Speakers

MLL Legal | Partner

Peter Schramm is co-head of the IP team of MLL Legal, one of the largest and most well-known IP teams in Switzerland. Peter has special experience in complex IP litigation matters. He has been involved in many landmark IP cases in Switzerland, in particular protecting well-known brands, products and technologies, and has coordinated several large multiple jurisdiction disputes, with a special focus on Germany, the further EU countries, the UK and the US. In addition, he advises his clients on strategic IP issues and on IP transaction matters in close cooperation with the M&A and Finance teams at MLL Legal.

Smith, James Donald

Ecolab USA | Deputy General Counsel - Litigation & IP

James Donald Smith serves as Deputy General Counsel of Ecolab USA. In his current position, Smith oversees the company’s general litigation function (mass torts, products liability, personal injury, etc.) and its global operations relating to patents, trademarks, and copyrights, and other matters related to protection of Ecolab innovation. Early in his career, Smith served as a judicial clerk to now retired Chief Judge Paul Michel at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He also practiced with Arnold White & Durkee and, later, Dewey Ballantine, serving as the office managing partner of Dewey's Texas office. Mr. Smith, who is also a former Assistant Dean of the law school at Emory University in Atlanta, has experience both as a patent litigator and patent prosecutor, and he has led in-house IP teams for three multi-national corporations, serving as Lexmark’s Chief IP Counsel, Nokia’s Global Director of Licensing, and as Associate General Counsel and Chief IP Counsel of Baxter.

Stanton, Brian

Stanton Consulting | Principal

Brian R. Stanton, Ph.D. trained as a molecular geneticist specializing in cancer research. After post graduate work utilizing embryonic stem cell technology to study animal development, he joined the US Patent and Trademark Office where he spent 12 years working in biopharmaceutical patenting.

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 as founder of the firm IPTechLaw which represents clients ranging from the Fortune 500, privately held companies of all sizes, and independent entrepreneurs in a wide range of technical areas.

Stoll, Robert L.

Stoll Patent Consulting and Expert Testimony, LLC | Founder

Robert “Bob” Stoll is a passionate advocate and expert on patent issues with four decades of service in the intellectual property universe. He negotiated international treaties on behalf of the United States, led the 8,000-person patent corps of the USPTO, and worked to improve the patent system for all Americans. Bob’s unique leadership and creativity in the development and protection of IP policy and rights have prepared him for his role as a uniquely qualified expert and consultant in patent matters.

Tottis, Kevin

TottisLaw | Managing Partner

For the better part of the past four decades, Kevin’s litigated commercial and intellectual property cases around the country. He currently heads up TottisLaw, a Chicago litigation boutique he started after several years as a partner in a national law firm. Last month, TottisLaw was one of only a dozen firms recognized for its intellectual property practice by Chambers in its inaugural Chicago “Regional Spotlight Guide” of small and midsized law firms.

Towers, Cindy

JURISolutions Legal | Co-Founder, President, CEO

Cynthia (“Cindy”) Funaro Towers, Esq. is Co-Founder, President, and CEO of JURISolutions Legal (JSL), an award-winning legal services innovator and one of the largest WBENC-certified legal services and recruitment firms in the country. Since 1997, JSL has specialized in the development and strategic utilization of legal talent, and JSL’s newest service line, jurisADVANCE, offers customized DEI consulting services for law firms and corporate legal departments.

Ueno, Shohta

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. | Senior Director, Assistant General Counsel, Dispute Resolution

Dr Shohta Ueno is a Senior Director, Assistant General Counsel, Dispute Resolution at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., a leading biopharmaceutical company based in New York where he advises the company on a broad range of complex, multi-jurisdictional disputes. While Shohta deals with all matters relating to disputes, he focuses mostly on non-US IP matters and helps the company navigate through increasingly complex IP landscape. Shohta joined Regeneron in October 2018 from a leading IP litigation practice based in the UK. Shohta is also a trained scientist – he obtained a PhD in Virology as well as an undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge.

Waller, Beth Burgin

Woods Rogers | Principal

Elizabeth Burgin Waller is a Principal at Woods Rogers. As chair of the Cybersecurity & Data Privacy practice at Woods Rogers, Beth’s practice is fully devoted to cybersecurity, data privacy, and artificial intelligence (AI). She is a certified Privacy Law Specialist by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), which is accredited by the American Bar Association. In addition, she is a Certified Information Privacy Professional with expertise in both U.S. and European law (CIPP/US & CIPP/E) and a Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM), also from the IAPP.

Warrick, Philip

Irell & Manella LLP | Partner

Philip Warrick is based in the Washington, DC office of Irell & Manella LLP, where his practice focuses on intellectual property, including litigation, appellate, and policy matters. Philip has practiced IP law for nearly 20 years, including experience spanning private practice and all three branches of government. He most recently worked in the Solicitor’s Office at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia, where he advised on intellectual property and administrative law matters and represented the agency in federal court. He also served as the agency’s IP counsel detailee to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee with Senator Christopher A. Coons.

Weaver, A. Rob

The Brickell IP Group | Member

Rob is a registered patent attorney and Florida Bar Board Certified Specialist in Intellectual Property Law. He has dedicated the entirety of his career to the practice of intellectual property law. An accomplished litigator, Rob has represented clients in federal and state courts throughout the country. Rob has led litigation matters covering the entire spectrum of intellectual property issues including patent, trademark, and copyright infringement as well as trade secret misappropriation and related business disputes such as breach of license agreements, breach of restrictive covenants, unfair competition and false advertising claims. In many instances, Rob has worked with insurance companies to resolve advertising injury and media liability claims brought against their insured. Rob has also represented clients in administrative proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office including the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Whitaker, Mark

Morrison & Foerster | Partner

Mark Whitaker is the co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Intellectual Property Litigation practice group, with more than 30 years of experience crafting legal strategies in high-stakes patent and trade secret litigation.

Whitney, Craig

Proskauer | Partner

Craig is a seasoned litigator with a focus on all facets of intellectual property. With over two decades of experience, he is a leading false advertising litigator and specializes in IP and complex commercial disputes and counseling, including copyright, trademark and trade secrets. Craig is also a certified arbitrator and has deep experience in class action defense, strategic IP portfolio management, investigations and enforcement.

Wong, Ha Kung

Partner | Venable, LLP

Ha Kung Wong has 25 years of experience practicing general intellectual property law with an emphasis on complex patent and trade secret litigation as well as IP transactions and contract negotiations for mergers, acquisitions and collaborations in pharmaceuticals, biologics and chemistry as well as AI. Cases Ha Kung has litigated include those related to proton pump inhibitors, allergy eye drops, anti-epileptic drugs, anti-tussives, antibiotics, injectable microspheres, RNAi products and other pharmaceuticals. Ha Kung also has extensive experience with IPRs, PGRs, Ex Parte Reexam, intellectual property counseling, pre-suit investigations, licensing and due diligence.

Wu, Chenyan

Beijing Elite IP Law Office | Partner

Chenyan WU is a partner at Beijing Elite IP Law Office. She is licensed to practice intellectual property law in China and has also passed the US Patent Bar Exam. With 20 years of experience in the field of intellectual property, including working at a US patent firm and a multinational corporation based in the US, she brings a wealth of expertise to her role. Chenyan is based in Denver, Colorado, providing geographical convenience for their US and European clients while also assisting Chinese clients with their intellectual property protection in foreign countries.

Keynote Speakers

The Honorable Shira Perlmutter

The Honorable Kathi Vidal

Dr. Robert Bryant

Speakers