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Concurrent Session 2:  Hot Issues in FinTech and Blockchain

Moderator

Allison Gaul, Washington, DC

Speakers:

Technical Tutorial of Blockchaing: A case study -- Stephen J. Mackenzie, Senior IP Counsel, Koch Industries, Wichita, KS

Uses of Blockchain by Industry -- Joseph J. Petrokaitis, Corporate Counsel, IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY

Open Source Licensing and Decentralized Content Distribution Platforms -- Matej Michalko, CEO, DECENT, Geneva, Switzerland

Due Diligence for Blockchain IP Portfolios -- Marc Kaufman, RIMON Law, Washington, DC

Speakers

• Kaufman, Marc

  Rimon | Partner

  Marc Kaufman concentrates his practice in the area of patent strategy, in particular, advising clients in protecting, managing and leveraging their intellectual property assets. He has also represented clients in defending against patent assertions in district courts and through post-grant administrative proceedings in the U.S. Patent Office. Mr. Kaufman has created structured procedures to secure and enforce intellectual property rights in a market-focused manner. Marc’s practice focuses on computer software including the areas of Fintech, database technology, content distribution, and computer security.
• Petrokaitis, Joseph

  IBM Corporation | Counsel, IP Law

  Joe Petrokaitis is currently Counsel, IP Law, at IBM Corporation supporting the Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York. Joe previously supported IBM's blockchain transactional and patent filing activities. Joe received a B.S.E.E. from the University of Connecticut and a J.D. from Pace University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in New York and Connecticut, and is registered to practice before the USPTO.
• MacKenzie, Stephen
  Stephen MacKenzie is Senior Counsel IP and IP Litigation at Koch Companies Public Sector, which is the Legal, Government, and Public Affairs division for Koch Industries, Inc. based in Wichita, Kansas.  Steve focuses his practice on prosecution strategy, IP management and counseling, M&A, and licensing.  Prior to joining Koch, Steve worked in private practice as a patent litigation attorney in Wilmington, Delaware.
• Gaul, Allison

  Boston Consulting Group | Legal Counsel

  Allison Gaul is Legal Counsel at the Boston Consulting Group, where she serves as technology and product counsel. She advises and supports BCG’s data products, GenAI development, AI/ML builds, and Metaverse + Web 3.0 offerings. Allison has a background in mathematics and computer science, and recently graduated from a program at the Harvard Business School focusing her studies in business analytics and data science pipelines. She regularly advises and speaks on topics such as technology contract risk mitigation, policy development, intellectual property, and data governance.