Speakers

European Union Intellectual Property Office | Director Institutional and Cooperation Department

Director Institutional and Cooperation Department (ICD), EUIPO, ES In January 2021 Mr. Laganovskis joined the European Union Intellectual Property Office. He is the Director of the Institutional and Cooperation Department. Before joining the EUIPO, Mr Laganovskis worked for more than 20 years in the public service, in the field of intellectual property and judicial cooperation. Before his tenure as the Head of the Latvian Patent Office (2013 – 2020), he worked for nearly 14 years at the Ministry of Justice of Latvia, holding a number of positions, including being twice posted as a diplomat to Brussels. He was elected and served as the Chair of the Budget Committee of the EUIPO (2018 – 2020), the President of the Patent Cooperation Treaty Union Assembly of the WIPO (2017 – 2020) and was Deputy Chair of the Technical and Operational Support Committee of the EPO from 2016 to 2019.

Lee, Wan Chieh (Jenny)

Haug Partners | Partner

Wan Chieh (Jenny) Lee is a partner in the New York office of Haug Partners. Her practice focuses on strategic counseling, procurement of worldwide patent rights, due diligence, freedom to operate, and intellectual property transactions. She routinely advises clients in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries regarding patentability, validity, freedom-to-operate, and regulatory exclusivity. Jenny develops and executes patent procurement strategies that are aligned with clients’ immediate and long-term business goals. She leverages her strong ability to digest complex technical information with her experience in both patent procurement and litigation to provide clients with valuable transactional insights.

Long, David W.

Essential Patent LLC | Patent Attorney

David has over twenty years of experience litigating complex patent issues in the telecommunications industry ranging from simple matters to high-stakes litigation. He was a judicial law clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and has substantial experience leading litigation in federal courts and in the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (“PTO”). His experience includes balancing parallel proceedings in multiple courts and the PTO. He counsels domestic and international clients on patent licensing, product redesigns, trade secrets and other legal issues in telecommunications, electronic circuits, microchips, computer and other high-tech industries.

Lotfi, Seema

Bookoff McAndrews PLLC | Attorney

Sima has experience in both patent prosecution and litigation, and has focused her practice on prosecuting patents in the areas of biotechnology and machine learning, as well as post-grant proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Mak, Toby

Tee & Howe | Senior Counsel / Patent Attorney

Dr. Toby Mak is a registered Chinese Patent Attorney and has a Ph.D. in Chemistry. Dr. Toby Mak was born in Hong Kong and graduated from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He worked at one of the largest law firms in Hong Kong for 8 years before joining Tee & Howe.

Marrone, Matthew

Dennemeyer & Associates | Senior Patent and Trademark Attorney

Matthew is Senior Patent and Trademark Attorney with international intellectual property firm Dennemeyer & Associates.

Marsh, John

Bailey Cavalieri LLC | Member

As the Co-Chair of the Firm’s Business Litigation Practice Group, John’s commercial litigation practice concentrates on trade secrets and the enforcement of restrictive covenants throughout the United States. John has been consistently recognized by Best Lawyers of America for Intellectual Property Litigation, including Lawyer of the Year in Columbus in 2022 and 2024.

Mertzel, Nancy J.

Mertzel Law PLLC | Principal and Founder

Nancy J. Mertzel is the Founder of Mertzel Law PLLC, a boutique intellectual property firm with offices in New York and New Jersey. Nancy handles copyright, trademark, technology, and entertainment disputes and counseling. Her litigation practice concentrates on copyright and trademark infringement. On the transactional side, she handles trademark clearance, prosecution and portfolio management and drafts and negotiates IP agreements. She also advises clients on copyright issues including fair use and artificial intelligence.

Michel, Paul R.

US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit | Chief Judge (retired)

Paul Michel served on the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for 22 years before retiring as chief judge in 2010 to advocate for reviving the US Patent System. Along with Judge Kathleen O’Malley (Ret), he serves on the Board of Directors of C4IP and on the boards of the Chamber of Commerce’s BASIC Coalition opposing misuse of Bayh-Dole march in powers and the Inventors Defense Alliance defending access to third party litigation financing and thus patent justice for smaller companies and individual inventors.

Milman, Isabel

Daniel IP | Partner

Lawyer in the field of Trademark and Patent Litigation, with extensive experience in complex litigation involving intellectual property issues, such patent and trademarks infringement and nullity lawsuits, and others related to unfair competition, trade dress, software and copyright, for clients from a wide range of sectors.

Mirza, Sarah

Squire Patton Boggs | Partner

Sarah Mirza is a partner in the Intellectual Property & Technology practice at Squire Patton Boggs, where she helps clients build, protect, and monetize patent portfolios in the electronics, software, and technology sectors. She advises clients ranging from early-stage startups to Fortune 100 companies on comprehensive patent strategy, enforcement, defensive positioning, freedom-to-operate analysis, and handling post-grant proceedings.

Moller, Jeremy

MBIP | Principal

Jeremy is a Principal at MBIP in Queensland Australia and has been a registered patent and trademark attorney since 2014. He has degrees in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics and worked on high voltage power systems, lighting design, and software implementation and deployment early in his career. He prepares patent applications for local businesses and also helps them obtain protection overseas – predominantly in the US, Europe, New Zealand, China, and Japan.

Morgan, Elizabeth Ann

The Morgan Law Firm | Founder

Elizabeth Ann “Betty” Morgan is board certified by the Florida Bar as a specialist in in intellectual property law through 2023 and was certified in business litigation from 1997 to 2007. Ms. Morgan is an arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association (AAA) on the Complex Case, Commercial Employment and Consumer panels. With the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR) she serves on the technology, entertainment, employment, trademark and Philadelphia area panels. She also arbitrates with FINRA and NAM.

Murphy, John

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania | Judge

John Murphy is a judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Before being appointed to the court, Judge Murphy was an IP litigation partner at Baker & Hostetler in Philadelphia, where he focused on patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret and other intellectual property disputes. He teaches patent litigation and strategy as an adjunct professor at both Villanova Law School and Rutgers Law School. Judge Murphy is co-author of the last three editions of the casebook Patent Litigation and Strategy along with Federal Circuit Chief Judge Kimberly A. Moore, Professor Timothy Holbrook, and Andrew Sommer. Judge Murphy also clerked for Chief Judge Moore. He attended Harvard Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology. Before that, he obtained a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Caltech and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University.

Nakajima, Masaru

Ueda & Nakajima | Founding Partner

Masaru is a founding partner in the Ueda & Nakajima IP Law firm. He has been a patent attorney since 2006 and is a qualified IP litigator in Japan, as well as a Patent Agent in the US. He drafts and prosecuted patents in various fields related to pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and organic chemistry and also works on freedom-to-operate, infringement, and patent validity opinions, post-grant procedures, and litigations in Japan, as well as in the US, Europe, China, and South Korea.

Neal, Arlene

Neal Blibo LLC | Managing Partner

Arlene Neal is a founding member and managing partner of Neal Blibo LLC where she advises clients on a board range of IP and business law matters. Arlene has over two decades of experience in helping multinational companies, start-ups, and solopreneurs efficiently manage and protect business and intellectual assets and secure investments in innovation through IP procurement, enforcement, and IP transfers.

Ney, Joshua E.

Barnes & Thornburg, LLP | Partner

Josh Ney counsels life science companies in patent procurement, freedom-to-operate, due diligence and litigation matters. With a Ph.D. in chemistry, Josh practices in a range of technology areas, including small molecule drugs, lipid nanoparticles, mRNA therapeutics, monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, flow cytometry technology, and polymer chemistry. Josh helps life science clients protect their assets throughout the product life-cycle, including patent drafting and prosecution, counseling regarding patent and regulatory exclusivity, and patent enforcement.

O’Gorman, Kevin

Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP | Global Co-Head of International Arbitration

Kevin O’Gorman is the Global Co-Head of International Arbitration. Kevin is lauded for his representation of clients in commercial, energy, treaty and project disputes. He handles disputes in the US courts and around the world under the major arbitration rules including AAA,CPR, DIAC, ICC, ICDR, ICSID, JAMS, LCIA, SIAC and UNCITRAL. In recognition of exemplary client work, BTI named Kevin a Client Service All-Star. Chambers US has awarded Kevin a nationwide ranking since 2007.

Osha, John

Osha Bergman Watanabe & Burton LLP | Founding Partner

John leverages his more than 35 years of IP experience to provide effective strategic counseling to his clients and to mentor younger attorneys and agents in the firm. His practice covers the full scope of IP with special emphasis on management of complex international IP portfolios. John founded Osha Bergman Watanabe & Burton LLP in Houston, Texas in 1998, currently leads the firm’s electronics, optics, and physics group and chairs the firm’s international practice with offices in France, China, Japan and the U.A.E.

Papa, Elisabetta

Societa' Italiana Brevetti S.P.A. | Partner, BoA Member, Head of Patents

Elisabetta teaches European Patent practice and strategies in courses leading up to European Patent Attorney qualification exams organised by the Centre d’Etudes Internationales de la Propriété Industrielle (R. Schuman University, Strasbourg). She is a former member of the EPO’s EC-III examination committee in charge of marking D papers during the qualifying examination for European Patent Attorneys (EQE).

Pappas, Peter-Anthony

U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary | Director of Intellectual Property Policy

Peter-Anthony Pappas is a patent professional licensed to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). He serves as the Director of Intellectual Property (IP) Policy for the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary under Senator Thom Tillis – Chairman of the Subcommittee on IP – to whom he advises on all IP matters (e.g., patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret).

Parker, Usha

PKH IP | Partner

Usha focuses her practice on all aspects of patent prosecution related to electrical and mechanical technologies. Usha has drafted hundreds of applications for innovations in wireless (cellular, V2X, satellite) communication, electronic circuits and interconnects, automotive sensor and processing systems, consumer and medical devices, semiconductors and integrated circuit designs, machine learning applications, and software. She has conducted over a thousand interviews with USPTO examiners and has authored several articles on different aspects of patent procurement, including strategies for addressing patentability-based (§ 101) rejections.

Perrotti, Pierluigi

Court of First Instance, Milan | Judge

Pierluigi Perrotti is currently a judge in Italy and has so far carried out his entire professional activity at the Court of First Instance of Milan. He initially served, starting in 2002, in the Department specialized in insolvency and corporate crisis. In 2010, Pierluigi moved to the Department specialized in enterprise litigation, with competence in Intellectual Property, competition law, antitrust and copyright, with an extensive experience in patent litigation, referring to various technological sectors such as pharmaceutical, telecommunication, electronic and mechanic, handling numerous proceedings.

Pollack, Jonathan

PCK | Patent Agent

Jonathan is a Canadian patent agent at PCK who supports companies through complex stages of innovation, helping them make confident decisions about their intellectual property. Clients value his collaborative approach and strategic insight, particularly when aligning IP with evolving product goals, timelines, and competitive pressures. Jonathan focuses on patent drafting, prosecution, and portfolio development. He provides opinions on patentability, infringement, and validity, and works with clients in high-tech fields including AI, wireless systems, semiconductor memory, e-commerce, and secure communications.

Postiglione, Andrea

Supreme Court Italy | Deputy Advocate generale

Andrea Postiglione is a legal professional currently serving as Deputy Advocate General at the Supreme Court of Cassation in Italy and as a presiding judge at the Unified Patent Court in Milan. With a legal career beginning in 1995, Postiglione has experience as a lawyer, public prosecutor, and judge across various courts, including the Enterprise Court of Rome focusing on intellectual property cases. Fluent in Italian, German, English, and with good knowledge of French, Postiglione has also studied in Germany and worked with WWF Italy’s legal department.

Purohit, Amol

Recursion | Vice President

Amol Purohit is an accomplished in-house intellectual property attorney with extensive experience leading IP functions and strategies across various industries. He currently serves as VP for Intellectual Property and Legal Business Development at Recursion Pharmaceuticals, an AI driven tech-bio company, where he manages Recursion's entire IP portfolio across the company's AI platform and clinical assets.

Robin, Gemma

HLK | Partner

Gemma is a UK and European Patent Attorney, and Partner in HLK’s Tech team. With a particular focus on the protection of AI innovation in Europe, Gemma is described in the IAM Patent 1000 as “deeply impressive in her technical skill” and bringing “terrific knowledge and expertise to her practice.”

Royzman, Irena

Orrick | Partner

Irena Royzman is a nationally recognized life sciences IP litigator, representing pharmaceutical and biotechnology innovators in their highest stakes disputes.

Sackman, Ned

Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson, P. A . | Shareholder

Ned is a seasoned litigator known for his sharp legal mind and steady hand in high-stakes disputes. He focuses on complex commercial litigation, intellectual property disputes, and the representation of automotive and equipment dealers, helping clients resolve tough problems through clear strategy and unshakable advocacy.

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.

Silverman, Eric E.

Genentech, Inc. | Senior IP Attorney

Eric E. Silverman, PhD has over twenty years of intellectual property experience spanning a wide range of industries and technologies. Eric started his IP career as a patent examiner at the USPTO, where he became a primary examiner of patent applications in technologies including pharmaceutical formulations, drug delivery, medical devices, implants, and cosmetics. He then spent several years in large international law firms where his practice included IP litigation, prosecution, and due diligence in technologies such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, solar power, petrochemicals, oil and gas, and ceramics.

Sinclair, Karen

Harvard Office of Technology Development | Director of Intellectual Property

Karen Sinclair oversees the development of Harvard’s patent portfolio. Working closely with other Directors in OTD, Karen advises on OTD-wide productivity as well as patent strategies to maximize the value of IP to facilitate commercialization efforts. She has the honor of directing a team of skilled attorneys and paralegals who secure Harvard’s patent rights and fulfill Harvard’s patent related obligations.

Smith, Dorothie

Meta | Patent Counsel

Dorothie Smith is a patent counsel working in the patent field at a leading silicon valley technology company. She specializes in patent prosecution for software-related inventions, with a focus on AR, VR, and other immersive technology. Dorothie began her career as a patent examiner and has held roles in both law firms and in-house, including experience in product cybersecurity and open-source licensing.

Smith-Carra, Heather

Banner Witcoff | Attorney

Heather works with clients around the world to manage, protect, and enforce their trademark, copyright, and trade dress rights. Heather represents clients ranging from startups to international corporations to pro bono organizations on a variety of intellectual property issues, including worldwide trademark and copyright prosecution, counseling and enforcement matters, as well as cancellation and opposition proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). She has significant experience navigating clients through the entire trademark process from trademark clearance searches to new application filings to responding to refusals and handling registration and renewals.

Smythe, Alexandra

IDE Group | Director of Regulatory Affairs

Alexandra Low Smythe is Director of Regulatory Affairs for IDE Group, a global medical device commercialization firm building meaningful medtech ventures. She has nearly a decade of experience deeply involved in all phases of the medical device product lifecycle, managing both global regulatory and the intellectual property strategy for multiple employers and clients, including a major innovator in the radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging industry. With a unique background combining engineering and law, Alexandra carefully balances maintaining regulatory compliance and respecting and protecting intellectual property rights with achieving strategic business objectives.

Spector, Elaine

Harrity & Harrity LLP | Partner

Elaine Spector is a partner at the IP boutique, Harrity & Harrity and the firm’s first female partner. She is a passionate advocate for women’s leadership in intellectual property and serves on the Board of IPO Education Foundation, US IP Alliance and Patent Pathways. With a background in mechanical engineering and close to three decades in patent law, Elaine empowers women in IP to build strong, authentic personal brands and break new ground in the field.

Squires, Hon. John A.

United States Patent and Trademark Office | Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director

John A. Squires is the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). As chief executive, he leads one of the largest intellectual property (IP) offices in the world—almost a $5 billion operation with over 14,000 employees located across the 50 states and Puerto Rico. He is also the principal IP advisor to the President and Administration, through the Secretary of Commerce. Prior to joining the USPTO, Mr. Squires served as Partner and Chair of the IP and Emerging Companies Practice at Dilworth Paxson LLP and an adjunct law professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law. He has extensive experience in all aspects of IP and emerging companies, across a vast array of scientific and technology disciplines, including patent and trademark asset creation, procurement and acquisition, transactions, licensing, corporate formation, governance and structuring, high-stakes litigation and regulatory, and risk management matters.

Stadheim, Theresa

Marshall Gerstein & Borun LLP | Special Counsel

Theresa Stadheim is a seasoned patent attorney who focuses her practice on drafting and prosecuting patent applications across a wide range of technologies, including wireless communications, artificial intelligence, machine learning, memory devices, and computer architecture. With a background as an electrical engineer in both hardware and software development, she brings a deep technical perspective to her legal work.

Sullivan, Kelu

Kelly IP, LLP | Partner

Kelu Sullivan is a seasoned intellectual property attorney with Kelly IP, LLP, a trademark and copyright boutique based in Washington, D.C. with nearly two decades of experience in trademark, copyright, and domain name law. Kelu is particularly experienced in the management of global trademark portfolios and providing creative and practical business-focused intellectual property protection, licensing, and enforcement strategies.

Tottis, Kevin

TottisLaw | Managing Partner

For the better part of the past four decades, Kevin’s litigated commercial and intellectual property cases throughout the United States for foreign and domestic clients. He currently heads up TottisLaw, a Chicago litigation boutique he started after several years as a partner in a national law firm. For the second year in a row since Chambers inaugurated its Chicago “Regional Spotlight Guide” of small and midsized law firms, TottisLaw has been recognized for its IP practice.

Tsujimoto, Nobuyuki

Japan Intellectual Property Association (JIPA) | Deputy Chairperson

Mr.Tsujimoto has been a member of the International First Committee of the Japan Intellectual Property Association (JIPA), where he conducts research and studies on U.S. patent practices from 2022. He is a deputy chairperson of the International First Committee.

Uson, Adriana

Singapore International Arbitration Centre | Director & Head (Americas)

Adriana Uson is the Director & Head (Americas) of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) where she leads and oversees SIAC’s activities in North and Latin America. In 2020, Adriana led the establishment of SIAC’s first office outside of Asia in New York. Adriana has over a decade of experience in dispute resolution and has served as counsel on international arbitrations, arbitrator, and institutional representative. Adriana first joined SIAC as Counsel, during which time she administered hundreds of cases across a range of seats and governing laws. She was involved in the drafting of the SIAC Rules 2016, SIAC Investment Arbitration Rules 2017, SIAC Rules 2025, and the SIAC Practice Note on third-party funding. She was also a member of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators working group that published the SIArb Guidelines on Party-Representative Ethics.

Van Voorhis, Kim

Nike | Assistant General Counsel, Global IP LItigation

Kim is Assistant General Counsel, Global IP Litigation & Director of IP Europe at Nike, Inc. She is a committed IP professional, bringing nearly 20 years of experience litigating, managing portfolios, and providing strategic counseling on all aspects of global intellectual property rights, including patents, trademarks, design, copyright and trade secrets, in both elite law firm and Fortune 100 corporate settings.

Wagner, Matthew

PDC Brands | General Counsel

Matt Wagner is General Counsel of PDC Brands, a global leader in wellness and personal care headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. PDC’s portfolio includes category-leading brands such as Cantu®, Dr Teal’s®, Eylure®, and Body Fantasies®, sold at major retailers throughout the U.S., U.K., and in more than 80 markets worldwide.

Weinstein, Stanton D.

Stanton D. Weinstein is an experienced IP attorney located near Philadelphia, PA. Stan previously spent much of his career as an in-house intellectual property counsel for a major corporation in the defense electronics industry. Stan's extensive experience includes patent, trademark and copyright law and practice, protection of proprietary information, and other aspects of intellectual property law; U.S. Government procurement regulations and clauses relating to patent rights and data rights; computer law, such as Internet/intranet issues, software licensing, and open source software issues; export controls; and intellectual property aspects of mergers and acquisitions. He began his intellectual property career with the U.S. Navy-wide Field Patent Program, including special assignments as Acting Patent Counsel, Naval Air Development Center, and as Acting Patent Counsel, Naval Training Equipment Center.

White, J. Rhoades, Jr.

Dority & Manning, P.A. | Principal

J. Rhoades White, Jr. (“Rhoades”) is a Principal at Dority & Manning in Greenville, South Carolina, where he prepares, prosecutes, and manages U.S. and international patent portfolios, primarily in the mechanical and electromechanical arts. He advises Fortune 500 and other large corporate clients on advanced, non-traditional patent protection strategies, including portfolio architecture for emerging technologies.

Wong, Ellen

Adobe | Senior Legal Counsel

Ellen Wong is Associate Senior Legal Counsel at Adobe supporting the AI product development of Adobe Experience Platform and several of the applications built on Experience Platform. Ellen 's work focuses on supporting teams that build generative AI and agentic AI capabilities. She was formerly a patent litigator at Foley & Lardner, patent counsel (Azure and Windows) and then product counsel (Microsoft Edge) at Microsoft, and product counsel (voice and smart glasses) at Meta Reality Labs.

Wright, Simon

Schlich | Director

Simon has a Chemistry (with Biochemistry) degree from Bristol University and qualified as a UK patent attorney in 1990. He became a European Patent Attorney in 1992 while with Kilburn & Strode, and later joined J A Kemp in 1994. He became a partner in J A Kemp’s biotechnology group in 2005 and moved to Schlich on the south coast UK in January 2022.

Xia, Jerry

GEN Law Firm | Partner

Jerry Xia is the founding & managing partner of GEN Law Firm’s Shanghai & California offices and also chairs the firm’s patent and trade secret litigation practice. He has over 20 years of experience in both private and in-house practice. Previously, he was Honeywell's Chief IP Counsel in Asia Pacific.

Yun, Arkay

CISUN | Partner

Arkay Yun is a Korean patent attorney with over 20 years of experience in domestic and international intellectual property law and practice. His practice includes patent drafting, prosecution, trials, appeal and litigation in Korea. He has advised on patent portfolio development, and IP strategy consulting. His technical expertise covers materials, battery technologies, semiconductor devices, displays, machinery, business models, and AI technologies. He holds a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Seoul National University, an M.Sc. in Management of Technology from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and an LL.M. in International Intellectual Property Law from Chicago-Kent College of Law.