Welcoming People In Fresh Roles In The IP Community

Looking at movements in the global IP community over the summer and heading into fall, many old faces among the government delegations in Geneva left for new posts, while a new set of faces is taking up residence. Meanwhile, people are on the move at international organisations and NGOs, and law firms continued to see high turnover.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

The new head of WIPO’s Coordination Office in New York is Ola Zahran, whose last position was senior counsellor at the Copyright Development Division, Copyright and Creative Industries Sector. She previously served in a number of areas in the organization including in External Relations and in the New York Coordination Office. Lucinda Longcroft left the position at the end of her 5-year assignment with WIPO in New York. She was reportedly to become deputy secretary general for management at the UN in New York.

The South Centre named a new executive director – Prof. Carlos Correa of Argentina, an influential academic whose analyses of patents and medicines access have informed debates and challenged the status quo for decades. He took over on 1 July for Martin Khor, who retired after nine years at the helm.

Also at the South Centre, former South African President Thabo Mbeki was elected as the new Chair of the Board. He follows Benjamin Mkapa, former President of Tanzania.

António Campinos took up office on 1 July as President of the European Patent Office (EPO). the Portuguese national was elected President in October 2017 by the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation, the EPO’s legislative body, for a five-year term. Prior to the appointment as President of the EPO, António Campinos was the Executive Director of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in Alicante/Spain from 2010 until June 2018.

Bill Roedy, Global Health Ambassador and former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MTV Networks International (MTVNI), was appointed by the Gavi Board as its new Vice Chair. Roedy joined Gavi in 2010 as its first Envoy. He was appointed to the Board in 2015 and has been acting Vice Chair since April 2018. As vice-chair of the Board, Roedy will also become chair of the Gavi Governance Committee.

Roedy replaces Gunilla Carlsson, former Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation, who stepped down from the post earlier this year following her appointment as Deputy Executive Director, Management and Governance, UNAIDS, and Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations.

Françoise Vanni was set to become the new Head of External Relations at the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Vanni was formerly the Director of External Relations and Communications for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in the Middle East. Jacques Le Pape, comes in as the Chief Financial Officer. He has served as a senior auditor, an executive at Air France KLM, an advisor to successive ministers in the French government, and as a manager at France’s Treasury in the past. Michael Johnson will become the new Chief Information Officer at a time when the Global Fund is building greater capacity for managing and synthesizing data with a focus on an enhanced digital agenda. Johnson served as a senior leader in several positions at the Merck Group before this role.

Marta Maurás Perez, Chile’s former ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva, was invited to serve a term of up to one year as interim chair of the Unitaid Executive Board. Amb. Maurás will lead Unitaid’s 12-member decision-making body, which sets the organisation’s objectives, monitors its projects and approves budgets. She served from 2014-16 as the board’s vice-chair.

Heidi Botero Hernandez of Colombia became a Policy Officer in the World Health Organization Department of Essential Medicines and Health Products (EMP).

GOVERNMENTS

Juan Diego Stacey has become counsellor with responsibility for the WHO at the Mission of Ecuador. He replaces Mónica Martínez.

Oliver Hall Allen has left the European Union delegation to the UN in Geneva, where he served as minister counsellor with responsibility for WIPO. He has returned to headquarters in Brussels.

Florin Tudori of Romania became the new official in the European Union delegation in Geneva with responsibility for WIPO.

Sumit Seth, who had responsibility for WIPO, left the Mission of India in Geneva at the end of his term and took up a position with the mission to Myanmar.

The new official at the Indian Mission with responsibility for WIPO is Animesh Choudhury. The new official with responsibility for the World Health Organization is Sadre Alam. Details here.

Katherine Dellar and Felicity Hammond have taken over responsibility for WIPO and the World Trade Organization at the Mission of Australia in Geneva.

Nicolas Lesieur, first secretary at the Permanent Mission of Canada, took over responsibility for WIPO following the departure of Frédérique Delaprée.

Juan Carlos Moreno, second secretary, will assume responsibility for WIPO at the Mission of Colombia. He takes over from Juan Camilo Saretzki.

Zheng Xu joined the Mission of China to the UN as second secretary with responsibility for WIPO and other organisations.

Yuri Spirin and Maria Ryazana took responsibility for WIPO and WHO at the Mission of Russia, with the departure of Alexey Novozhilov.

Mostafa Abid Khan has left the Mission of Bangladesh, where he had responsibility for WTO.

Jukka Peltonen, first secretary at the Mission of Finland, took over responsibility for WIPO.

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Patent Trial and Appeal Chief Judge David Ruschke was expected to move from his position on 2 September to become the newly-created liaison between the PTAB and the USPTO’s patent division. Deputy Chief Judge Scott Boalick will serve as Acting Chief Judge with Vice Chief Judge Jacqueline Bonilla serving as Acting Deputy Chief Judge until the post is filled.

Mark Cassayre became the new Chargé d’Affaires, ad Interim, at the US Mission in Geneva. He holds a master’s degree from Geneva’s Graduate Institute of International Studies and previously served in the US Mission political section from 2008 to 2011. Cassayre most recently served in Washington DC as Director of the Office of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs in the Bureau of International Organizations.

Five scientists were to begin service as US Science Envoys in June 2018: Maj. Gen. Charles Frank Bolden Jr., formerly from NASA, Robert S. Langer an Institute Professor at MIT, Michael Osterholm, Regents Professor, the McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health at the University of Minnesota, and is the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP); Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Malcolm Gillis University Professor, Professor of Bioengineering, Director of the Rice 360° Institute for Global Health and Founder of the Beyond Traditional Borders Undergraduate Global Health Program at Rice University; and James Schauer, Director of the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene. Like their 18 predecessors, these distinguished scientists will engage internationally at the citizen and government levels to enhance relationships between other nations and the United States, develop partnerships, and improve collaboration.

INDUSTRY

Pavel Pisa was announced as Chief Medical Officer of Crescendo Biologics Ltd (Crescendo), the drug developer of novel, targeted T-cell enhancing therapeutics. Pisa was the former Head of Translational Medicine at Roche and Genentech.

Alan Davidson joined Mozilla as the new VP of Global Policy, Trust, and Security. Until early 2017, he served as the first Director of Digital Economy at the US Department of Commerce. He was a Mozilla Fellow for 2017-2018. Full details here.

Eduardo Pisani is now the Global Head of Public Policy at Union Chimique Belge at Brussels, Belgium. He was formerly the director general of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), where he was succeeded by Thomas Cueni.

Sara Amini joined IFPMA in July 2018 as Senior Manager, Social and Economic Policy. She leads IFPMA’s engagement with the OECD, G7 and G20 on issues related to health policy and biopharmaceutical innovation. Prior to joining IFPMA, Sara worked for the World Intellectual Property Organization, where she managed a team dedicated to the development and delivery of cross-functional projects aimed at better serving users of the Madrid System for the International Registration of Trademarks.

International Publishers Association (IPA) notified the appointment of Vera Castanheira as the organisation’s new Counsellor for International Copyright Policy and Programs. Previously, Castanheira served as legal deputy to the Portuguese Secretary of State for Culture, advising on copyright policy, drafting legislation and representing Portugal on the Copyright Working Party of the Council of the European Union and at WIPO.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Group (ACG) appointed Phil Lewis as its new Director General, effective 29 July. Lewis has been Policy & Strategy Adviser at ACG since 2014. He joined the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) in 2001 as Senior Policy Advisor on Intellectual Property Crime and was responsible for developing and leading on the UK’s first National IP Crime Strategy. In 2008, he became Senior National Expert at the European Commission, where he helped develop the Commission’s strategy against counterfeiting and piracy. During this time he also conceived and developed the EU Observatory on IP Infringements of IP Rights.

He takes over from Alison Statham, who led the UK business group with distinction for 13 years.

Jim Hines, a semiconductor expert specialising in automotive and smart mobility innovations, joined Techinsights, which provides patent and technology analysis to patent holders, as Director of Automotive Research. He was formerly the research director at Gartner. Additionally, Morahari Reddy, an expert in the automotive and robotics industries, joined the company as Subject Matter Expert for Automotive. Reddy worked in Japan and India where he managed teams driving vehicle launches across North America, Europe, and Japan. Previously, he worked as a Product Leader – Engine Control Systems for the Renault Nissan Technology Business Centre.

Crescendo Biologics Ltd., a drug developer of novel, targeted T-cell engaging therapeutics, announced that Eva-Lotta Allan has been appointed as Non-Executive Director of the Company. Previously, she served as Chief Business Officer at clinical-stage T-cell receptor company, Immunocore.

It was noted with sadness that Pfizer’s Doug Goudie, Director, International Government Relations, passed away after a battle with cancer.

NGOs / ACADEMIA

Public Knowledge welcomed Charlotte Slaiman, Policy Counsel, to focus on competition issues and digital platforms. She holds a JD from New York University School of Law and a BA in Government from the University of Virginia. Slaiman previously worked in the Anticompetitive Practices Division of the Federal Trade Commission, investigating and litigating antitrust conduct violations. Prior to that, she worked as a Legislative Aide to Senator Al Franken, focusing on Judiciary Committee issues including competition, media, and consumer privacy.

Andrew Goldman will join the Medicines Patent Pool in Geneva as Associate Counsel in September. He has been Counsel, Policy and Legal Affairs at Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) in Washington, DC since early 2015, and previously worked at law firms and NGOs in the Baltimore and DC area. He holds a BA from Princeton University, MA from Columbia University, and a law degree from the University of Maryland.

Médecins Sans Frontières’ (MSF) Access Campaign announced Gaëlle Krikorian as its new Head of Policy. Until recently, she was an advisor on Access to Knowledge and Intellectual Property issues for the Greens–European Free Alliance at the European Parliament. Krikorian will be based in Paris, France.

Previously, the post of Director of Policy and Analysis at MSF was held by Rohit Malpani, who earlier this year joined the New York-based group I-MAK (Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge).

At the Drugs for Neglected Disease initiative (DNDi), former Medical Director Nathalie Strub-Wourgaft took over leadership of Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) programme.

Creative Common’s Board of Directors ushered in Amy Brand, Director of the MIT Press, and Delia Browne, National Copyright Director for the Council of Australian Government’s (COAG) Education Council and Copyright Advisory Group.

James (Jim) E. Dunstan has joined TechFreedom (US) as its first General Counsel. Dunstan served as a Senior Adjunct Fellow at TechFreedom since its inception and had a private practice experience in a technology-focused law including telecommunications, media, computer game, and outer space law.

After seven years as eLife’s founding Editor-in-Chief, Randy Schekman will step down in early 2019, dedicating more time to his role as Chair of the Advisory Council for the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s initiative. eLife began seeking a new Editor-in-Chief to lead its efforts to improve the communication of new research findings across the life and biomedical sciences. Announcement at https://elifesciences.org/inside-elife/9a652340/elife-latest-looking-for-a-new-editor-in-chief.

LAW FIRMS

Eversheds Sutherland LLP (ES) announced the appointment of Cedric Lam as a partner in the corporate team and Head of Intellectual Property, Greater China.

Britt Anderson joined Perkins Coie as partner in the firm’s Palo Alto, California office. Britt joins from K&L Gates and will be a member of the Trademark, Copyright, Media & Brand Protection practice, where he will focus on tech-related trademark and copyright issues. Perkins Coie also recently welcomed Matt Oshinsky, Adrian Rich and Wendy Moore to Palo Alto.

Venable LLP and Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto reached an agreement for Fitzpatrick to join Venable, expected to close on 1 November. The firm will have approximately 800 attorneys, focused on business, government, litigation and intellectual property disciplines, and approximately 700 other professionals and staff. This includes about 175 IP lawyers.

Morgan Lewis announced a seven-partner intellectual property (IP) litigation team that enhances the firm’s trial and appellate capabilities, particularly in the life sciences and technology industries. Five of the new partners – Jeff Gargano, Krista Vink Venegas, Shon Lo, Hersh Mehta, and Kevin Shortsle – will be resident in Chicago; Natalie Bennett will be resident in Washington, DC; and Brent Hawkins will be resident in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. All arrive from another global law firm, along with several associates, and started end of July/early August.

Morgan Lewis also announced the addition of a full-service patent prosecution and litigation team resident in Orange County, led by nine partners. The new partners already admitted to Morgan Lewis are Mark J. Itri, Christopher D. Bright, Michael G. Dreznes, M. Todd Hales, Soyeon Pak “Karen” Laub, John D. Magluyan, Andrew D. Mickelsen, and Nathan S. Smith, and a ninth partner to be named.

Brinks Gilson & Lione welcomes Kenton (Kent) W. Walker, once a part of the pharmaceutical industry, to the firm’s Biopharma practice group in Salt Lake City. His practice focuses on helping pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies develop products and bring them to market through counselling and litigation.

Justin A. Maleson has joined Langford Capital, Chicago, as a Director. As a part of the firm’s Litigation Finance practice group, will assist with investment sourcing, due diligence, and monitoring of portfolio investments. Maleson was a partner in the litigation department of Jenner & Block where he handled large-scale commercial litigation.

Michael Best’s office has a new IP litigation Partner Shane A. Brunner in its Madison, Wisconsin office. Prior to this, he was a Partner at Merchant and Gould PC. In addition to vast intellectual property litigation experience, Brunner is a qualified accountant! Michael Best at Raleigh also adds Anthony Biller as managing partner and Emily Haas as senior counsel. Haas focuses her practice on patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret litigation matters while Biller comes with more than two decades of experience focusing on various issues of trial and appellate law for intellectual property matters. Justin R. Cruz and Ben Roxborough join the firm’s Denver office focusing their practices on intellectual property litigation. Previously, Roxborough clerked for multiple judges and Cruz worked as an IP litigator at one of the largest IP boutiques in the Rocky Mountain region, Colorado.

Michael Best also announced its expansion in Colorado with the combination of Modus Law. Joining Michael Best is Modus Law founder Shawn T. Stigler, who will also serve as the Managing Partner for the Broomfield and Boulder office, and various other attorneys including intellectual property attorney Jolly-Johanna Northrop.

Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP has added new members to its intellectual property practice in Chicago including two new partners, John Chau and Mary Hyde. In addition, Cristina Almendarez joins as an associate from Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Chau, formerly at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP. specializes in patent prosecution, freedom to operate, intellectual property rights enforcement, licensing and research projects between private companies and government agencies. Mary Hyde comes from Jones Day and focuses on all types of trademark, marketing and advertising and copyright matters. Weber Hsiao has also joined Honigman as a senior attorney in its Intellectual Property department and Patent practice group in the firm’s Grand Rapids office. Weber joins from Brown Rudnick LLP’s Boston office.

IP litigator David Kelly has joined Barnes & Thornburg in Atlanta from Hunton & Williams LLP, where he chaired that firm’s Life Sciences practice. At Barnes and Thornburg, he will be handling patent litigation and a variety of intellectual property matters in the life sciences and technology industries, including medical device, pharmaceutical and molecular diagnostic, as well as synthetic biology and biotech companies. Peter Nichols from Brinks Gilson & Lione joins as Partner in the Chicago office. Nichols focuses his practice on patent procurement strategies, patent portfolio management, US and global utility and design patent applications, and proceedings at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Additionally, Matthew Gryzlo and Matthew Leno will reside in Chicago, with Peter Siavelis joining in Washington, DC. Gryzlo has served as trial counsel in federal district courts, federal courts of appeals, the International Trade Commission, and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Leno was previously a patent examiner for the US Patent and Trademark Office. Siavelis has also been representing clients before the USPTO.

DLA Piper’s Intellectual Property and Technology practice witnesses some promotions. Matthew Satchwell and Keith Medansky have been named co-heads of the Chicago Intellectual Property and Technology practice succeeding Christina Martini in Chicago. Additionally, Boston-based partner Larissa Park has been named co-head of the firm’s Patent Prosecution practice alongside Daniel Christenbury, who has been serving as the sole head of the practice since 2005. In Boston, partner Nicholas Papastavros has been named head of IPT following Mike McGurk.

Rimon Law PC adds noted first chair litigator Maxim “Mac” Waldbaum as a Partner in its Litigation and Intellectual Property group based out of New York City. Waldbaum, comes from Eaton & Van Winkle, where he was a Partner. In addition to intellectual property litigation, he has significant experience in arbitration and mediation.

Sheppard Mullin’s Beijing-based lawyers Scott Palmer and Jim Zimmerman have landed in Perkins Coie’s Beijing office. Both join as partners from Sheppard Mullin’s recently dissolved Beijing office and are accompanied by their team of associates, paralegals and support staff.

Hogan Lovell has appointed Burkhart Goebel, currently the Continental Europe Managing Partner, as their new global head of the firm’s Intellectual Property practice. He has 20 years of with cross-border and multiple jurisdiction Intellectual property litigation, along with defending IP before the WTO. The current head of IPMT (Intellectual Property, Media and Technology) Andreas von Falck, who headed the practice since 2003, will remain at Hogan Lovells and continue with his active portfolio of client work.

Seyfarth Shaw has added lawyer Scott Lindvall to its New York City office. Lindvall arrives from Arnold & Porter LLP, where he was a partner in its Patent Litigation group in New York.

Jared Bobrow, a prominent patent litigator in Silicon Valley, has joined us as co-leader of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe’s global IP practice. Bobrow joined from Weil, where he was co-head of their Patent Litigation Group. Jason Lang, another Weil patent litigator, will also be joining as a partner in their IP group. Additionally, Clement ‘Clem’ Roberts to joins the global IP team in San Francisco. He was a founding partner of tech litigation boutique Durie Tangri.

Venable LLP has added Sarah S. Brooks from Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth as a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice in the Los Angeles office. Brooks’ practice focuses on litigating intellectual property disputes, including patent, trademark, trade secrets, antitrust, and copyright litigation.

King and Spalding announced the arrival of Gerald Flattmann and Evan Diamond, who previously practiced together at Paul Hastings. They become partners in King & Spalding’s Trial & Global Disputes practice. Flattmann will also chair the firm’s Global Life Sciences Patent Litigation group.

William New contributed to this article.

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