Past Events

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, interactive patent prosecution boot camp.

Now in its 23rd 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

Program and Event Schedule

The PPBC is a 4-day online program that is scheduled with breaks and evening networking opportunities that allow for focused learning.  View the Schedule at a Glance 

Day 1: 

10:00 - 11:00 AM, ET
Initial Inventor Interview, Stephanie Kwong
Inventorship, Sanders Gwin

11:30 AM - 1:00 PM, ET
Application Drafting/Provisionals, Sheila Martinez-Lemke
Patent Searching/Opinions, Rocky Lieberman 

2:00 - 3:30 PM, ET
Claim Drafting Workshops (Part 1)
Mechanical: Frederick Gibb, David Randall
EE/Software: Lucas Hjelle, Sylvia Chen
Bio/Chem: Angela Sebor, Deborah Plehn-Dujowich

Special USPTO Guests:
Mechanical: Michael McCullough & Peter Nolan, Supervisory Patent Examiners
EE/Software: Kevin Bates & Thienvu Tran, Supervisory Patent Examiners
Bio/Chem: Julie Wu & Jennifer Boyd, Supervisory Patent Examiners

4:00 - 5:30 PM, ET
Claim Drafting Workshops (Part 2)

Day 2: 

10:00 - 11:00 AM, ET
Responding to §§ 101 / 112 Rejections; Vicki Norton, Jennifer Rodgers

11:30 AM - 1:00 PM, ET
Responding to §§ 102 / 103 Rejections, Mauricio Uribe
Knowing USPTO & Examiner Interviews, Amanda Murphy

2:00 - 3:30 PM, ET
Responding to Office Actions Workshops (Part 1)
Mechanical: Rakhi Nikhanj, Sydney Kokjohn
EE/Software: Angel Lezak, Emily Peyser
Bio/Chem: Greg Zinkl, Ricardo Moran

Special USPTO Guests:
Mechanical: Michael McCullough & Peter Nolan, Supervisory Patent Examiners
EE/Software: Kevin Bates & Thienvu Tran, Supervisory Patent Examiners
Bio/Chem: Julie Wu & Jennifer Boyd, Supervisory Patent Examiners

4:00 - 5:30 PM, ET
Responding to Office Actions Workshops (Part 2)

Day 3: 

10:00 - 11:00 AM, ET
Restrictions/Double Patenting, Brian Whipps, Erin Nichols Matkaiti
Continuations & RCEs, Ben Johnson

11:30 AM - 1:00 PM, ET
Filing Formalities, Justin Cassell
Post Allowance (Issuance, Certificate of Correction, Patent Term, Disclaimers, Maintenance), Robert Hansen

2:00 - 3:30 PM, ET
Design Patents, Margaret Polson 

4:00 - 5:30 PM, ET
Ethics, IDS & Duty of Candor, Tom Irving

5:45 - 6:45 PM, ET
Post Session Meetup with Tom Irving

Day 4: 

10:00 - 11:00 AM, ET
PCT Filings and International Patent Prosecution (Part 1), Mary Drabnis

11:30 - 1:00 PM, ET
PCT Filings and International Patent Prosecution (Part 2), Mary Drabnis

2:00 - 3:00 PM, ET
Petitions/Appeals, Adam Stephenson 

3:30 - 4:30 PM, ET
Prosecution Tips from Litigator's Perspective, Paul Tripodi

Registration Rates

Junior & IP Paralegal Affiliate Members:   $195
Regular - Solo/Two-person:   $295
Regular Member:   $395
Law Student/Graduate Affiliate Member:   $55
Academic & Government Member:   $99
Non-Member Registration:    $795

CLE Information

The 2022 AIPLA Virtual Patent Prosecution Boot Camp has a total of 1260 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.

Who Should Come

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

Speakers

• Cassell, Justin

  Workman Nydegger | Shareholder

  Justin counsels clients on patent procurement, intellectual property due diligence, validity and infringement, strategic international IP protection, post-grant proceedings, and preliminary patent enforcement and defense actions.
• Chen, Sylvia

  Google | Patent Counsel

  As Google Patent Counsel, Sylvia flexes her legal and engineering degrees every day working with teams who develop Pixel phones and firms who draft patent applications for worldwide filing. Prior to joining Google in 2014 and refining their panel of US law firms, Sylvia was a patent attorney at Motorola. Before going in-house, Sylvia worked as an associate attorney at Fulbright & Jaworski LLP (now Norton Rose Fulbright).
• 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.
• 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.
• Hjelle, Lucas

  Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner, PA

  Lucas Hjelle is a patent attorney at Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner.
• 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.
• Kwong, Stephanie

  Dicke, Billig & Czaja, PLLC | Partner

  Stephanie is a registered patent attorney. In addition to patent prosecution, Stephanie has experience in trademark prosecution and maintenance, opinions, licensing, due diligence review and dispute resolution including intellectual property litigation.
• 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.
• 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.
• Moran, Ricardo

  Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner | Principal

  Ricardo Moran is a registered patent attorney practicing intellectual property law with an emphasis on small-molecule pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals and their formulations; imaging agents; and materials science. Dr. Moran’s practice focuses on chemical and pharmaceutical intellectual property law, including pharmaceutical patent litigation; preparation and prosecution of patent applications; infringement, validity, patentability, and due diligence analyses and opinions; and counseling of clients in a wide range of aspects of intellectual property law.
• 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.
• Nikhanj, Rakhi

  Mueting, Raasch & Gebhardt | Shareholder

  Rakhi Nikhanj is a shareholder at Mueting Raasch Group in Minneapolis, MN, a mechanical engineer, and a registered patent attorney with 15 years of patent law experience advocating for her clients ranging from fortune 500 companies to start-up companies and individual inventors. Rakhi is a volunteer for the LegalCORPS Inventor Assistance Program and was the LegalCORPS Volunteer of the Year. She has been serving on the board of the Minnesota Intellectual Property Law Association for five years and is currently the Past President.
• 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.
• 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.
• Plehn-Dujowich, Debora

  Eckert Seamans | Member

  Debora Plehn-Dujowich has extensive experience as a patent attorney focusing on life sciences technologies.
• Randall, David A.

  Hackler, Daghighian, Martino & Novak | Shareholder

  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.
• Rogers, Jennifer

  Shumaker & Sieffert, P.A | Partner

  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.
• 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 dermatology. Angie is a registered U.S. patent agent with a Ph.D. in Immunology and more than 25 years’ experience in patent law, both as an in-house practitioner and in private practice, primarily in the areas of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.
• Uribe, Mauricio

  Knobbe Martens | Partner

  Mauricio has extensive experience in comprehensive client counseling in all aspects of intellectual property law.
• Zinkl, Gregory

  Genetech | Senior Patent Counsel

  Gregory Zinkl is Senior Patent Counsel at Genentech, Inc. He started practicing in patent law in 2000, in law firm, start-up, and large innovative pharmaceutical company settings. He holds a BA in Biology from Millikin University and a PhD in Cellular and Developmental Biology from Harvard University. He was a Post Doctoral Fellow at The University of Chicago. He earned his JD from Chicago-Kent College of Law.
• Nichols Matkaiti, Erin

  Donaldson Company, Inc. | Intellectual Property Counsel

  Erin Nichols Matkaiti is intellectual property counsel at Donaldson Company, Inc., a leader in advancing filtration for a cleaner world. Prior to transitioning to a corporate role, her practice was focused on patent prosecution for clients in the electrical, mechanical, and electro-chemical fields.
• 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.
• Polson, Margaret

  Polson Intellectual Property Law | Founder and Senior Partner

  Margaret Polson, Founder and Senior Partner for Polson Intellectual Property Law, leads the firm in authority and expert knowledge of 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.
• Irving, Thomas L.

  Finnegan | Partner

  Tom Irving has more than 40 years of experience in the field of intellectual property law. His practice includes America Invents Act (AIA) post-grant proceedings, due diligence, counseling, patent prosecution, and reissue and reexamination.
• Drabnis, Mary

  McGlinchey Stafford | Of Counsel

  Dr. Mary Drabnis prepares and prosecutes patents, handles patent appeals, and has handled patent interferences before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), with a focus on the chemical arts and the mechanical arts. Mary currently serves as the Chair of AIPLA's Patent Cooperation Treaty Issues Committee.
• Stephenson, Adam

  Adam R. Stephenson, LTD | Patent Attorney

  Adam is a registered patent attorney in private practice focusing on patent and trademark preparation and prosecution with his own firm Adam R. Stephenson, LTD. representing clients ranging from the Fortune 500, privately held companies, and independent entrepreneurs in a wide range of technical areas.
• Tripodi II, Paul D.

  Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP | Partner

  Paul D. Tripodi II is a partner in the Irvine office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, where his practice focuses on intellectual property litigation, including patent litigation, contract disputes involving intellectual property, and trade secret misappropriation. He has been involved in both bench and jury trials, as well as proceedings before various international tribunals and the International Trade Commission (ITC).
• Whipps, Brian C.

  Mueting Raasch Group | Partner

  Brian is a partner at Mueting Raasch Group specializing in domestic and international patent portfolio procurement and management. Brian’s technical areas include chemical, small molecule, formulation, chemical engineering, optics, semiconductor, and medical devices.

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