Finnegan Partner John Paul Becomes Licensing Executives Society International President

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2021

WASHINGTON, DC—Finnegan is pleased to announce that John Paul has become president of the Licensing Executives Society International (LESI). John is a partner in Finnegan’s Washington, DC office and has led the firm’s IP management and transactions practice. The gavel was officially passed to John last week during the LESI 2021 Annual Conference—a 24-hour marathon that pulled together IP and licensing professionals from around the globe.

LESI is an international professional association, headquartered in Washington, DC, that has a history of nearly 50 years in serving business leaders and IP professionals in more than 90 countries. LESI advances the business of intellectual property globally, helping members better protect and commercialize innovation, and better manage and monetize intellectual property.

As LESI President, John will focus on various initiatives, including education and community building that help members do their day jobs better and engage in public service to promote sustainable innovation and help innovators and businesses of all sizes successfully protect and commercialize their innovations.

John brings more than 30 years of experience in intellectual property licensing, litigation, and prosecution to his leadership of LESI through his work in strategic planning, IP portfolio evaluation and development, complex transactions, due diligence investigations, and licensing and enforcement of IP portfolios to generate revenue. He has helped businesses understand and effectively communicate the legal and commercial significance of IP portfolios, develop more robust portfolios aligned with their business objectives, generate revenue by monetizing those portfolios, and enter into collaboration agreements. He has set up and directed licensing and enforcement programs that have generated significant royalty revenue for leading technology companies; organized and conducted multiple-round private auctions to sell patent portfolios; led negotiations related to IP issues in business divestitures and other complex transactions; conducted IP due diligence and negotiations for strategic acquisitions of patent portfolios; negotiated and drafted a wide range of agreements relating to the development and use of intellectual property for both IP owners and implementers; and litigated a wide range of IP issues relating to infringement and breach of agreements.

Previously, John served as a board member and treasurer of LESI, as well as counsel, trustee, and vice president of LES USA and Canada. He lectures on patent law, licensing, and IP management, and he also writes quarterly articles for les Nouvelles on court decisions affecting licensing and other transactions. His community activities include coordinating Finnegan’s implementation and management of pro bono lawyer referral service for the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts (WALA), where he serves on the board of directors.

John has been designated as a Certified Licensing Professional (CLP) and has been recognized by Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) magazine as one of 250 leading IP strategists, as one of 250 of the world’s leading patent and technology licensing practitioners, and for patent transactions in the D.C. area. Managing Intellectual Property named him an “IP Star” in Washington, D.C., and The Legal 500 U.S. listed him as one of the leading lawyers in patent licensing and transactional work.

Finnegan has a long-standing relationship with LESI. Finnegan founder Marc Finnegan helped found LESI and served as president of both LESI and LES USA/Canada. “I’m fortunate to be in a long line of LESI Presidents from around the world who have helped each other carry LES forward,” said John. “Relationships with people in our profession develop friendships that can last a lifetime and provide both professional and personal satisfaction. We share stories about what leaders in our profession have done and what we have learned so that we teach and inspire each other. That is what LES is all about and I look forward to continuing that good work. In the coming month, we will announce more details about our plans for the year.”

“As we slowly make our way out of the recent pandemic, effectively licensing technology and other IP rights will be critical to economic recovery efforts throughout the world,” said Executive Director Dana Robert Colarulli. “I’m excited to work with John as LESI gears up to its 50th Anniversary next year, which we plan to celebrate at our next annual conference in Venice, Italy. I look forward to working with John to celebrate success stories, focus on the critical aspects that lead to those deals, and highlight the impact of IP products and services to the global market.”

Contacts
Anand K. Sharma, Managing Partner 
anand.sharma@finnegan.com 

Mark D. Sweet, Chair 
mark.sweet@finnegan.com 

About Licensing Executive Society International (LESI)
Founded in 1973, the Licensing Executives Society International (LESI) serves licensing professionals around the world. A non-profit professional organization, it is an umbrella organization of 33 national and regional member societies in more than 90 countries across the globe, serving men and women involved in licensing, transferring and managing intellectual property rights. Individual members include CEOs, business leaders, licensing executives, and IP counsel, from large, medium and small companies, patent and trademark attorneys and agents, scientists, engineers and academics, university and governmental technology transfer leaders and other officials, and consultants in valuation, business development, and management of IP. LESI is strictly non-political and is free to grow by the creation of member societies throughout the world irrespective of politics or the state of technology development. The LESI2022 Annual Conference will be held in Venice, Italy. To learn more, see www.lesi2022.org. For more information about LESI, visit www.lesi.org and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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, Palo Alto, Reston, Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei, Tokyo, and Washington, DC, the firm practices all aspects of patent, trademark, and copyright law, including counseling, prosecution, licensing, and litigation. Finnegan also represents clients on IP issues related to advertising, trade secret law, European patents and trade marks, international trade, portfolio management, the Internet, e-commerce, government contracts, antitrust, and unfair competition. For additional information on the firm, please visit www.finnegan.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.