Strengthen Your Patent Prosecution Skills
With Our Interactive, Online Boot Camp

Are you interested in staying current on patent prosecution practice or involved in cross-disciplinary practice? Are you a new or junior lawyer, a patent agent, or a technical advisor? Are you a foreign practitioner who wants to understand and speak the language of the USPTO and US practitioners when sending instructions on a US case or when receiving instructions on a local case?

If your answer is “yes” to any of the above questions, or if you simply love patent law, please join us virtually for this 4-day patent prosecution boot camp.

Now in its 22nd year, AIPLA’s Patent Prosecution Boot Camp is a comprehensive, CLE-accredited seminar that includes instructional lecture-style sessions with practical tips on US and international patent preparation and prosecution, as well as hands-on interactive workshops that will walk you through drafting claims and responding to office actions. To ensure that the workshops are relevant to your practice, they are held in smaller groups according to three technology backgrounds:

• Biotechnology/Chemical
• Electrical/Software
• Mechanical

Who Should Come

Beginning and experienced practitioners that want to improve their patent prosecution skills.

Topics Covered

Day 1: Initial Inventor Interview, Inventorship; Application Drafting/Provisionals; Patent Searching/Opinions; Claim Drafting Workshop

Day 2: §§ 101, 112, 102, 103 Rejections; Responding to Office Actions Workshop

Day 3: Restrictions/Double Patenting, Continuations & RCEs; Filing Formalities; Post Allowance; Design Patents; Ethics, IDS & Duty of Candor

Day 4: Petitions/Appeals; Prosecution Tips from Litigator's Perspective; PCT Filings and International Patent Prosecution

Program and Event Schedule

Registration Rates

CLE Information:

The 2021 AIPLA Virtual Patent Prosecution Boot Camp has a total of 1290 CLE minutes.  Ethics and Diversity/Elimination of Bias CLE credit sessions are listed below.  Credit amounts will vary by state, based upon each state’s regulations and credit calculation.

The 2021 Virtual Patent Prosecution Boot Camp has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of California in the amount of 21.50 hours, including 1.50 hours of Ethics CLE credit.

The above amount is the calculation for 60-minute hour states.  The maximum credit hour calculation for 50-minute hour states is 25.80 hours, including 1.80 hours of Ethics CLE credit.  Credit amounts will vary by state, based upon each state’s regulations and credit calculation.

We are an approved provider by most states requiring CLE and have applied for credit for this meeting to all states requiring CLE. 

Speakers

• Curtis, Anthony

  Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner | Attorney

  Tony Curtis is a registered patent attorney at Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner. His practice includes patent procurement, portfolio management and strategic counseling in a wide range of electrical, software, and mechanical technologies.
• Osterbur, Stefan D.

  Van Hoven PC | Partner

  Stefan is co-chair of the 2025 AIPLA Patent Prosecution Boot Camp. Stefan is a partner with Van Hoven P.C., and routinely counsels clients on a wide variety of intellectual property matters, including domestic and foreign prosecution of utility and design patent applications, intellectual property portfolio management, infringement and clearance issues, and intellectual property transactions. Stefan's legal practice also focuses on preparing legal opinions concerning patent infringement and validity, trade secrets, and intellectual property litigation. He also has experience in federal court actions and the United States Patent and Trademark Office, such as Reexaminations and Post Grant Review.
• Zalevsky, Marina

  Sughrue Mion PLLC, | Counsel

  Marina Zalevsky is of counsel in the law firm of Sughrue Mion PLLC, in Washington DC, and is a registered patent attorney with nearly 20 years of experience in the patent prosecution. Prior to entering the patent field, Marina, who is a native of Ukraine, had a prolonged and successful career as an Electrical Engineer with Energizer in Cleveland, OH. Today, Marina represents clients in all areas of patent prosecution, in the industries ranging from telecom to automotive. Marina presently serves as a vice-chair of the Patent Law Committee of AIPLA.
• Tripodi II, Paul D.

  Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP | Partner

  Paul is a partner in the Irvine and Los Angeles offices, where his practice focuses on intellectual property (IP) litigation, including patent litigation, trade secret misappropriation, and related licensing and contract disputes. He has been involved in both bench and jury trials in federal district courts, as well as proceedings before various international tribunals, the International Trade Commission (ITC), the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Paul has served as a pro bono prosecutor in nearly a dozen criminal matters, including as lead counsel in numerous related jury trials.
• Stephenson, Adam R.

  Adam R. Stephenson, LTD | Patent Attorney

  Adam Stephenson is founder of Adam R. Stephenson, LTD., a boutique IP firm located in Scottsdale, AZ. Adam is the Chair of the ex parte Appeals subcommittee of the Patent Law Committee of AIPLA, a member of the Appeals to the PTAB Committee of the PTAB Bar Association, and a member of the Patent Office Practice Committee of IPO. Adam’s interest in ex parte appeals led him to co-found a company that developed the first commercial database of ex parte appeals decisions and reflects an interest that began in law school about the use of Examiner statistics to aid patent prosecution work.
• Oppedahl, Carl

  Oppedahl Patent Law Firm LLC | Partner

  Carl Oppedahl is a frequent speaker on the Patent Cooperation Treaty. He is the author of the Ant-Like Persistence blog.
• Irving, Thomas L.

  The Marbury Law Group, PLLC | Senior Partner

  Tom Irving is Senior Partner at the Marbury Law Group, after a 47-year career at the world-famous Finnegan firm. Tom practices U.S. patent law, including but not limited to patent law experting in district court litigations, due diligence, counseling, strategy, rendering opinions on inventorship and ownership, patentability, validity and freedom to operate, patent preparation and prosecution in the Chemical and Life Science arts and listing approved drug products and methods of treatment in FDA’s Orange Book.. Tom obtained his undergraduate B.A, degree in chemistry at the University of Utah in 1974. Tom received his law degree from The Duke University School of Law in 1977. Tom is entering his 50th year in the U.S. patent law business and in the very early years was mentored by P.J. Federico, who co-wrote the 1952 Patent Act with Judge Rich.
• Polson, Margaret

  Polson Intellectual Property Law | Founder and Principal Attorney

  Margaret Polson is founder and principal attorney for Polson Intellectual Property Law. Overseeing the preparation and prosecution of utility and design patent applications, trademarks, and copyrights, she also assists clients with licensing and intellectual property strategy and management.
• Hansen, Robert M.

  The Marbury Law Group | Partner

  Robert (Bob) Hansen was a founding partner of Hansen Huang Technology Group, LLP which merged with Roberts Mardula & Wertheim, LLC to form The Marbury Law Group. Mr. Hansen has extensive experience in all aspects of intellectual property law, including patent preparation and prosecution; patentability, validity, and infringement opinions; sale and licensing of intellectual property; strategic patent portfolio development; and litigation.
• Cassell, Justin

  Workman Nydegger | Shareholder

  Justin Cassell provides legal counsel to clients on a wide array of patent matters, encompassing patent procurement, opinion formulation, and licensing agreements. He has drafted and prosecuted many patent applications in close collaboration with inventors, effectively facilitating the transition of PCT national stage applications into the United States. Furthermore, he maintains close cooperation with foreign counsel regarding national stage applications submitted to patent offices outside of the United States.
• Johnson, Benjamin

  Perkins Coie | Counsel

  Ben has worked to develop and protect intellectual property portfolios for clients in many industries, including automotive/hybrid drive systems, irrigation systems, industrial appliances, manufacturing systems, aerospace systems, and medical devices. Additionally, Ben has extensive experience preparing and prosecuting design patents.
• Kokjohn, Sydney

  Donaldson Company | Counsel

  Sydney R. Kokjohn is intellectual property counsel at Donaldson Company, Inc. (Bloomington, MN), a global leader in the filtration industry. Prior to joining Donaldson, she worked as a patent attorney at McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP in Chicago, IL. Before attending law school, Sydney graduated from Iowa State University (B.S., Chemical Engineering) and was a product development engineer at 3M.
• Sundby, Suzannah K.

  Managing Partner | Canady + Lortz LLP

  Suzannah practices all aspects of intellectual property law across diverse technologies including biochemistry, molecular biology, pharmaceuticals, microfluidics, diagnostics, medical devices, and nanotechnology. Her legal practice involves patent preparation and prosecution, licensing, opinion work, post-grant proceedings, strategic planning, and client counseling. Ms. Sundby has experience assisting start-up biotech companies with the preparation and prosecution of their foundation patents, nondisclosure agreements, and related IP issues.
• Arneson, Laura

  Mueting Raasch Group | Attorney

  Laura N. Arneson is a patent attorney experienced in the areas of biotechnology and the biomedical sciences. She will soon start an in-house position after seven years at Mueting Raasch Group in Minneapolis, MN.
• Canady, Ph.D., Karen S.

  Canady + Lortz LLP | Founding Partner

  Dr. Karen Canady is managing partner of the Los Angeles office of canady + lortz LLP, where she specializes in patent prosecution and client counseling, primarily serving universities and start-ups in the biotechnology industry. Her technical emphasis is in diagnostics and therapeutics, including vaccines, stem cells, biomarkers, personalized medicine, gene therapy, and recombinant molecules.
• Peyser, Emily C.

  Polsinelli | Shareholder

  Emily Peyser partners with clients to offer strategic and comprehensive intellectual property strategies to help procure and protect their patent and trademark portfolios.
• Lezak, Arriènne (Angel) M.

  Polsinelli | Shareholder

  A registered patent attorney and former senior patent examiner, Angel approaches prosecution with a personal, creative, and effective approach that is informed by extensive experience in the arts.
• Johnson, Andrew

  Donaldson | Intellectual Property Counsel

  Andy Johnson has been practicing patent law for nearly 15 years, first as an IP litigator at Faegre Baker Daniels (now Faegre Drinker) and now as in-house IP Counsel at Donaldson Company, Inc.
• Nikhanj, Rakhi

  Mueting, Raasch & Gebhardt | Shareholder

  Rakhi Nikhanj is a Shareholder at Mueting Raasch Group in Minneapolis, MN, and is a registered patent attorney with 17 years of experience advocating for her clients ranging from fortune 500 companies to start-up companies and individual inventors. Her patent work spans technical areas such as medical devices, high technology filters, software, material science, acoustics, sensors, and radio frequency and other communication systems.
• Murphy, Ph.D., Amanda K.

  Finnegan | Partner

  Amanda Murphy, Ph.D., focuses her practice on strategic client counseling, portfolio management, and patent prosecution for a range of clients, including small startup companies, research foundations, and large biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
• Uribe, Mauricio

  Knobbe Martens | Partner

  Mauricio Uribe is the Chair of the Software/IT and Electrical practice groups at Knobbe Martens. Mauricio has extensive experience in comprehensive client counseling in all aspects of intellectual property law. Mauricio is well versed in patent prosecution matters and portfolio development, especially in software, electrical and telecommunication technologies. He has counseled various clients on patent and technology licensing matters, including standards essential patent licensing. Mauricio is a frequent lecturer and author on intellectual property topics and emerging technologies, including Generative AI policies and intellectual property.
• Rogers, Jennifer

  Shumaker & Sieffert, P.A | Principal

  Jennifer Rogers is a registered patent attorney and Principal at the law firm of Shumaker & Sieffert, P.A. Her law practice focuses on patent preparation, patent prosecution before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and foreign offices, and client counseling, in the areas of software and electronics. Jennifer has drafted and prosecuted patent applications that cover a wide variety of computer- and software-related technologies, including data compression, computer networks, computer security, mobile devices, radio-frequency identification, and others.
• Norton, Vicki

  Duane Morris LLP | Partner

  Vicki G. Norton, Ph.D., served as Chair of the AIPLA Biotech Committee from 2017-2019, and is the Chair of the IP Life Sciences division and Team Lead for the Life Sciences Industry Group at Duane Morris, where she provides strategic IP counseling, devises strategies for clients to successfully counter patent claims and demands, performs IP diligence for partnering and funding opportunities, and has formulated worldwide patent strategies for clients entering public markets with valuations of over $6 billion. Duane Morris has been named a Juristat 2021 top patent firm for art unit 1600.
• Plehn-Dujowich, Debora

  Eckert Seamans | Member

  Debora Plehn-Dujowich has extensive experience as a patent attorney focusing on life sciences technologies. Debora's experience includes: conducting patent preparation and prosecution; conducting due diligence; drafting licensing agreements; and preparing patentability opinions, landscape opinions and freedom to operate opinions. Debora has also conducted reexamination and interference proceedings.
• Sebor, Angela

  Tolmar | Director Intellectual Property

  Angie Sebor is the Director Intellectual Property at Tolmar, Inc., a Colorado-based, fully integrated pharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative, specialty pharmaceutical products in the areas of urology, oncology, pediatric endocrinology and men’s health. Angie is a registered U.S. patent agent with a Ph.D. in Immunology and more than 27 years’ experience in patent law, both as an in-house practitioner and in private practice, primarily in the areas of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.
• Nigon, Ken
  Ken’s practice focuses on US and international patent protection for computer hardware, software, and business methods.
• Hjelle, Lucas

  Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner, PA | Principal

  Lucas Hjelle has been a patent attorney at Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner for the last twelve years. Lucas received his B.S. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, with a focus on digital signal processing and location-based technologies. He then worked full-time in Electrical Engineering and Aerospace for over ten years, including hardware engineering at LinksPoint (Norwalk, CT), GPS and INS engineering at Draper Laboratory (Cambridge, MA), and Senior Navigation Engineer at Honeywell (Minneapolis, MN). Lucas received his J.D. degree from William Mitchell College of Law, with a focus on Intellectual Property and legal research.
• Randall, David A.

  Orbit IP | Partner

  David is a registered patent attorney with over 25 years of experience. He has represented clients in a variety of intellectual property matters, including patent, trademark and trade secret litigation throughout the United States, as well as multi-jurisdictional matters.
• Gibb, III, Frederick W.

  Gibb & Riley | Principal and Founder

  Frederick W. Gibb, III is a principal and founding member of the firm, Gibb & Riley, and is a registered patent attorney principally drafting and prosecuting patent applications.
• Lieberman, Rochelle "Rocky"

  Lieberman & Brandsdorfer, LLC | Founding Member

  Rochelle Lieberman, also known as Rocky, is a founding member of the law firm of Lieberman & Brandsdorfer, LLC. Rocky is a registered patent attorney with 30 years of experience in the field, including both private practice and as a patent examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Rocky’s practice is directed at patent searching, opinions, preparation, and prosecution, representing clients in the technical areas of mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering, and computer science, including artificial intelligence and machine learning.
• Martinez-Lemke, Sheila

  Weaver Austin Villeneuve & Sampson LLP | Partner

  Sheila Martinez-Lemke is a patent attorney with more than 15 years of experience in all aspects of patent prosecution She specializing in client counseling for strategic development of international patent portfolios.
• Gwin, H. Sanders

  Shumaker & Sieffert, P.A | Principal

  H. Sanders Gwin, Jr. is a Principal of Shumaker & Sieffert. Sanders specializes in patent preparation/prosecution and patent infringement/validity counseling in the chemical, materials and software fields.
• Kwong, Stephanie

  Abbott Laboratories | Senior IP Counsel

  Stephanie Kwong has been working in the patent prosecution field for over 17 years. She is currently Senior Intellectual Property Counsel at Abbott Laboratories in Plymouth, Minnesota within their structural heart division. Prior to her in-house position, she worked at Twin Cities law firms and enjoyed a diverse practice encompassing patent prosecution, trademark prosecution, patentability analysis, FTO, due diligence and competitive monitoring. She currently serves as the President of the Minnesota Intellectual Property Law Association.

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