FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 2, 2024
WASHINGTON, DC— Finnegan is pleased to announce that six attorneys have been elected to the partnership. This year’s class brings a wealth of experience from diverse intellectual property practices, including counseling and oppositions and appeals before the European Patent Office (EPO); filings before the newly established Unified Patent Court (UPC); patent litigation before German courts; trademark enforcement before U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), and foreign trademark offices; trademark clearance, prosecution and portfolio management; Hatch-Waxman litigations; patent litigation in US district courts; appellate litigation before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; proceedings before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); global strategic counseling; patent prosecution; and patent portfolio management. Their technical expertise spans multiple industries, including electrical and computer technology, heavy machinery, telecommunications, industrial manufacturing, medical devices, robotics, hospitality, pharmaceuticals, and consumer products.
“We are thrilled to name six exceptional attorneys to the partnership,” said Finnegan managing partner Erika Arner. “Each one brings a unique blend of skills and experience to the partnership. We look forward to their continued contributions to the firm.”
New Partners in Alphabetical Order:
Dr. Antje Brambrink (Munich) has extensive experience in cross-border patent litigation. She advises and represents clients before German patent courts and the newly established UPC including infringement and nullity proceedings. Her expertise covers a broad range of industries with a particular focus on life sciences where she benefits from her dual-qualification as a dentist. Her track record includes cases with pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, chemicals, medical devices, consumer products, renewable energies and products in the high-tech sectors. Antje is well known for her highly strategic and client-focused approach. Intellectual Asset Management’s Strategy 300 named her as a Global Leader for 2023. Apart from her work as a litigator, Antje advises also in non-contentious matters such as patent transfers and licensing. She frequently comments on German case law and the UPC. Antje received a Dental Certificate (Staatsexamen, Zahnärztliche Prüfung) from Privatuniversität Witten/Herdecke and holds a dental license (Zahnärztliche Approbation) (1998); a Ph.D. in Dental, Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine, major pharmacology from Privatuniversität Witten/Herdecke (2003); a MBA in Management of Ambulatory and Integrated Medical Health Care Systems from Universität Lüneburg (2004); first state bar exam (Erstes Staatsexamen Rechtswissenschaften) from Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster (2014); and the second state bar exam (Zweites Staatsexamen Rechtswissenschaften) from Oberlandesgericht Hamm (2016).
Nicholas A. Cerulli (Washington, DC) has a diverse patent practice that includes client counseling, prosecution, litigation before U.S. district courts, and post-grant proceedings at the PTAB. Nick represents clients in matters involving a wide range of mechanical and electrical technologies. He currently manages multiple large international patent portfolios and supervises teams of attorneys, patent agents, and technical specialists to counsel clients on various types of patent matters. He also works closely with clients on portfolio development and strategic prosecution to obtain high profile patents, including standard essential patents (SEPs). In his contentious practice, Nick assists clients in all phases of litigation before U.S. district courts, from pre-suit investigations through trial and appeal. He has examined witnesses at trial, drafted and argued motions in court, taken and defended fact and expert depositions, and managed complex discovery. Nick’s PTAB experience includes representing both petitioners and patent owners in all phases of inter partes review (IPR) proceedings. He has drafted several successful IPR petitions and patent owner responses and conducted oral arguments before the Board. Nick received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland (2012) and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School (2017).
Luigi Distefano (London) focuses on patent prosecution, portfolio development and management, drafting, client counseling, and oppositions and appeals before the EPO. Luigi predominantly handles subject matter in the fields of electronic and mechanical engineering and has extensive experience in dealing with the nuances of prosecuting computer-implemented inventions in Europe. With more than ten years of intellectual property experience, Luigi has gained a wide spectrum of technical expertise, particularly in the fields of telecommunications, artificial intelligence (AI), cryptography, optical devices, computer graphics, cybersecurity, and quantum computing. His experience includes advising and managing worldwide filing programs for large multinationals, assisting startup technology companies, and advising university spin-outs with securing protection for core technology. Luigi speaks widely on issues of European patent law, and he is a contributing author to the Cambridge Handbook of Artificial Intelligence and the book, Patent Subject Matter Eligibility: A Global Guide. Luigi received a B.Sc. in physics & philosophy, 1st Class, from King’s College London, University of London (2002); a M.Sc., in optics & photonics from Imperial College, University of London (2006); and a certificate, intellectual property law, merit from Queen Mary & Westfield University, University of London (2009).
Laura K. Johnson (Boston, MA) has a diverse trademark practice, including global enforcement, portfolio management, licensing, and brand counseling for some of the world’s most well-known brands. Her experience includes advising clients on the selection, availability, and maintenance of their trademarks on a global basis. Additionally, Laura manages enforcement before U.S. federal courts, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of the USPTO, and foreign trademark offices, often involving multi-jurisdictional disputes. These services collectively focus on protecting and strengthening her clients’ brands across a diverse range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, heavy machinery, hospitality, automotive, apparel and footwear, software, financial services, energy services, and food and beverage. The Legal 500 U.S. named her a Rising Star for trademark prosecution, and she ranked in the 2023 WTR 1000 for prosecution and strategy. Laura received a B.A. in political science and psychology, cum laude, from Boston University (2006) and a J.D. from Boston College Law School (2011).
Sonja W. Sahlsten (Washington, DC) focuses on patent litigation in U.S. district courts and appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, where she served as a law clerk. She has a technical background in mechanical engineering, with experience in medical device, industrial manufacturing, amusement park, and sports, fitness, and outdoor recreation technologies. Sonja is experienced in all phases of patent litigation in district courts, from complaint to trial and post-trial to appeal. Her experience includes formulating infringement, validity, and claim construction positions; managing discovery and arguing discovery motions; taking and defending fact and expert depositions; preparing witnesses for deposition and trial; examining and cross-examining fact and expert witnesses at trial; and drafting claim construction, summary judgment, and pre- and post-trial motions and briefs. Sonja received a B.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science from Duke University (2012), and a J.D., magna cum laude from the University of Florida College of Law (2015).
Yieyie Yang, Ph.D. (Washington, DC) handles complex patent litigation before U.S. district courts, inter partes review (IPR) proceedings, client counseling, due diligence, and prosecution in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnological fields. She has experience representing pharmaceutical patent holders in Hatch-Waxman litigations and biosimilars litigation. For those district court litigations, Yieyie has handled pre-litigation diligence and various aspects of discovery including depositions of key witnesses and experts, motions practice, and trial preparation and strategy. Yieyie also has drafted numerous appellant and appellee briefs for pharmaceutical clients at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She also has worked on multiple IPR/PGR cases on behalf of petitioners and patent owners and developed key arguments, took expert depositions, drafted all key papers, and argued before the PTAB. Yieyie also led client counseling, licensing, and diligence projects in the pharmaceutical and biotech fields, including large scale landscape analyses, FTO analyses, and diligence for fundraising or merger and acquisition. Yieyie also handles prosecution of multiple biotech clients. Yieyie received a B.S. in Biology, with honors, from XuZhou Normal University (1997); an M.S. in Biochemistry from East China Normal University (2000); a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Kansas (2005), and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School (2014).
Erika Arner, Managing Partner
erika.arner@finnegan.com
Anand K. Sharma, Chair
anand.sharma@finnegan.com
About Finnegan
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP is one of the largest IP law firms in the world. From offices in Atlanta, Boston, London, Munich, Palo Alto, Reston, Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei, Tokyo, and Washington, DC, the firm practices European, German, UK, and U.S. IP law. In addition to services related to all aspects of patent, trademark, and copyright law, including counseling, prosecution, licensing, and litigation, Finnegan provides counseling and litigation services in advertising, privacy, and a wide spectrum of additional IP-adjacent commercial matters, including trade secrets, international trade, the Internet, e-commerce, government contracts, antitrust, and unfair competition. For additional information on the firm, please visit www.finnegan.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
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