore and Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany Life Science organizations andSigma-Aldrich Corporation following its acquisition in 2015. Through collaboration with the global, scientific community, MilliporeSigma serves as a strategic partner to customers with the goal of accelerating access to health, worldwide. MilliporeSigma has operations in 67 countries and combined 2016 revenues of ~€6 billion. 

Prior to joining MilliporeSigma, Mr Hubbard was a Senior Managing Patent Counsel at W.R. Grace & Co.; the Deputy Senior Technical Advisor tothe US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; and an Associate at the law firm of Brenner & Wray. Mr. Hubbard holds a B.S. in Biology from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst and a J.D. from George Washington University. 

Catherine Toppin is Senior Patent Counsel & Manager at General Electric.  Catherine has held several roles within GE’s IP group, most recently as a global team of patent attorneys and agents that provide IP support for multiple GE business units.  Her practice currently consists of IP strategy and counseling, portfolio development and commercial transaction drafting and negotiation.  Before joining GE, Ms. Toppin was an associate in the IP Group of a general practice firm in Boston, MA.  She also worked as a Patent Examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  She earned her B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University and her J.D. from the University of Maryland, Baltimore Francis King Carey School of Law.

Outside of work, Catherine speaks to underrepresented students and young professionals on the job and in her community.  She is an active Princeton alumna, and currently serves on the board of the Association of Black Princeton Alumni, and the Leadership Advisory Council of the Princeton University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.  She also serves on the boards of the Urban League of Southern CT, and Project S.T.E.P., a program that provides music education to underrepresented students in Boston.  Her accolades include the Award for Service to Princeton, the Urban League Woman of Power Award, The Network Journal’s 2017 40 Under Forty Achievers, and most recently, the National Bar Association’s 2017 Diversity in Tech Award.  In her spare time, Catherine enjoys salsa dancing and playing violin as principal second violinist in the New Westchester Symphony Orchestra. 

Joseph is the manager of patent engineers spanning all technologies associated with IBM's vast patent portfolio. He has been a patent engineering professional for the past 10 years supporting the licensing and divestiture of intellectual property where he developed evidence of use, analyzed patent portfolios, valued patents, and developed risk profiles and analysis. Joseph is a registered patent attorney and a member of the Florida bar. Joseph held a variety of positions in IBM including software development and semiconductor development. Joseph holds masters degrees in both computer engineering and software engineering.

JD - Suffolk University Law School

VP Group Intellectual Property with global responsibility and a breadth of experience in several cross functional management positions including Intellectual Property management, New Business Development, Business Process Integration and Improvement, Strategic Portfolio Management, Technology and Product Development, and IT systems implementation in a global organization with 41 locations in 18 countries serving filtration, food packaging, medical, diagnostics, glass fiber reinforcements, decor, technical paper and release liner markets.

Responsibilities include IP matter management including patent, trade secret and trade mark management, collaboration agreements, conflict management, training and global implementation of IP policy.

Co-managing partner Phil Colburn has transformed Cantor Colburn into one of the nation’s leading intellectual property law firms. Phil leads a team of more than 110 attorneys, patent agents, and technical advisors who are committed to helping clients optimize their IP assets through the timely delivery of top quality, cost-effective legal services. His counsel to Fortune 50 multinationals, as well as smaller companies and universities, is informed both by unique technical insights gained from his years of professional experience as a design engineer and by strategic perspectives derived from more than 20 years’ practice as an IP attorney. Taking a proactive, results-driven approach allows him to help clients define their needs and implement strategies that achieve their objectives. A frequent speaker on IP issues, Phil is an Adjunct Professor of Patent Law at Western New England College School of Law.

James’ practice includes patent procurement, opinion, analysis & strategy, litigation, technology licensing, primarily focusing on life sciences, material sciences, medical device, and electronics. As a conduit between China and the rest of the world, James represents international clients to obtain and enforce their intellectual property (IP) rights in the fast-evolving and challenging IP environment in China. In particular, James helps international clients to enhance the value of IP assets, lower IP risks, and increase commercialization opportunities through comprehensive due diligence, counseling, procurement, litigation and cross-border licensing and collaboration.

Mr. Sankhla has held numerous global leadership roles in law, business, and technology. Prior to his current position, he has worked with reputed law firms, and corporations such as Schneider Electric, SAP and Motorola.  Before venturing in IP, Saket worked in software programming and electronics.  He believes this gives him an added advantage to understand the engineers (lack of engineer’s interest in IP) and project life cycle.  

Saket’s passion to share knowledge brings him to present in many IP Summits.  He routinely speaks and counsels globally on successfully executing global IP strategies for competitive advantage, effecting exceptional returns on IP investment, and transforming to innovative global legal department operations. 

He even finds time to be give lecturers in University of New Hampshire. Mr. Sankhla has a Masters of Intellectual Property from Franklin Pierce Law Center, Masters in Information Technology from IIT-Roorkee, and Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communication from Bharathiar University.

Lauren Ingegneri is Senior Corporate Counsel at Agero, offering B2B roadside assistance services, including a SaaS dispatch platform, for automotive manufacturers and insurance companies. She combines her engineering background and broad legal experience to advise senior leaders on complex litigation, risk management, contracts, IP, compliance, and employment matters.  Lauren was formerly IP Counsel at Abiomed, Inc., where she led global IP portfolio and litigation strategy for its minimally invasive heart pump technology. 

Lauren has a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and a B.S. in Engineering Science, magna cum laude, from Smith College.  

She volunteers with Read to a Child, a national organization whose mission is to foster a love of reading and empower underserved children by having adults read to them regularly.  Lauren has also served on the planning committee for the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) General Counsel Institute. 

Steven Reynolds has served as General Counsel and head of the Legal Department since the Sensors & Controls business of Texas Instruments was purchased by Bain Capital in April 2006. He was named a vice president in January 2007. Mr. Reynolds supported the S&C business of Texas Instruments as legal counsel beginning in January 1999 and was with Texas Instruments since 1990 in other legal positions. Prior to joining Texas Instruments, Mr. Reynolds worked as an attorney in both private and in-house practice. Mr. Reynolds is a graduate of Georgetown University and the Rutgers University School of Law.

Based in Boston, Mark is a member of the firm at Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC.  He is a seasoned patent attorney with almost 25 years of experience, both in-house and in private practice, in supporting innovation in the healthcare, information technology, lighting, consumer goods and electronics sectors. Mark is a strategic adviser to his clients, skilled at managing global IP portfolios in alignment with business objectives and guiding business leaders, inventors and entrepreneurs on the strategies, tools and techniques for protecting the fruits of their innovation.

While serving as the Deputy General Counsel, IP at Color Kinetics, the LED lighting pioneer, Mark accelerated patent filings and orchestrated the company’s patent portfolio coverage assessment, facilitating the imminent acquisition by Philips for ~$800 million. Mark then spent 14 years in leadership roles at Philips Intellectual Property & Standards, working closely with Research and various business clusters and units of the company.  Immediately prior to joining Bond, Mark was the Head of IP for a NASDAQ-listed public company, where he built the IP function from the ground up and led the IP strategy development. Prior to going in-house, Mark was an IP associate at two large general practice law firms in Boston, representing technology clients such as Boston Scientific, the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, E-Ink Corporation, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in patent matters.

Mark is a graduate of National Technical University of Ukraine and Boston University School of Law.

 

 

John Pint is a Senior Intellectual Property Counsel with Philips Intellectual Property & Standards. John’s practice focuses on patent licensing, transactional work, and litigation, largely in connection with Philips’ LED-based lighting program. Prior to joining Philips, John was an attorney with Proskauer Rose LLP in Boston, representing clients in all manner of intellectual property matters including patent and trademark litigation and prosecution and licensing and transactional work in a wide variety of industries. John has a B.S. in Physics from the University of Minnesota and a J.D. from Tulane University Law School.

Jeremy is co-chair of Bond’s intellectual property and patent litigation team. He has an accomplished track record and substantial experience in litigating high-stakes intellectual property disputes, including patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret matters. Over the course of his career, Jeremy has litigated over fifty intellectual property cases in federal courts throughout the country, including venues in Delaware, Illinois, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, and Texas, and has significant trial and appellate experience. He has represented many well-recognized companies, including Analog Devices, Church & Dwight, Facebook, General Media Communications (owner of PENTHOUSE® brands), ImClone Systems, and Transamerica Life Insurance. A registered patent attorney, Jeremy has extensive experience in securing, protecting, and managing patents and trademarks in the United States and internationally. He assists clients with matters before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, including patent reexaminations. He also works with clients on patentability and product clearance studies, freedom to operate evaluations, trademark and branding clearance, licensing, and corporate transactions involving intellectual property.

David is Associate General Counsel at Bose. His experience includes Senior IP Counsel at Bose, Associate Counsel at Fish and Richardson as well as at Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault LLP. John earned his J.D. at UCONN School of Law.

JD and Masters of Intellectual Property from Franklin Pierce Law Center. Registered Patent Attorney drafting and prosecuting patent applications in electrical, software, telecommunications, optics, semiconductor, and electro-mechanical arts. BSEE in 1985 with work experience that includes Grumman Aerospace, Raytheon and Analog Devices. Former partner at Maine & Asmus, Nashua NH and IP manager at GE Global Research Center in Niskayuna NY. Currently Deputy Chief Counsel Intellectual Property at BAE Systems.

Specialties: Intellectual Property management, Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Licensing and related areas.

 

Brian J. Hubbard draws on both his law firm and in-house experiences in his practice, which includes advice regarding intellectual property enforcement, strategy, patent preparation/prosecution, and opinions. He is also well-versed in post-grant proceedings (e.g., reexamination, opposition, and Inter Parties Review (IPR)).  Brian deeply understands the nuances of global portfolio management, including offensive and defensive strategies to protect products and, hence, margin.  While in-house, Brian’s fast-paced, responsive, and direct advice led to his placement on a business management team, and his negotiation abilities and business acumen garnered him company-wide strategic counsel responsibilities for innovation interactions with two crucial brand-owners.  In his twenty years of practice, Brian has helped clients in a variety of technological areas, from pharmaceuticals to wireless technologies.

Atabak Royaee is a Senior Director and Assistant General Counsel, IP, at Regeneron.  In his role, Atabak provides IP strategy and portfolio development advice to business teams, counsels on IP licensing and transactions, manages manufacturing IP clearances, and advises on IP risks.  Prior to joining Regeneron, Atabak was at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., for over six years, and prior to that, he worked at different law firms for over a decade.  Before praticing patent law, Atabak was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard School of Public Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture specializing in immunology and infectious disease research.  Atabak has a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology and a B.S. in chemistry and from Georgetown University, and a law degree from the Suffolk University Law School.

 

Regina counsels clients on their most complex intellectual property issues in both transactional and operational settings. She advises private and public companies on technology transactions, including strategic acquisitions, private equity investments, licensing, and other commercial agreements. She is an experienced legal strategist who has helped clients grow, commercialize, and design around significant IP assets. Amongst her clients, including startups and mature companies, Regina is known for practical and effective advice that is rooted in their business needs.

A dual-qualified U.S. lawyer and Solicitor of England and Wales, Regina also represents clients in European patent oppositions and other post-grant proceedings. She is the author of The EU's Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court: A reference guide to the core legislation, regulations and rules of procedure, and speaks and writes regularly about global IP strategies for U.S. companies.

Regina has undergraduate and graduate degrees in electrical engineering from MIT, and previously worked in the telecommunications and software industries. She has deep experience across a range of technologies, including blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, semiconductor, financial technology (fintech), and medical technologies.

Zach Blume focuses his practice on representing public companies in business combinations, public offerings and private financings. In addition, Zach regularly advises public company and hedge fund clients on securities law compliance and governance issues. 

Reza Mollaaghababa, Ph.D. is a partner in the Intellectual Property Department of Pepper Hamilton LLP, resident in the Boston office. Dr. Mollaaghababa is co-chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Transactions and Rights Management Practice Group.

Dr. Mollaaghababa’s practice focuses on all aspects of intellectual property law, including preparation and prosecution of patent and trademark applications, preparation of patentability, infringement, validity and clearance opinions. He has prepared and prosecuted patent applications in diverse fields of technology, such as photonics/optics, nanotechnology, medical devices, semiconductor processing, lithography, telecommunications, magnetic resonance, and computer hardware and software.

Dr. Mollaaghababa works with well-established companies, emerging companies as well as academic institutions to identify and protect their intellectual property. He provides clients with strategic counseling, including licensing as well as formation and management of intellectual property portfolios.

Dr. Mollaaghababa also represents clients in post-grant proceedings before the U.S. Patent Office.  He has handled more than 40 inter partes review (IPR) proceedings.  He is a co-founder and frequent contributor of a blog on post-grant issues: www.postgrant-counsel.com.

Before joining Pepper, Dr. Mollaaghababa was a partner with Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP in Boston, where he was chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee.

Christopher Carroll is an Intellectual Property partner based in the Firm's Boston office, with a dual practice in London. He concentrates his practice on providing strategic patent advocacy and is licensed to practice before the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the European Patent Office (EPO) and the UK High Court. He provides advice and develops strategies for clients on patents, trademarks and copyrights.

Christopher's engineering background enables him to focus on the areas of mechanical, electrical, software and communications engineering including wireless protocols, Internet protocols and information security. His clients include software, telecommunications, medical and Internet companies.

Christopher's experience involves drafting and prosecuting U.S. and foreign patent applications and advising on patent portfolios for clients located all over the world. He regularly prepares legal opinions regarding patent validity, infringement and freedom-to-operate, provided due diligence opinions related to intellectual property, and drafted technology-related license agreements. He also has extensive experience handling Opposition and Appeal proceedings at the European Patent Office.

Prior to joining White & Case, Christopher was Counsel at an international law firm. In his earlier career prior to attending law school, Christopher supervised research related to wireless communications network security at Verizon and GTE Laboratories. He also developed Mobile IP cryptographic key distribution procedure used by Verizon Wireless in its 3G data service. His background also encompasses service in the U.S. Navy Submarine Force as a nuclear reactor operator. Christopher is an inventor of eight U.S. patents related to wireless security.

Ted Mathias focuses on trying patent cases. In the last several years, he has tried three cases to judgment and served as lead counsel in multiple cases involving 15+ patents. Ted has litigated patent cases and handled successful appeals to the Federal Circuit in the areas of medical devices, pharmaceuticals, mechanical devices, e-commerce and software. Clients frequently turn to him for guidance on patent remedies and competition issues that arise in connection with patent disputes.

Mr. Levitt’s 30 years of legal experience centers in the corporate sector where he has been at the forefront of intellectual property changes. As Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at Dow Corning Corporation, Mr. Levitt led a global team of more than 25 employees to advance and protect Dow Corning’s diverse technologies and markets. Previously, Mr. Levitt served as corporate counsel at DuPont and General Counsel of Solae, LLC, a joint venture by DuPont and Bunge.

Charles Sanders is a partner in the Boston office of Latham & Watkins. His practice focuses on intellectual property matters with an emphasis on patent litigation. Mr. Sanders represents clients as lead counsel in federal district court, the International Trade Commission (ITC), the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), and the Federal Circuit. He has obtained multimillion-dollar settlements, ITC exclusion orders, summary judgments, and trial and appellate victories. Mr. Sanders has handled a diverse range of technologies, including those involving aircraft, acoustic equipment, automotive components, bio-therapeutics, computer hardware and software, electromechanical devices, environmental remediation, fluid separation, LEDs, MRI, MOCVD, medical devices, OLEDs, network security, pharmaceuticals, rare earth magnets, semiconductors, smart phones, spectroscopy and communication systems.

Mr. Sanders received his J.D. from Harvard Law School and holds an A.B. in chemistry and physics from Harvard University. He is a member of the Boston Bar Association, Boston Patent Law Association, and the ITC Trial Lawyers Association.