2015 CincyIP Elections

CincyIP is currently holding its elections for various Board Member and Officer positions within the organization. Below is the information provided to CincyIP by each candidate up for election.

BOARD MEMBERS

Thom Barnes began with Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, LLP while attending law school at George Washington University after completing his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Rochester. Thom joined International Paper Company (IPCO) to create and implement a centralized management system for its then-decentralized global patent portfolio. In parallel, Thom was given M&A responsibilities as he assessed and packaged intellectual property assets for sale during IPCO’s well-publicized Transformation Plan. Thom’s current responsibilities include the management, preparation, prosecution, licensing, and enforcement of thousands of intellectual property assets including patents, trademarks and copyrights worldwide for each of the Global Printing & Communications business and Global Corporate Technology & Manufacturing function. He provides clearance/non-infringement/invalidity advice daily and enjoys working with business and tax teams to create and implement strategic global licensing and joint development programs delivering new products to markets. Thom also supports the Corporate Global Sourcing function, focusing on intellectual property issues in transactions related to software, capital, chemicals, materials, and training services. Thom develops enterprise-wide intellectual property policies and strategies, including those supporting IPCO’s substantial business presence in BRIC countries. Thom and his wife, Jennifer, have three children: Landon, Lindsey, and Abigail. Thom can be found outdoors and teaching/mentoring youth when not in the office. He has participated or currently participates in certain professional boards and organizations at church, through the Law and Leadership Institute and the United Way’s Emerging Leaders programs. Thom has previously been involved on the programming, outreach, and mentorship committees of CincyIP.

David Cameron is currently a Research Principal of Intellectual Property at Kao USA, formally the Andrew Jergens Company, where he supports all aspects of their patent practice. Prior to his current position, he served as a toxicologist supporting Kao’s skincare portfolio. David served on the planning committee for the inaugural CincyBrand Conference and is continuing that role for the 2016 conference. He earned his J.D. from the University of Kentucky School of Law. Additionally, he is a graduate of the University of Iowa (M.S., Pharmacology) and Pepperdine University (B.S., Biology). In the role of a CincyIP Board Member, he intends to focus on supporting the exceptional level of programming CincyIP offers, in addition to increasing networking opportunities among the IP Bar.

Matt Delaney is a patent attorney at Wood, Herron, and Evans, LLP, where he counsels clients on software and electrical engineering related intellectual property issues. Matt relocated to Cincinnati in mid-2014 after having previously worked at a small IP boutique firm in Northeast Ohio. Matt attended Ohio University for undergraduate and graduate school and Cleveland State University for law school. Matt has been an active member of CincyIP since moving to Cincinnati in mid-2014.

Harry J. Guttman, Ph.D., J.D. has more than a decade of intellectual property law experience, helping clients capture, procure, protect, generate income from, and enforce their intellectual property. He represents a diverse clientele, including multinational and Fortune 500 companies, start-ups and universities. Harry started his patent law career as a patent examiner in the Biotechnology and Organic Chemistry Technical Center of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. He worked as a patent agent, student associate and associate at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, before moving to Cincinnati. Prior to entering patent law, Harry garnered more than 10 years of scientific research experience.

Carol Ney heads up DBL Law’s IP practice in their downtown Cincinnati office. With a full circle career in IP, she has gone from private practice to Procter & Gamble to her own practice and has now landed at one of Greater Cincinnati’s largest firms. She is registered with the USPTO, but for the majority of her career, has focused more on the non-patent aspects of IP, including an emphasis on trademarks, trade secrets, and advertising. Early in her career, Carol was heavily involved with CincyIP, holding an officer position and has served this past year on the Planning Committee of CincyIP. She has served as a VP and Secretary for Living Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled from 2005 through the present. Carol is excited to expand her involvement with CincyIP by serving on the Board in either a member or officer capacity.

Geof Oberhaus is a Partner in the Intellectual Property Department. Geof facilitates and protects innovation from the origination of the idea, registration/protection of the innovation, licensing of the innovation, and enforcement of the innovation. This can include patentability opinions, freedom to operate studies, licensing agreements, development agreements, patent applications, trade secret protections, copyright and trademark registrations, distribution agreements, channel-partnering agreements and the like. In addition, Geof provides advice and counseling on exporting the innovation and related technology outside of the United States to maintain compliance with various export regulations such as EAR and ITAR.

Geof is Director of Dinsmore’s Privacy and Data Security Practice Group. The Privacy and Data Security Practice Group provides advice and creative solutions to help clients accomplish their business goals while minimizing the risk of privacy and data security related issues. This can include privacy audits, business planning/advice to incorporate privacy by design, strategic planning for day-to-day and situational responses and creation/review of appropriate policies and agreements.

Geof’s practice focuses on IT licensing, patent protection, litigation, trade secrets, copyrights, trademark, software protection, e-commerce, privacy law, licensing, open-source, export compliance (EAR & ITAR). Geof serves as the Vice-Chair of the Systems Committee, and is past Chair and member of the firm’s Professional Development Committee.

Rachael Rodman is a partner with Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP in Cincinnati, Ohio where she focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation, including patent infringement litigation, copyright litigation, and trade secret litigation. After spending the first decade of her career primarily in Dayton, Rachael, a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Law, moved to Dinsmore’s Cincinnati office full time in 2012 and has been a regular attendee at CincyIP meetings ever since. She is looking forward to increasing her role in the organization at the Board level.

Dr. Karlyn Schnapp is currently a member at Frost Brown Todd in the Intellectual Property practice group. Karlyn represents domestic and international clients in a wide array of intellectual property matters, with particular emphasis on patent and trademark prosecution, counseling and enforcement. Her patent practice involves patent prosecution for small molecule, pharmaceutical, and polymer chemistry; freedom to practice, validity and patentability opinions; licensing agreements; due diligence review of intellectual property assets and patent portfolio management. Karlyn’s trademark practice involves registrations and prosecutions with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, inter partes proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, foreign trademark applications and assignments, branding and advertising review, consent and license agreements. Prior to working as an intellectual property attorney, Karlyn was a tenured professor of chemistry at Northern Kentucky University. Karlyn has worked with Cincy IP as a steering committee member for the Cincy Bio premier events and also for the Cincy Branding meeting events. Karlyn has a B.S. in chemistry and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry.

Kim Zerby recently retired from P&G after nearly 31 years as a Patent Attorney with the company. Kim received his B.S. in Chemistry from The Pennsylvania State University in 1978 and his M.S. in synthetic organic chemistry in 1981 from The Ohio State University. His J.D. degree is also from OSU, received in 1983. During his career at P&G, Kim and the attorneys he managed supported every technology in P&G. In addition to being a long time member of the board for CincyIP, Kim has also been program co-chair for The All Ohio Annual Institute On Intellectual Property for the last several years.”

SECRETARY

Ashley Earle is an intellectual property associate at Dinsmore & Shohl, where she practices patent prosecution. Her practice is mainly focused in the chemical arts, including organic and inorganic chemistry. Ashley graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Law and has a B.S. in chemistry from Kentucky Wesleyan College. She was registered with the USPTO in 2012 and has been a member of CincyIP for the past three years.

CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER

Jason Jonovski is a third year associate at Wood Herron & Evans, and a 2013 graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Law. He currently focuses his practice primarily on patent matters, including preparation and prosecution of U.S. and international patent applications directed to mechanical inventions, and advising clients on matters of patentability and non-infringement. Jason has been a member of CincyIP for two years, and has recently been involved with the Outreach Committee with which he helped coordinate this year’s student mentorship program.

OUTREACH OFFICER

Alex Montgomery is a 2012 graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Law and an associate attorney at Dressman Benzinger LaVelle in downtown Cincinnati. For the past three years, including at DBL, Alex has been practicing primarily in the fields of intellectual property and employment law. He is focused on helping businesses protect their valuable intellectual property assets, including copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. He also works with businesses to reduce their risk of employment litigation by putting together employee handbooks, advising on non-competition agreements, and assisting with employee-related issues, among other employment matters.

Alex has been serving as CincyIP’s Director of Outreach since spring 2015. Prior to that, he served on the Outreach Committee for two and a half years. On the Outreach Committee, he revitalized and coordinated CincyIP’s Student Mentorship Program. Alex also headed the Sports Marketing Panel of the inaugural CincyBrand Conference in 2014, served on the planning committee for the 2015 CincyIP Judges’ Dinner, currently serves on CincyIP’s Programming Committee, and is again involved on the planning committee for the 2016 CincyBrand Conference.

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