Trade Secrets Under Pressure From the Winds of Public Policies (RECORDING)

Ken Corsello is IBM’s US Trade Secrets counsel, where he also focuses on various other IP issues, including drafting and negotiating agreements for patent transactions. Prior to joining IBM, Ken was a law clerk to Chief Judge Glenn Archer at the Federal Circuit; an Associate Solicitor in the USPTO; and in private practice at law firms in Washington, D.C. He has a B.S. from SUNY Stony Brook, J.D. from Catholic University, and LL.M. from George Washington University. A frequent speaker on trade secrets issues, Ken was chair of IPO’s Trade Secrets committee for 6 years and the principal drafter of IPO’s 2023 comments in response to the FTC’s proposed rule banning non-compete agreements.

Dawn Mertineit is a Partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP. For more than a decade, Dawn has represented corporations and their directors and officers in a number of industries in complex commercial litigation, litigating partnership, franchise, real estate, and whistleblower disputes, with a special emphasis on noncompete and trade secrets litigation. She understands that many clients rely on noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements to protect their most valuable assets, while others face hurdles in recruiting and onboarding new employees bound by such restrictive covenants. Dawn brings her experience and knowledge of state and federal laws to help her clients navigate these issues, from drafting agreements and executing rollout and enforcement strategies, to analyzing competitor agreements and proposing recruitment and onboarding plans, and prosecuting or defending against claims related to misappropriation of trade secrets or breach of restrictive covenants.

Thomas S. Valente is the Senior Director for Global Affairs at the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) in Washington, DC. IPO is an international trade association representing companies and individuals in all industries and fields of technology who own, or are interested in, intellectual property rights. Mr. Valente is the IPO staff lead on international IP matters. During his career, he has also practiced with law firms, both big and small, covering a wide range of IP issues. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and served as a law clerk for the Honorable Peter W. Hall of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.