Eleven Finnegan Attorneys Named to the 2024 IAM Strategy 300 List

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 14, 2024

WASHINGTON, DC—Finnegan is pleased to announce that 11 attorneys have been named to the 2024 IAM Strategy 300 list, a prestigious recognition honoring the world's leading professionals in intellectual property (IP) strategy.

The IAM Strategy 300 identifies individuals whose unique insights and strategic approaches contribute to the successful management and commercialization of IP assets. Selection to the list is based on peer nominations, extensive research, and analysis. The 11 attorneys recognized are listed in alphabetical order below:

Dr. Antje Brambrink is qualified and admitted as a German attorney at law and as a representative before the Unified Patent Court (UPC). She advises and represents clients in complex, often cross-border patent disputes, frequently at the interface of antitrust and regulatory laws. Antje is experienced in infringement, preliminary injunction, inspection, nullity and compulsory license proceedings as well as the coordination of cross-border patent disputes. Her expertise covers a broad range of technologies. Based on her dual qualification as a dentist she has a deep understanding of the life sciences sector, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, chemicals, and medical devices. In addition to her work as a litigator, Antje advises clients strategically on all IP-related matters in the context of patent litigation such as licensing or the transfer of rights.

Frank DeCosta, III, Ph.D. has significant experience in patent litigation, client counseling, and providing opinions related to artificial intelligence, consumer electronics, software, medical devices, and information systems. As a first chair litigator, he directed litigation teams that obtained jury and bench judgments of more than $100 million. He frequently defends clients against patent infringement charges directed to complex technologies. Frank has managed patent enforcement activities for clients in the United States, Europe, and Asia. He is involved in all phases of patent litigation in more than 50 cases, including worldwide discovery efforts, claim construction, motion practice, conducting depositions, and examining witnesses before a jury. Many of those cases involved FRAND disputes. He is also lead counsel in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Frank is the co-lead of Finnegan’s Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning Section.  Most of Frank’s cases have involved technology related to his previous research, academic training, and work experience, which includes hardware and software research and development of multimedia telecommunications systems, complex signal processing systems, image processing systems, AI, medical systems, and pattern recognition systems.

Justin Hasford focuses on complex patent litigation at the trial and appellate levels on behalf of pioneer pharmaceutical companies. He has particular experience with cases arising from Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) under the Hatch-Waxman Act. Justin counsels clients on issues of infringement, validity, enforceability, antitrust, unfair competition, licensing, due diligence, and IP portfolio management. He has extensive experience advising clients regarding the interplay between patent and regulatory laws, including Orange Book listing of patents for drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Justin has also litigated antitrust cases and business method patent cases.

Christopher Johns maintains a diverse patent practice, ranging from patent application drafting, international patent prosecution, and strategic portfolio development to district court litigation, International Trade Commission (ITC) investigations, PTAB trials, and appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. On the prosecution and client counseling side, Chris has experience drafting, prosecuting, and appealing patent applications related to electronics, software, telecommunications, shipping and logistics, and business methods. He provides domestic and international clients with strategic IP counseling, including portfolio management and drafting strategies. Chris has a particular focus on patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Chris has extensive experience with IPR and covered business method (CBM) proceedings before the PTAB, district court litigations, and ITC investigations. His litigation experience extends to pre-trial investigations through trial and appeal. Chris has litigated cases relating to telecommunications, storage systems, display screens and televisions, medical devices, computer software, household goods, and other technologies.

Karthik Kumar, Ph.D. focuses on competitor patent and trade secrets litigation, and strategic counseling related to emerging technologies. As part of his strategic counseling work, Karthik manages the global patent portfolios of several world-renowned technology companies focusing on 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), blockchain, and Internet-of-Things (IoT). He also serves as co-lead of Finnegan’s augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) industry working group.

Leslie McDonell, managing partner of Finnegan’s Boston office, provides strategic counseling to both startups and larger companies on the procurement and protection of intellectual property in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. She has extensive experience in conducting due diligence investigations and preparing companies to be the target of a due diligence, pre-litigation analyses, and offensive and defensive post-grant proceedings. Leslie has represented clients before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in patent appeals, interferences, reissues, reexaminations, and IPRs. Her U.S. litigation experience includes representation of both plaintiffs and defendants in biotechnology and pharmaceutical cases. She coordinates worldwide patent portfolio strategies; evaluates and analyzes competitors’ patent positions around the world; and advises and renders opinions on issues of patentability, inventorship, validity, claim scope, infringement, and freedom-to-operate. In addition, she has prepared and prosecuted patent applications throughout the world and has been involved in opposition and appeal proceedings in numerous countries and at the European Patent Office (EPO).

Malcolm Meeks has over 24 years of experience in all phases of patent law, including complex litigation, portfolio management, and licensing. Through living in Germany and France and serving as in-house patent counsel for German and French corporations, Malcolm has exceptional insights into international implications of intellectual property strategy as well as an understanding of IP’s impact on corporate risk planning, product development, and overall business strategy. He works with a wide range of technologies related to telecommunications, semiconductors, aerospace, cybersecurity, energy, consumer goods, and automotive.

Maeve O’Flynn is a European and UK patent attorney with more than a decade of in-house experience, having worked at some of the world’s largest multinational corporations in the oil and chemical industries. She has worked for a range of clients, from startups to multinationals, covering diverse technologies such as cosmetics, sustainable chemistry, and catalysis. Maeve helps clients develop commercially relevant intellectual property strategies. This includes developing and managing global patent portfolios, provisioning advice regarding trade secrets and defensive publications, and negotiating collaboration and licensing agreements. Maeve has extensive experience preparing and prosecuting patent applications, from the initial invention harvesting sessions through to achieving allowance. She works with clients to assess and value their patent portfolios, and to develop filing strategies that support their commercial aims. She also represents clients at oral proceedings before the EPO, representing both patentee and opponent.

Charles Suh is managing partner of Finnegan’s Seoul office. He practices both utility and design patent litigation before U.S. district courts and the ITC. Charles has served as lead counsel and participates in every aspect of district court and ITC litigation, and in IPR proceedings at the PTAB. Charles’s experience includes formulating litigation and pre-litigation strategy, oral arguments, taking witness testimony at trial, taking and defending depositions, briefing, and day-to-day case management. As a fluent Korean speaker, Charles focuses on IP matters involving Korean companies and is experienced in Korea-specific litigation tasks, including managing discovery of evidentiary material written in Korean and preparation of Korean-speaking witnesses for deposition and trial. In addition, Charles has significant experience in patent portfolio management, preparing patentability, validity, and infringement opinions, and preparing and prosecuting patent applications directed to technical areas, including semiconductor fabrication/packaging, electronics, computer hardware/software, and military tactical systems.

Anthony Tridico, Ph.D., former managing partner of Finnegan’s London office and current member of the management committee, has worked in Europe for most of his career, gaining significant knowledge of the European Patent Convention (EPC) and the diversity of laws and practice among the European national systems. His knowledge of the various legal systems and how they differ from the U.S. allows Anthony to effectively counsel clients across life sciences industries with global interests in intellectual property. Anthony has over 20 years of experience representing clients with a focus on patent office trials and appeals before the PTAB and the EPO, patent prosecution management, IP due diligence, and litigation. His practice includes experience in a variety of technical areas, including biologics, immunology and biotechnology, chemical and pharmaceutical sciences, polymers and adhesives, food sciences, medical devices, and diagnostics and instrumentation.

Naoki Yoshida, managing partner of Finnegan’s Tokyo office, handles a broad range of intellectual property matters, including litigation, patent portfolio management, intellectual property due diligence, client counseling, licensing and negotiations, patent prosecution, and pre-litigation strategic counseling. Naoki has significant experience in global intellectual property issues involving multinational corporations. With his fluency in Japanese and appreciation for cultural differences, he frequently counsels clients on unique intellectual property issues arising out of negotiations and disputes involving Japanese companies. Naoki has participated in proceedings in Japanese courts in connection with U.S. patent infringement litigation.

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.