John Cheek is Vice President & Chief Intellectual Property Counsel for Tenneco Inc., a Fortune 200 designer, manufacturer, and marketer of automotive products for original equipment and aftermarket customers.  Prior to joining Tenneco in 2017, Mr. Cheek was a senior IP leader at Caterpillar Inc. for nearly 20 years, where he served in IP leadership roles in the United States and Europe.  Mr. Cheek received an undergraduate degree in Mathematics from Wabash College and completed additional undergraduate studies in Physics and Mechanical Engineering . He received a J.D. from the University of Dayton and an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and has lectured on intellectual property strategy and management at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.  He currently serves as President of the Association of Corporate Patent Counsel (ACPC), on the Board of Directors of the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), and on the Board of Directors of the IPO Education Foundation.

Valerie Verret is Senior Trademark Counsel for Exxon Mobil Corporation, located in Spring, Texas. Valerie helps her business clients obtain, protect and enforce trademarks in the United States and throughout the world. With primary responsibility for the fuels, chemicals and upstream divisions of the company, her work includes the ESSO, EXXON, MOBIL and EXXONMOBIL marks, as well as non-traditional marks such as the service station trade dress. Valerie's primary responsibilities encompass all aspects of brand protection, including trademark clearance, prosecution, maintenance, enforcement and licensing. She also handles trademark issues related to acquisitions and divestitures and related transactions. Prior to joining ExxonMobil in 2012, Valerie was a member of the Trademark and Copyright Law department of Baker Botts. Valerie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Western Ontario and her J.D. degree from New York Law School. She is admitted to practice in New York and Texas.  

Claudia Stangle is a partner at Leydig, Voit & Mayer in Chicago with over 25 years of experience and specializes in trademarks, trade dress, copyrights, false and comparative advertising, Internet law, trade secrets, licensing, and right of publicity. Ms. Stangle has significant experience in complex inter partes proceedings before the TTAB, has represented clients in federal courts around the U.S. including in the Ninth Circuit, and has won numerous UDRP proceedings. She also has experience in patent infringement and trade secret litigation. She represents clients in a wide variety of industries including in the life sciences, automotive, insurance, reinsurance, financial, car rental, commercial real estate, software, AI, consumer and luxury goods, entertainment, cannabis, alcoholic beverages, and industrial products space. Ms. Stangle currently serves as the Chair of the Recruiting Committee and was previously Chair of the DEI committee and a member of her firm’s Board of Directors. She is also Vice-Chair of IPO’s D&I Committee. Ms. Stangle is a frequent guest lecturer speaking about a variety of intellectual property topics, has been a regional oral argument judge for the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition and has served as an Adjunct Professor at Widener Law School teaching law students about copyrights and trademarks.  She has three boys and loves to run and bike in her spare time.

Kirby Lee is assistant chief IP counsel at Ecolab, a global leader in water, hygiene, and energy technologies and services. Kirby previously worked at the Department of Justice and the White House, representing the U.S. government in intellectual property litigation and serving as a senior policy advisor to the IP Enforcement Coordinator. He also served as a clerk to the Hon. Alan Lourie of the Federal Circuit. Kirby is co-chair of the IPO litigation committee.

Sanjay Murthy is a nationally recognized trial attorney who has been involved in more than 15 trials. He has deep experience representing leading life science and technology companies in federal district courts, before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and in Section 337 investigations in the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). In addition to an active litigation practice, he manages patent portfolios for several leading pharmaceutical and medical device companies. He also leverages his trial experience to assist his clients with freedom-to-operate matters, due diligence investigations, patent portfolio audits, and licensing and collaboration transactions.

Ben Searle is a director of intellectual property at HP Inc. and supports HP’s printing, microfluidics, and incubation businesses.  In this role, Ben leads a worldwide team of IP professionals responsible for managing HP’s patent portfolio and advising on a wide range of IP issues including patent rights, trade secrets, funding agreements, joint development agreements, and license agreements.  Prior to joining HP, Ben spent several years in private practice where he primarily focused on patent preparation, prosecution, and litigation.  Ben is active in the IP community and currently serves as the Co-Chair of the IPO United States Patent Office Practice Committee.

Lynn Parker Dupree, leader of Finnegan’s privacy practice, focuses on privacy compliance, governance, and counseling for clients navigating the dynamic legal and regulatory privacy landscape. Her years of privacy experience provide her with the sharp ability to provide actionable privacy advice and guidance, and a keen understanding of the ways technology can be used to protect individual privacy. Prior to joining the firm, Lynn served as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief privacy officer, responsible for advising the secretary of homeland security on a wide variety of matters involving privacy for the department as well as ensuring the department complied with privacy laws, regulations, and federal guidance. She provided practical privacy advice on matters such as artificial intelligence (AI) governance, the collection and use of biometric data, and the deployment of technologies that collect identifiable data. Lynn was also responsible for DHS’s data breach response and remediation as well as privacy preparedness for cybersecurity breaches and incidents.

Joe Prempeh is the Vice President and Chief Privacy Officer at Tenneco, a leading global manufacturer and supplier of automotive products and technologies. In this role, Joe leads the company’s global privacy, data protection, and data governance programs, ensuring alignment with international laws, regulations and industrial standards. Joe’s responsibilities extend beyond traditional privacy leadership to encompass those of data and data issues, where he drives enterprise-wide data governance, AI oversight, and contributes to data-driven innovation across Tenneco. Joe oversees enterprise-wide data governance, including the development and enforcement of policies that ensure integrity, security, and responsible use of data across Tenneco’s global operations. Joe plays a critical role in shaping the company’s AI governance strategy, ensuring that artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies used in Tenneco’s core products and services are deployed responsibly, transparently, and in alignment with business objectives, regulatory and ethical frameworks. Joe is instrumental in shaping strategic initiatives that align emerging technologies with ethical, risk and regulatory frameworks while advancing business objectives. 

Aaron Chatterjee leads the team that supports patenting for the Security and Microsoft Discovery/Quantum engineering teams and the Research Organization in Microsoft. In his previous roles, he supported Microsoft Gaming, Windows Server, Windows Phone, and the early Windows Azure engineering teams. He is also a co-Chair of IPO's US Patent Law Committee in 2025.

Renée Fuller is Senior Corporate Counsel in the Innovation Law Group at BMS and provides strategic counseling on all facets of patent and innovation law. Prior to BMS, Renée worked in-house at MyoKardia, Inc. and in private practice at Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, where she focused on global patent procurement and strategy, transactions, diligence, and contested matters. Renée earned a B.S. in Chemistry from UNC-Chapel Hill, Ph.D. in Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering from MIT, and J.D. from Suffolk University Law School and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Chemistry at Harvard University.

Paul W. McAndrews is an experienced lawyer and shareholder at the firm. Mr. McAndrews focuses his practice on IP dispute resolution, particularly those involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and unfair competition. He has extensive experience in managing all aspects of complex IP cases, including pre-filing investigations, discovery, claim construction, fact-and-expert-witness examination, motion practice, and oral arguments culminating in multiple successful trials. Mr. McAndrews also leads mediations on behalf of clients. His court successes include patent jury trials across a variety of technical areas. The matters range from single patent cases to those involving numerous patents. In addition, Mr. McAndrews maintains an active client counseling practice through which he advises clients on the acquisition and development of intellectual property. His strategic insights have helped many clients both mitigate and manage risk, and maximize IP-monetization opportunities. Mr. McAndrews also relies on his litigation experience to provide strategic client counseling across all aspects of intellectual property procurement. He has represented clients in a wide variety of technology areas, including continuous glucose monitoring, multifocal contact lenses, beverage cans, and telecommunications equipment and systems, to hospital beds and automotive accessories.

Chris George is a Shareholder Member of the law firm of Hanley, Flight & Zimmerman in Chicago, where he assists Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, midsized companies, and universities in software, electrical, and mechanical technologies. Chris provides a variety of IP services including patent drafting and prosecution, in-house secondment support and strategic advising, patent portfolio development and management, training, brainstorming and IP capture, patent landscaping, licensing, joint ventures, opensource compliance, and other IP counseling. Chris is an author and speaker for the IPO, ABA, and other legal and technical professional organizations on a variety of IP-related topics. Prior to practicing law, Chris worked in the field of computer architecture and is an inventor on a patent related to runtime software optimization.

Chris Karlen is the IP Director for Medtronic’s Structural Heart and Aortic operating unit, overseeing the IP strategy for Medtronic’s portfolio of heart valve products and therapies. As an IP Director with over a decade of in-house experience, Chris leads the SH&A IP team in the development of creative IP solutions that further Medtronic’s mission of alleviating pain, restoring health, and extending the lives of cardiovascular patients. Chris has held multiple leadership roles at Medtronic in Cardiovascular Diagnostics, Mechanical Circulatory Support, Neuromodulation, and IP Transactions. Before joining Medtronic, Chris was Senior IP Counsel at 3M and also worked in private practice at Shumaker & Sieffert and Fish & Richardson. Chris has particular interests and expertise in implementing IP strategies where artificial intelligence, sensors, and imaging are used in medical and industrial applications.

Malashaan Kind is an intellectual property lawyer who support clients in the high technology and life sciences industries. Malashaan has a particular focus on patent prosecution and advising clients on strategies for building IP portfolios that support their business goals, including having substantial experience working with startups to plan and implement their initial patent strategies. She works regularly with medical device and video game companies to identify and protect their innovative IP. Malashaan also provides support as a patent specialist on large litigation matters and M&A deals. Malashaan’s background in physics and computer simulation allows her to quickly conceptualize and understand a wide range of new technology, particularly inventions that apply complex mathematical analysis to understand and affect the state of systems: physical, online, or otherwise. Malashaan has contributed to several published articles on artificial intelligence and IP, including addressing the patentability of inventions using neural networks, regulation of artificial intelligence used in medical devices, and whether an artificial intelligence can be an inventor or author under the law.

Ryan N. Phelan is a registered U.S. patent attorney who counsels and works with clients in all areas of intellectual property (IP), with a focus on patents. As a former technology consultant with Accenture and with a background in computer science and engineering, Ryan has extensive experience in computer system, hardware, and software design, engineering, development, and related technologies. He represents numerous startup and Fortune 500 clients with patent matters in technical areas and industries including artificial intelligence and machine learning, augmented and virtual reality, imaging, medical devices, biometrics data and services, internet and e-commerce, computer networking, data storage and management, encryption and security, mobile telecommunications, consumer electronics, insurance and finance applications, mechanical devices, among others. Ryan is also an adjunct professor at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law teaching course work on patenting software inventions. He is also a frequent author and contributor to Intellectual Property Owner (IPO) and American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) white papers and articles and frequently writes about AI at his blog PatentNext at patentnext.com.

Dr. Rachel Boehm, Ph.D. brings 15+ years of experience in organizational operations, change, and management. She grew business 40% and achieved 90% client retention and satisfaction in the first year as well as built employee wellness/experience program for a 75K global workforce to improve engagement, retention, recruitment, and health outcomes. She has more than 10 years experience in internal and external communications to align people and cultures, including intranet design. Her experience across large and small organizations in the private, public, and non-profit sectors contributes to her expertise across hybrid, remote, and onsite teams; project management; data analysis and storytelling; employee listening strategies; and motivation science.

Dr. Moritz Meckel is a patent litigator in Finnegan’s Munich office. He holds a Ph.D. in physics and is one of only a handful of lawyers in Germany admitted as an attorney at law, a German patent attorney, and a European patent attorney. He represents clients in contentious matters relating to a wide range of technologies such as materials science, electronics, optics, medical devices, automotive, and mechanics.

Dr. Shohta Ueno is a Senior Director Assistant General Counsel, Dispute Resolution at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., a leading biopharmaceutical company 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 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.

Christopher (Kit) Crumbley draws on his two decades of experience serving within the US Patent & Trademark Office and the Department of Justice to provide comprehensive intellectual property advice and counsel to businesses across all technology fields, with a particular focus on post-grant validity challenges and the appeals of those proceedings. From 2012 to 2023, Kit served as an Administrative Patent Judge with the US Patent & Trademark Office’s Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB), including nearly seven years in PTAB leadership as a Lead Administrative Patent Judge. During his 11-year tenure with PTAB, he participated in more than 400 panels deciding the outcome of AIA petitions and ex parte appeals, and he personally authored over 100 decisions on institution and more than 70 final written decisions. He also frequently advised agency leadership and was deeply involved in significant PTAB and agency reform efforts, including PTAB’s Consolidated Trial Practice Guide, rulemaking on motions to amend and decision-making procedures.

Sandra Frantzen is a partner at McAndrews Held & Malloy where, for over 25 years, she has assisted clients in building intellectual property portfolios and resolving worldwide intellectual property disputes. Sandra serves as lead trial and outside counsel for start-up and Fortune 500 companies, focusing on patent litigation and intellectual property counseling in the medical device, pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology, beauty/aesthetics, and consumer products industries. Sandra has appeared in federal courts throughout the country, has managed worldwide patent litigations and disputes, including ones with alleged damages in the hundreds of millions. She has served as lead trial counsel in several inter partes review proceedings and has received multiple favorable decisions from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board after full trial on the merits.  Sandra also advises clients on transactional issues including strategic IP development, acquisition, protection, and enforcement. She is experienced in evaluating patent portfolios, drafting and negotiating license and manufacturing agreements, performing due diligence analysis of IP rights for corporate acquisitions and mergers, and assisting clients in obtaining patent, copyright, and trademark registrations.

Scott Weidenfeller rejoined Covington from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) where he served as Vice Chief Administrative Patent Judge. In this role he had significant responsibility for developing, implementing, and communicating Board policy. Scott helped lead the Board’s efforts in implementing the Supreme Court’s rulings in United States v. Arthrex, SAS Institute Inc. v. Iancu, and Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC., as well as numerous other court decisions. He also presided over post-issuance proceedings from filing through final decision. Prior to serving as a Vice Chief APJ, Scott worked in the Office of the Solicitor at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), first as an Associate Solicitor and then as Senior Counsel for Patent Law and Litigation. He also served as Acting Deputy Solicitor. His primary responsibilities in these roles included managing litigation against the USPTO involving the America Invents Act (AIA), including challenges to PTAB post-issuance proceedings. Scott also oversaw the USPTO’s decisions on whether to intervene in appeals from PTAB decisions in both AIA post-issuance proceedings and inter partes reexaminations, and he advised the USPTO regarding the rules governing post-issuance proceedings. His responsibilities in the Solicitor’s Office also included defending PTAB decisions in cases before the district courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals, where he argued 18 appeals. During his time at the USPTO, Scott also has played an important role on every patent-related case that was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In his last role before his retirement from Medtronic, Steve handled International IP and IP Policy for Medtronic. Steve has served in several roles in IPO including Co-Chair of the IPO International Patent Law and Trade Committee, Vice Chair of the Asian Practice Committee and on the IPO Board in 2016. In his retirement, he has continued to volunteer for IPO including on the IPO Special 301 Comment team.

Santosh Chari is a founding partner of CPST Intellectual Property Inc. and is recognized domestically and internationally as a leading advisor on IP prosecution issues. With over 30 years of experience in the patent profession, Santosh provides clients with guidance and business-focused advice on the protection of intellectual property, with a particular focus on the preparation and prosecution of patent and industrial design applications. He also advises on infringement and validity issues relating to intellectual property and on licensing and patent portfolio management issues.

Dean Harts is Vice President Data Privacy, Associate Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, and interim Chief Privacy Officer for 3M Company.  He also leads 3M’s Global Trade Secret Protection Program team.  Prior to his current role, for the past seven years, he was the Assistant Chief Intellectual Property Counsel for 3M’s international operations, with over 50 employees in more than 10 countries.  Earlier in his 3M career, Dean served as the Assistant Chief Intellectual Property Counsel for 3M’s healthcare business, and 3M’s electro & communications business.  Before these IP management roles, Dean was IP counsel to several different 3M businesses in St. Paul, Minnesota and Austin, Texas.  Dean earned his Juris Doctor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, and has been admitted to practice with the Minnesota bar, US District Court of Minnesota, and the US Patent and Trademark office.  Dean earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Mauricio Samano is a senior associate at the patent department of the Mexican based law firm OLIVARES. His work in OLIVARES mainly focuses in prosecuting Chemical, Biotechnological and Pharmaceutical patent applications, as well as in providing technical opinions regarding patent infringement. He has experience in conducting state of the art searches and drafting patent applications. Additionally, he is a member of the International Patent Law and Trade Committee, as well as of the Latin American Practice Committee of Intellectual Property Owners (IPO) organization.

John C. Todaro is an Executive Director and Managing Counsel in the Intellectual Property Group of Merck & Co., Inc.  John and his team support patent prosecution, due diligence studies and intellectual property counseling worldwide for Merck products, product candidates and development programs in various therapeutic areas, including immunology, neuroscience, oncology and infectious diseases.   John has been a member of the Merck IP group since 2003.  He previously was a senior counsel in the law firm of Darby & Darby P.C., in New York. John is a member of IPO’s International Patent Law and Trade Committee.  He is also a member of AIPLA and AIPPI, and serves as Chair of the AIPPI Pharma Committee.

Peter Mattei is Associate General Counsel – Innovcation & Technology for Tenneco, a leading manufacturer of automotive products for original equipment and aftermarket customers. Mr. Mattei leads a team of professionals responsible for managing Tenneco’s patent portfolio and supporting innovation activity around the globe. Prior to joining Tenneco in 2013, Mr. Mattei worked in-house as IP Counsel for Toyota and in private practice. He currently serves on the IPO Education Foundation Board of Directors, the IP Law Section Council of the State Bar of Michigan, and on the screening committee for the Michigan Pro Bono Patent Project.  He is Secretary of the Corporate IP Management & Operations Committee and a member of the Association of Corporate Patent Counsel. He has a J.D. from Wake Forest University and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Western Michigan University.

Robert Surrette is a Shareholder and serves as President of McAndrews. He focuses his practice on the resolution of intellectual property and technology-related disputes with an emphasis on patent, trademark, trade secret and trade dress litigation. For the last 20 years, Bob has counseled a leading global medical device manufacturer on numerous litigation and transactional matters.