Founder, Latitude, LLC
Brian Hook is the founder of Latitude, LLC, an international strategic consulting firm based in Washington, DC.
Mr. Hook worked on the Romney campaign as senior advisor on foreign policy. He chaired the foreign policy and national security task forces of the Romney Readiness Project. From 2010-2011, he was the foreign policy director of Governor Tim Pawlenty’s presidential campaign.
Mr. Hook served in a number of positions during the Bush Administration, including Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations; Senior Advisor to the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations; Special Assistant to the President for Policy, Office of the Chief of Staff; and Counsel, Office of Legal Policy, at the Justice Department.
From 1999-2003, he practiced corporate law at Hogan & Hartson in Washington, D.C.
Before practicing law, he served as a policy advisor to Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and to U.S. Congressman James Leach.
Professor Emeritus of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
Jeremy A. Rabkin is a Professor Emeritus of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University. Before joining the faculty in June 2007, he was for over two decades a professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University. Professor Rabkin serves on the board of directors of the Center for Individual Rights, a public interest law firm based in Washington, D.C. Previously he was a board member of the U.S. Institute of Peace and the board of academic advisors of the American Enterprise Institute.
Professor Rabkin’s books include Law Without Nations? (Princeton University Press, 2005). He authored “If You Need a Friend, Don’t Call a Cosmopolitan,” a chapter in Varieties of Sovereignty and Citizenship (Sigal R. Ben-Porath & Rogers M. Smith eds., University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012). His articles have appeared in major law reviews and political science journals and his journalistic contributions in a range of magazines and newspapers, including the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.
Board Member, U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board
Beth A. Williams is a Board Member of the United States Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, an agency whose mission is to ensure that the federal government's efforts to prevent terrorism are balanced with the need to protect privacy and civil liberties.
Prior to her Board service, Ms. Williams was the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy at the United States Department of Justice from August 2017 to December 2020. In that role, she served as the primary policy advisor to the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General, and as the Chief Regulatory Officer for the Department. Ms. Williams also led the judicial nomination process for the Department, assisting in the selection and confirmation of more than 230 Article III judges to the bench.
Prior to becoming Assistant Attorney General, Ms. Williams was a litigation and appellate partner at a national law firm, where her practice focused on complex commercial, securities, appellate, and First Amendment litigation. From 2005-2006, Ms. Williams served as Special Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, where she assisted with the confirmation of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. and Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to the United States Supreme Court.
Ms. Williams clerked for the Hon. Richard C. Wesley on the United State Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She graduated from Harvard College magna cum laude, with a degree in History and Literature, and she earned her law degree from Harvard Law School, where she served as Executive Editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, UpStream Healthcare
William S.W. Chang is the Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at UpStream Healthcare, having previously served in senior roles at McKesson Corporation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
At McKesson, Chang was Vice President of Regulatory Policy and Chief Legal Counsel. He led cross-functional teams that focused on enterprise priorities in key regulatory spaces. Chang advised the wide spectrum of McKesson’s businesses, including U.S. pharmaceutical distribution, medical-supply distribution, specialty and independent-community pharmacy, physician-practice management, prescription-technology services, medication access-and-adherence programs, and electronic health records.
At HHS, Chang served as Deputy General Counsel for public health, litigation, and investigations. Chang was one of the lead attorneys supporting Operation Warp Speed, working with public and private partners to build nationwide distribution and administration solutions for COVID-19 vaccines. Chang worked closely with the Deputy Secretary, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the HHS Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Justice to reform the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law in order to facilitate value-based care.
At the Department of Justice, Chang led healthcare-fraud investigations of public and private companies and individuals, and his cases spanned several districts and involved multiple state and federal agencies as well as parallel civil proceedings.
Chang has been repeatedly recognized for his contributions to healthcare. In 2022, he was the National Winner of the American Pharmacists Association Friend of Pharmacy Immunization Champion Award. The award recognized Chang for his extraordinary contributions toward fully enfranchising the pharmacy workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic. For his public-health service, including during the pandemic, Chang received the Assistant Secretary for Health Exceptional Service Medal. The Medal is the highest decoration awarded to a civilian by the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. For his service at the Department of Justice, Chang received numerous accolades. Among those accolades, he twice received the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service; the HHS Inspector General’s Award for Excellence in Fighting Fraud, Waste, and Abuse; and the Commendation for Demonstrated Excellence from the FBI Director.
Attorney General, Alaska
Stephen J. Cox serves as the 28th Attorney General of the State of Alaska, where he oversees the state’s legal affairs and serves as the chief prosecutor with oversight of all district attorneys, general counsel to the Governor and executive branch, and represents the State in all civil and criminal cases in federal and state court. He brings to the role a proven record of public service at the highest levels of the U.S. Department of Justice, combined with deep experience in Alaska’s private sector and community life.
Before his appointment, he was Senior Vice President, Chief Legal and Strategy Officer of Bristol Bay Industrial—an investment platform of the Bristol Bay Native Corporation—acting as the chief legal officer for the industrial services portfolio on behalf of the Alaska Native shareholders in the Bristol Bay region. In that role, he led legal, compliance, and strategic planning for major energy, infrastructure, and utility projects across the State and in the Lower 48.
Earlier in his career, beginning in 2011, Cox served as in-house counsel for Apache Corporation, where he was the principal attorney for Apache Alaska and focused on new ventures and exploratory work in Cook Inlet, including seismic initiatives and ongoing regulatory coordination with state agencies.
Cox is deeply rooted in Anchorage’s community and faith life. He and his family attend Holy Family Old Cathedral in downtown Anchorage and support Mission Alaska, the Dominican friars’ outreach ministry under the Western Dominican Province. He was the founding board president and chairman of a new classical school in South Anchorage.
On the national stage, Cox held senior leadership roles in the U.S. Department of Justice under the Trump Administration. As Deputy Associate Attorney General, he co-chaired the DOJ’s Regulatory Reform Task Force and the Working Group on Corporate Enforcement and Accountability, and helped implement landmark policies aimed at curbing regulatory overreach and aligning enforcement with fairness and oversight. Later, as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, he oversaw prosecutions and civil litigation spanning 43 counties, prioritizing healthcare fraud, elder fraud, and violent crime while ensuring enforcement remained transparent and fair.
Earlier in his career, Cox practiced complex litigation at a major international law firm, served as counselor to the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and helped lead the William H. Webster Commission, which reviewed FBI counterterrorism intelligence and operations following the Fort Hood tragedy.
He began his legal career with a clerkship for Judge J. L. Edmondson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Cox earned a B.S. in Computer Science from Texas A&M University and a J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Houston Law Center. He and his wife, Cristina, are raising their three children in Anchorage, and have made Alaska their home.
Partner, DeMarco Law, PLLC
Joseph V. DeMarco is a partner at DeMarco Law, PLLC where he focuses on counseling clients on complex issues involving information privacy and security, theft of intellectual property, computer intrusions, on-line fraud, and the lawful use of new technology. His years of experience in private practice and in government handling the most difficult cybercrime investigations handled by the United States Attorney’s Office have made him one of the nation’s most sought-after lawyers on Internet crime and the law relating to emerging technologies. In addition to his counsel practice, Mr. DeMarco serves as an Arbitrator, resolving complex commercial and high-technology disputes between businesses. He is on the National Panel of Neutrals of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and Federal Arbitration, Inc. (FedArb).
From 1997 to 2007, Mr. DeMarco served an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, where he founded and headed the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIPs) Program, a group of five prosecutors dedicated to investigating and prosecuting violations of federal cybercrime laws and intellectual property offenses. Under his leadership, CHIPs prosecutions grew from a trickle in 1997 to a top priority of the United States Attorney’s Office, encompassing all forms of criminal activity affecting e-commerce and critical infrastructures including computer hacking crimes; transmission of Internet worms and viruses; electronic theft of trade secrets; illegal use of “spyware”; web-based frauds; unlawful Internet gambling; and criminal copyright and trademark infringement offenses. As a recognized thought leader in the field, Mr. DeMarco was frequently asked to counsel prosecutors and law enforcement agents regarding novel investigative and surveillance techniques and methodologies, and regularly provided advice to the United States Attorney concerning the Office’s most sensitive computer-related investigations. In 2001, Mr. DeMarco also served as a visiting Trial Attorney at the Department of Justice Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section in Washington, D.C., where he focused his work on Internet privacy, gaming, and theft of intellectual property.
Since 2002, Mr. DeMarco has served as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Law School, where he teaches the upper-class Internet and Computer Crimes seminar. He has been invited to speak throughout the world on cybercrime, e-commerce, and IP enforcement. He has lectured on the subject of cybercrime at Harvard Law School, the Practicing Law Institute, the National Advocacy Center, and at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and has served as an instructor on cybercrime to judges attending the New York State Judicial Institute.
Prior to joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Mr. DeMarco was a litigation associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York City, where he concentrated his work on intellectual property, antitrust, and securities law issues for various high-technology clients. Prior to that, Mr. DeMarco served as law clerk to the Honorable J. Daniel Mahoney, United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mr. DeMarco holds a J.D. magna cum laude from New York University School of Law. At NYU he was a member of the NYU Law Review. He received his B.S.F.S. summa cum laude from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
Judge, United States District Court, Eastern District of Missouri
Judge Pitlyk received her law degree from Yale Law School, after earning her undergraduate degree from Boston College and master’s degrees from Georgetown University and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, where she studied as a Fulbright Scholar. Immediately before taking the bench, Judge Pitlyk served as Special Counsel for the Thomas More Society, a national public interest law firm. Before TMS, she spent several years at a small civil litigation boutique in St. Louis, MO, after starting her career at Covington & Burling in Washington, DC. From 2010 to 2011, she clerked for the Honorable Brett M. Kavanaugh, then a Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Judge Pitlyk was sworn in as a District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri on December 6, 2019.
Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office
Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
Justin R. Walker is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump on May 4, 2020, and confirmed by the United States Senate on June 18, 2020. He is a former United States District Judge of the Western District of Kentucky.
Partner, Jones Day
Don McGahn represents clients before government agencies, in enforcement matters, and in court disputes arising from government regulation or action. He handles litigation, crisis management, regulatory compliance, and political issues.
Prior to rejoining Jones Day in 2019, Don served as Counsel to the President of the United States, advising Donald J. Trump on all legal issues concerning the President and his administration, including constitutional and statutory authority, executive orders, international agreements, tariffs, trade, administrative law, and national security. Don also managed the judicial selection process for the President. During Don's tenure, a historic number of judges were appointed to the federal bench, including two Supreme Court justices. In addition, he spearheaded President Trump's deregulation efforts, which resulted in deregulation at record rates. Following Don's departure from the White House, the President appointed him to the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States, a nonpartisan, independent agency dedicated to promoting improvement to administrative agency processes.
Don's accomplishments have been recognized at the highest levels of government. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stated that Don concluded his tenure "not only as the best White House Counsel I've seen on the job, but more broadly, as one of the most successful and consequential aides to any President in recent memory."
Don was nominated by President George W. Bush in 2008, and confirmed in the Senate by unanimous consent, to serve as a member of the Federal Election Commission. He also served as outside Counsel to the Committee on House Administration during the 113th and 114th Congresses and as general counsel to the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Director and Senior Fellow, Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, University of California at Berkeley
Mark Cohen heads the Asia IP Project at the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology at Berkeley Law School. He is also responsible for teaching international trade law and research and writing on IP issues. Previously, Cohen was Senior Counsel, China in the Office of Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, after serving as a visiting professor at Fordham Law School (2011-2012). Prior to that time, he served in such functions as: Director, International Intellectual Property at Microsoft Corporation; Of Counsel to Jones Day’s Beijing office; and Senior Intellectual Property Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing (2004- 2008). In total, he has over 30 years private, public sector, in-house and academic experience in China and transition economies, with a focus on technology trade and intellectual property.
Cohen was the first IPR Attaché posted by USPTO to handle IPR issues in a foreign country. In addition, he launched the annual “Ambassador’s IPR Roundtable” which he co-chaired for five years, devised IPR “toolkits”, “road shows”, pro-bono programs, internal training programs for the US government and external training programs, and worked with USPTO and other US agencies to engage China and Chinese IP agencies. Cohen led a China team at USPTO consisting of 21 individuals in DC, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, China on all aspects of USPTO’s activities in China. Among his book-length publications are Antimonopoly Law and Practice in China (Oxford University Press 2011, with Steve Harris et al.). He was also the editor of Chinese Intellectual Property Law and Practice (Kluwer Law International 1999) and has edited or published a number of on-line publications, including the blog www.chinaipr.com.
Mr. Cohen has taught and lectured at numerous universities in the United States, Asia and Europe. Amongst other honors, he was the recipient of the US Chamber of Commerce’s “IP Champion” award in 2014. Mr. Cohen holds a J.D. degree from Columbia University (1984), an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin in Chinese Language and Literature (1979) and a B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany in Chinese Studies (1977).
Former Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Judge Michel served for more than 22 years on the Federal Circuit, retiring on May 31, 2010. From December 25, 2004 until his retirement, he also discharged the duties of Chief Judge of this national court, serving simultaneously on the U.S. Judicial Conference -- the Judiciary's governing body -- and by appointment of the Chief Justice on its seven-judge Executive Committee.
He judged several thousand appeals and authored more than 800 opinions, one third concerning intellectual property law. Intellectual Asset Management magazine inducted him into its Hall of Fame and he was designated one of the 50 most influential leaders in intellectual property law in the world. His contributions were also recognized by lifetime achievement and similar awards by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA); Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation (IPO); the American Bar Association's Intellectual Property Section; Managing Intellectual Property magazine; the Sedona Conference; the Patent and Trademark Office Society (PTOS); the New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Associations; and the William C. Connor, the Giles S. Rich, and the Richard Linn Intellectual Property American Inns of Court. In 2010 the Los Angeles IP Inn was renamed in his honor as the Paul R. Michel IP Inn.
Judge Michel received the Jefferson Medal, the Eli Whitney Award, and the Katz-Kiley Prize as well as Honorary Doctor of Law degrees from the Catholic University of America and the John Marshall Law School. He is a lifetime Member of Honore of FICPI, the international association of private practitioners of intellectual property law. Williams College granted him the Kellogg Award for "outstanding leadership in law and public service."
Judge Michel has written numerous articles on patent law and advocacy, taught related courses and master classes at George Washington University, the University of Akron, and John Marshall law schools, serving as well on their IP advisory boards and on counterpart boards at the universities of California (Berkley), Washington, and Maryland. He co-authored a casebook, Patent Litigation and Strategy (West, 1999) and an August 2010 editorial in the New York Times on strengthening the patent system to promote prosperity and create new jobs.
A frequent speaker at conferences and law schools during his judicial tenure and since, he retired from a lifetime appointment to be free to speak out on the national need for better patent policy and protection of intellectual property and the vital, unmet resource needs of the courts, the PTO, the International Trade Commission, and other IP-related agencies. He was appointed Distinguished Scholar in Residence by IPO, following his retirement. Judge Michel also consults for law firms and their clients in intellectual property litigations, conducting moot courts, mock trials, case evaluations, editing briefs, advising on strategy and providing mediation and arbitration services.
Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, Partner
Brian is chair of Dinsmore’s IP Transactions and Licensing Group. He is a past president of the Licensing Executives Society (USA and Canada), Inc. (LES), the leading professional society devoted to commercial transactions and licensing of intangible property. He continues to serve LES as senior vice president for public policy. He has extensive experience in a wide variety of commercial transactions involving intangible property, and is known for creative licensing strategies to promote collaboration and resolve IP-related disputes.
He is a registered patent attorney with more than 30 years of experience before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in structuring global IP portfolios and strategies. He has extensive experience in contested proceedings before the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board (interferences, Inter Partes Reviews and Post Grant Reviews), as well as contested matters in federal courts and the International Trade Commission. His wide-ranging experience affords a broad, informed perspective and facilitates creative approaches to intellectual property management, licensing, and enforcement.
In addition to his leadership of LES, Brian served on the LES Board of Directors 2007 – 2018. In his ongoing role as senior vice president for public policy he is responsible for coordinating the society’s public policy positions, amicus briefs, and congressional outreach. He works with legislators, the executive branch, and the courts toward consistent, reliable, and prudent IP laws and policies that advance innovation and economic development. He has also served LES as trustee for education, and has long served as an author, editor, and faculty member of LES educational programs focusing on best practices in IP licensing.
He is also active in the global society, LES International (LESI). Among his various roles in LESI, he has served as co-chair of the External Relations Committee, coordinating public policy and advocacy for effective IP laws and policies among the 33 regional LES societies, and with various non-governmental organizations such as WIPO and EPO. In 2019, he received the LES International President’s Service Recognition Award.
Brian also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Bayh Dole Coalition, a 501(c)(4) corporation dedicated to promoting and preserving the Bayh Dole Act. He is a member of the Founding Board of Directors of the United States Intellectual Property Alliance (USIPA), an organization dedicated to raising public awareness of, and appreciation for, the role of IP in fostering innovation for the public good; and he has served on the DC Bar Intellectual Property Section Steering Committee (2013 – 2016).
In 2016, Brian testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship on the effects of the America Invents Act on small business and entrepreneurs in a hearing entitled “An Examination of Changes to the U.S. Patent System & Impacts on America's Small Businesses.”
With his longstanding and diverse patent practice, in both private practice and in-house, Brian advises corporate leaders and entrepreneurs in effective IP procurement practices, and in maximizing value from IP assets. He has been retained as a testifying witness in IP and licensing disputes by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and by various private enterprises.
Brian has been acknowledged by IAM magazine as among its “IAM Strategy 300”, the world’s leading IP strategists, and among “The World's Leading Patent and Technology Licensing Lawyers.”
He earned B.S. and M.S. degrees from the Department of Chemistry, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY; and Juris Doctor from Syracuse University, College of Law, Syracuse, NY (1986).
Brian has served his alma mater as president of the RIT Alumni Association 2005 – 2009; and now serves on the RIT Board of Trustees as a member of its Executive Committee, chair of its Student Life Committee, and vice-chair of its Committee on Trustees. In 2013, Brian was awarded RIT’s Outstanding Alumnus Award, and in 2005 he was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award by RIT’s College of Science.
Chief Judge (ret.), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and Honorary Professor, Tsinghua University
Randall R. Rader was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit by President George H. W. Bush in 1990 and served as Chief Judge from June 2010 to June 2014. He was appointed to the United States Claims Court (now the U. S. Court of Federal Claims) by President Ronald W. Reagan in 1988. Judge Rader's most prized title may well be "Professor Rader."
As Professor, Judge Rader has taught courses on patent law and other advanced intellectual property courses at The George Washington University Law School,University of Virginia School of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center, and other university programs in Tokyo, Taipei, New Delhi, and Beijing. Due to the size and diversity of his classes, Judge Rader may have taught patent law to more students than anyone else. Judge Rader has also co-authored several texts including the most widely used textbook on U. S. patent law, "Cases and Materials on Patent Law," (St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson/West 3d ed. 2009) and "Patent Law in a Nutshell," (St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson/West 2007) (translated into Chinese and Japanese). Judge Rader has won acclaim for leading dozens of government and educational delegations to every continent (except Antarctica), teaching rule of law and intellectual property law principles.
Judge Rader has received many awards, including the Sedona Lifetime Achievement Award for Intellectual Property Law, 2009; Distinguished Teaching Awards from George Washington University Law School, 2003 and 2008 (by election of the students); the Jefferson Medal from the New Jersey Intellectual Property Law Association, 2003; the Distinguished Service Award from the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, 2003; the J. William Fulbright Award for Distinguished Public Service from George Washington University Law School, 2000; and the Younger Federal Lawyer Award from the Federal Bar Association, 1983. Before appointment to the Court of Federal Claims, Judge Rader served as Minority and Majority Chief Counsel to Subcommittees of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. From 1975 to 1980, he served as Counsel in the House of Representatives for representatives serving on the Interior, Appropriations, and Ways and Means Committees. He received a B.A. in English from Brigham Young University in 1974 and a J.D. from George Washington University Law School in 1978.
Director and Senior Fellow, Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, University of California at Berkeley
Mark Cohen heads the Asia IP Project at the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology at Berkeley Law School. He is also responsible for teaching international trade law and research and writing on IP issues. Previously, Cohen was Senior Counsel, China in the Office of Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, after serving as a visiting professor at Fordham Law School (2011-2012). Prior to that time, he served in such functions as: Director, International Intellectual Property at Microsoft Corporation; Of Counsel to Jones Day’s Beijing office; and Senior Intellectual Property Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing (2004- 2008). In total, he has over 30 years private, public sector, in-house and academic experience in China and transition economies, with a focus on technology trade and intellectual property.
Cohen was the first IPR Attaché posted by USPTO to handle IPR issues in a foreign country. In addition, he launched the annual “Ambassador’s IPR Roundtable” which he co-chaired for five years, devised IPR “toolkits”, “road shows”, pro-bono programs, internal training programs for the US government and external training programs, and worked with USPTO and other US agencies to engage China and Chinese IP agencies. Cohen led a China team at USPTO consisting of 21 individuals in DC, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, China on all aspects of USPTO’s activities in China. Among his book-length publications are Antimonopoly Law and Practice in China (Oxford University Press 2011, with Steve Harris et al.). He was also the editor of Chinese Intellectual Property Law and Practice (Kluwer Law International 1999) and has edited or published a number of on-line publications, including the blog www.chinaipr.com.
Mr. Cohen has taught and lectured at numerous universities in the United States, Asia and Europe. Amongst other honors, he was the recipient of the US Chamber of Commerce’s “IP Champion” award in 2014. Mr. Cohen holds a J.D. degree from Columbia University (1984), an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin in Chinese Language and Literature (1979) and a B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany in Chinese Studies (1977).
Former Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Judge Michel served for more than 22 years on the Federal Circuit, retiring on May 31, 2010. From December 25, 2004 until his retirement, he also discharged the duties of Chief Judge of this national court, serving simultaneously on the U.S. Judicial Conference -- the Judiciary's governing body -- and by appointment of the Chief Justice on its seven-judge Executive Committee.
He judged several thousand appeals and authored more than 800 opinions, one third concerning intellectual property law. Intellectual Asset Management magazine inducted him into its Hall of Fame and he was designated one of the 50 most influential leaders in intellectual property law in the world. His contributions were also recognized by lifetime achievement and similar awards by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA); Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation (IPO); the American Bar Association's Intellectual Property Section; Managing Intellectual Property magazine; the Sedona Conference; the Patent and Trademark Office Society (PTOS); the New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Associations; and the William C. Connor, the Giles S. Rich, and the Richard Linn Intellectual Property American Inns of Court. In 2010 the Los Angeles IP Inn was renamed in his honor as the Paul R. Michel IP Inn.
Judge Michel received the Jefferson Medal, the Eli Whitney Award, and the Katz-Kiley Prize as well as Honorary Doctor of Law degrees from the Catholic University of America and the John Marshall Law School. He is a lifetime Member of Honore of FICPI, the international association of private practitioners of intellectual property law. Williams College granted him the Kellogg Award for "outstanding leadership in law and public service."
Judge Michel has written numerous articles on patent law and advocacy, taught related courses and master classes at George Washington University, the University of Akron, and John Marshall law schools, serving as well on their IP advisory boards and on counterpart boards at the universities of California (Berkley), Washington, and Maryland. He co-authored a casebook, Patent Litigation and Strategy (West, 1999) and an August 2010 editorial in the New York Times on strengthening the patent system to promote prosperity and create new jobs.
A frequent speaker at conferences and law schools during his judicial tenure and since, he retired from a lifetime appointment to be free to speak out on the national need for better patent policy and protection of intellectual property and the vital, unmet resource needs of the courts, the PTO, the International Trade Commission, and other IP-related agencies. He was appointed Distinguished Scholar in Residence by IPO, following his retirement. Judge Michel also consults for law firms and their clients in intellectual property litigations, conducting moot courts, mock trials, case evaluations, editing briefs, advising on strategy and providing mediation and arbitration services.
Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, Partner
Brian is chair of Dinsmore’s IP Transactions and Licensing Group. He is a past president of the Licensing Executives Society (USA and Canada), Inc. (LES), the leading professional society devoted to commercial transactions and licensing of intangible property. He continues to serve LES as senior vice president for public policy. He has extensive experience in a wide variety of commercial transactions involving intangible property, and is known for creative licensing strategies to promote collaboration and resolve IP-related disputes.
He is a registered patent attorney with more than 30 years of experience before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in structuring global IP portfolios and strategies. He has extensive experience in contested proceedings before the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board (interferences, Inter Partes Reviews and Post Grant Reviews), as well as contested matters in federal courts and the International Trade Commission. His wide-ranging experience affords a broad, informed perspective and facilitates creative approaches to intellectual property management, licensing, and enforcement.
In addition to his leadership of LES, Brian served on the LES Board of Directors 2007 – 2018. In his ongoing role as senior vice president for public policy he is responsible for coordinating the society’s public policy positions, amicus briefs, and congressional outreach. He works with legislators, the executive branch, and the courts toward consistent, reliable, and prudent IP laws and policies that advance innovation and economic development. He has also served LES as trustee for education, and has long served as an author, editor, and faculty member of LES educational programs focusing on best practices in IP licensing.
He is also active in the global society, LES International (LESI). Among his various roles in LESI, he has served as co-chair of the External Relations Committee, coordinating public policy and advocacy for effective IP laws and policies among the 33 regional LES societies, and with various non-governmental organizations such as WIPO and EPO. In 2019, he received the LES International President’s Service Recognition Award.
Brian also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Bayh Dole Coalition, a 501(c)(4) corporation dedicated to promoting and preserving the Bayh Dole Act. He is a member of the Founding Board of Directors of the United States Intellectual Property Alliance (USIPA), an organization dedicated to raising public awareness of, and appreciation for, the role of IP in fostering innovation for the public good; and he has served on the DC Bar Intellectual Property Section Steering Committee (2013 – 2016).
In 2016, Brian testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship on the effects of the America Invents Act on small business and entrepreneurs in a hearing entitled “An Examination of Changes to the U.S. Patent System & Impacts on America's Small Businesses.”
With his longstanding and diverse patent practice, in both private practice and in-house, Brian advises corporate leaders and entrepreneurs in effective IP procurement practices, and in maximizing value from IP assets. He has been retained as a testifying witness in IP and licensing disputes by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and by various private enterprises.
Brian has been acknowledged by IAM magazine as among its “IAM Strategy 300”, the world’s leading IP strategists, and among “The World's Leading Patent and Technology Licensing Lawyers.”
He earned B.S. and M.S. degrees from the Department of Chemistry, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY; and Juris Doctor from Syracuse University, College of Law, Syracuse, NY (1986).
Brian has served his alma mater as president of the RIT Alumni Association 2005 – 2009; and now serves on the RIT Board of Trustees as a member of its Executive Committee, chair of its Student Life Committee, and vice-chair of its Committee on Trustees. In 2013, Brian was awarded RIT’s Outstanding Alumnus Award, and in 2005 he was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award by RIT’s College of Science.
Chief Judge (ret.), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and Honorary Professor, Tsinghua University
Randall R. Rader was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit by President George H. W. Bush in 1990 and served as Chief Judge from June 2010 to June 2014. He was appointed to the United States Claims Court (now the U. S. Court of Federal Claims) by President Ronald W. Reagan in 1988. Judge Rader's most prized title may well be "Professor Rader."
As Professor, Judge Rader has taught courses on patent law and other advanced intellectual property courses at The George Washington University Law School,University of Virginia School of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center, and other university programs in Tokyo, Taipei, New Delhi, and Beijing. Due to the size and diversity of his classes, Judge Rader may have taught patent law to more students than anyone else. Judge Rader has also co-authored several texts including the most widely used textbook on U. S. patent law, "Cases and Materials on Patent Law," (St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson/West 3d ed. 2009) and "Patent Law in a Nutshell," (St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson/West 2007) (translated into Chinese and Japanese). Judge Rader has won acclaim for leading dozens of government and educational delegations to every continent (except Antarctica), teaching rule of law and intellectual property law principles.
Judge Rader has received many awards, including the Sedona Lifetime Achievement Award for Intellectual Property Law, 2009; Distinguished Teaching Awards from George Washington University Law School, 2003 and 2008 (by election of the students); the Jefferson Medal from the New Jersey Intellectual Property Law Association, 2003; the Distinguished Service Award from the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, 2003; the J. William Fulbright Award for Distinguished Public Service from George Washington University Law School, 2000; and the Younger Federal Lawyer Award from the Federal Bar Association, 1983. Before appointment to the Court of Federal Claims, Judge Rader served as Minority and Majority Chief Counsel to Subcommittees of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. From 1975 to 1980, he served as Counsel in the House of Representatives for representatives serving on the Interior, Appropriations, and Ways and Means Committees. He received a B.A. in English from Brigham Young University in 1974 and a J.D. from George Washington University Law School in 1978.
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