Is There a “Right to Repair”? And What Do IP Professionals Need to Know About It? (RECORDING)

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.

Beth Ferrill is a partner in Finnegan’s Washington DC office.  She counsels clients who hold design patents as well as those accused of infringement. Her practice includes prosecution of families of design patents before the USPTO, directing prosecution in foreign countries, arguing appeals before the PTAB, and taking design patent infringement cases through trial in district court.  Beth is the recipient of Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO)’s Carl B. Horton Distinguished Service Award and has been recognized by Intellectual Asset Management Patent 1000 as a leader in patent litigation and transactions in the D.C. area, and nationally for design patents. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Comparative Global Design Law, published by Bloomberg law, leads Finnegan’s veterans pro bono program, and serves as co-chair of Finnegan’s litigation section. 

Joshua Simmons focuses his practice on appellate and trial court litigation, intellectual property counseling and strategic portfolio management, as well as regulatory and legislative policy.  This “exceptional” and “creative” (Chambers), “Top Attorney” (Law360), and “big-picture thought leader” (WTR) litigates copyright, patent, right of publicity, trademark, trade secret, and unfair competition cases—particularly complex cases and those of first impression—along with contract, licensing, and domain name disputes.  In addition to maintaining a full-time litigation practice, Josh is a member of Kirkland’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee, and the Coordinator of its New York Kirkland Pride affinity group.  He also is a frequent speaker and author on emerging trends in intellectual property, as well as an active member of the intellectual property bar, including serving as Vice Chair of IPO’s Copyright Law & Anti-Piracy Committee, and a former Vice Chair of its Software-Related Inventions Committee.