IP Talk with Wolf Greenfield

Trade secrets aren’t static. Companies should regularly reassess the status of their trade secrets and make necessary adjustments to ensure they remain protected at all times. In this episode of IP Talk, shareholder Rob Jensen offers advice on how companies should approach an annual trade secret assessment.

01:00 - Why this is a good time of year to review trade secret protections

01:40 - Exploring trade secret inventory and common mistakes

03:37 - How the value of a trade secret impacts how it should be protected

04:42 - Ensuring employee confidentiality

05:40 - Things to keep in mind across industries

07:28 - Rob’s final words of advice regarding trade secrets

For many, the journey to IP law is circuitous. And that’s undoubtedly true for Wolf Greenfield Shareholder Dan Young and Technology Specialist Colin White. Both had interesting careers outside of the legal industry before helping biotech companies tackle their most complex IP challenges.

In this episode of IP Talk with Wolf Greenfield, Dan and Colin offer insight into their journeys, what led to an interest in IP, how they apply non-legal skills today and other interesting insights. This episode is part one in a series about unexpected paths to IP law. 

01:21 - Dan and Colin on what they did before transitioning into IP law

03:44 - How each decided to enter the IP law sector

05:45 - Transferable skills they’ve taken from their previous careers and now use today

07:49 - Challenges Dan and Colin faced upon making the jump

09:29 - Dan and Colin’s advice to someone interested in transitioning to IP law

We’re pleased to feature Trevor Day in this episode of Wolf Greenfield’s Alumni Spotlight series. Trevor, who was with the firm for more than six years, was an associate in Wolf Greenfield’s Mechanical Technologies Practice and also served as a Technology Specialist and a Patent Agent.

Today, Trevor is Senior Counsel – Patents at YETI. Here are some highlights from Trevor’s turn in the Alumni Spotlight on IP Talk with Wolf Greenfield.

00:52 - Trevor shares what his day-to-day activities at YETI look like
01:45 - The impact Wolf Greenfield had on Trevor’s career
03:01 - Trevor’s favorite Wolf Greenfield memory
04:46 - How the people at Wolf Greenfield made his experience both enjoyable and beneficial
05:25 - Trevor’s dream vacation destination
06:16 - What TV show is capturing his interest these days

Wolf Greenfield recently promoted four attorneys to the position of shareholder. Stuart Duncan Smith, Anant Saraswat, Jessica von Reyn, and Adam Wichman. The promoted attorneys’ legal and technical know-how covers a range of practice and technology areas, including biotechnology, pharmaceutical, patent, litigation, and post-grant proceedings.

In this episode of IP Talk with Wolf Greenfield, we’ll introduce you to each of the new shareholders. Here are the highlights:

01:13 - Stuart Duncan Smith, Litigation Practice 

06:05 - Adam Wichman, Post-Grant Proceedings Practice 

12:02 - Jessica von Reyn, Biotechnology Practice 

18:50 - Anant Saraswat, Post-Grant Proceedings Practice

2025 promises to be another busy year for intellectual property law. In this episode of IP Talk with Wolf Greenfield, you’ll hear Wolf Greenfield attorneys from a variety of practice areas reviewing some of the top issues of 2024 and offering their insights on what to expect in the months ahead. Here are some of the highlights:

01:02 - Chelsea Loughran’s thoughts on The University of California v. Broad Institute, a federal court case involving competing patent applications for the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing system

02:25 - Zach Piccolomini is watching the Unified Patent Court (UPC) for upcoming decisions in the standard essential patent space and “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory” royalties

03:34 - Jonathan Roses with insight on recent Orange Book developments and what to expect with the new administration  

05:31 - Jen Wang offers advice for dealing with rejections in the wake of the Federal Circuit overturning a 40-year-old obviousness test for design patents in the LKQ v. GM case

06:34 - Scott McKeown on noteworthy 2024 developments at the USPTO and some thoughts for what might happen in 2025 

08:43 - John Strand on the Dewberry case, which was just argued before the Supreme Court (a decision is expected in the spring)

10:23 - Gabe McCool discusses the BIO Secure Act  

Phil Hamzik is an Associate in Wolf Greenfield’s Pharmaceutical practice. From protecting key platform technologies to advising on drug product life cycle management, Phil works closely with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to develop IP strategies aligned with their business goals. 

Phil also serves as the first Chair of Wolf Greenfield's LGBTQ+ Affinity Group. Additionally, he’s on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association, working to connect and empower LGBTQ+ attorneys through networking, law student mentoring and scholarship, legislative advocacy, and more. Phil also served as Co-Chair of the Greater Boston Legal Services Associates Drive, helping raise record amounts for legal aid for low-income families. Phil has been recognized as a Leading IP Practitioner by World IP Review, and as one of World IP Review Diversity’s Top 100 People in IP. 

In this episode of IP Talk with Wolf Greenfield, Phil discusses his work with pharma clients and his activities outside the office. Here are some of the highlights:

01:25 - Phil’s current responsibilities and focus areas at Wolf Greenfield

02:00 - Notable topics and issues in 2024

02:52 - The differences in working on IP strategies for organizations of all sizes, from large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to startups

03:47 - Phil elaborates on his various activities on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community

04:48 - The importance of Wolf Greenfield’s commitment to having firm members active in community issues 

05:23 - Phil discusses Wolf Greenfield’s fundraising for the annual Greater Boston Legal Services Associates Fund Drive

06:11 - A look toward 2025

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Ryan MacDougall is the Chief Business Development Officer for Wolf Greenfield. Since joining the firm in 2010, he has worked closely with the firm's executive leadership, management, and practice groups to build and implement strategies that have made Wolf Greenfield one of the largest IP law firms in the US.

Utilizing his in-depth knowledge of the intellectual property space, Ryan maintains a strong focus on client experience and satisfaction as he oversees the firm’s Client Services Department, which comprises business development, marketing, and communications. 

In this episode of IP Talk with Wolf Greenfield, Ryan discusses milestones in his career and the many ways business development for the legal industry has changed in the past 15 years. Here are a few highlights of the conversation.

01:00 - Ryan’s career to becoming Wolf Greenfield’s Chief Business Development Officer

03:01 - The biggest changes for legal industry marketing and business development in recent years

05:45 - Wolf Greenfield’s approach to working with clients  

06:55 - What sets Wolf Greenfield apart from competitors

08:02 - Key moments that have influenced Ryan’s career

09:35 - A memorable piece of advice 

10:28 - Experiences from business travel

13:03 - Activities outside of work

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Dan Rudoy is a shareholder and executive committee member at Wolf Greenfield. As part of the Electrical & Computer Technologies Practice, Dan works closely with clients developing technology in a wide variety of areas including artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, electronics, genomics, machine learning, medical devices, and software. Many of these clients are developing technology at the intersection of life sciences and electrical and computer technology. One example is the application of machine learning to the analysis of genomic data.

In this episode of IP Talk with Wolf Greenfield, Dan discusses the opportunities and challenges that patent holders face as they navigate these new and ever-changing technologies. Here are a few highlights of the conversation.

01:06 - The questions clients have about AI and the challenges they are facing

03:58 - New problems IP holders face using GenAI 

06:59 - Impact of the quickly evolving AI landscape on a company’s IP strategy

08:32 -The biggest issues and challenges generated by the application of machine learning to the analysis of genomic data

10:04 - How the use of open source software impacts IP strategy

12:05 - AI’s impact on trade secrets - both domestically and internationally

14:55 - Guidance for clients as they move forward with executing a strong IP strategy reflecting the use of AI and machine learning

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Tonia Sayour is a patent, trademark, and copyright attorney in Wolf Greenfield’s New York office. She has nearly two decades of experience counseling clients in all areas of intellectual property law. Tonia also frequently speaks at diversity and inclusion events.

In this episode of IP Talk with Wolf Greenfield, Tonia discusses her legal career, current topics like AI, Supreme Court cases, and balancing the demands of a busy job with raising three children. Here are a few highlights of the conversation.

01:02 - What led Tonia to a career in law

05:09 - Describing her IP law career over the past two decades

06:58 - The advantages of being a “jack-of-all legal trades”

08:52 - The ways AI may impact the legal profession 

10:46 - Tonia’s involvement in a pair of Supreme Court cases

13:57 - How Tonia’s involvement in diversity and inclusion efforts have impacted her career

16:08 - Juggling the demands of work and being a mother to three children

19:07 - The advice Tonia would give her younger self

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The Wolf Greenfield Summer Program gives aspiring attorneys a firsthand look at life inside of a thriving law firm. Participants are assigned to a specific Wolf Greenfield practice group, but they are also exposed to multiple practices to offer a 360-degree view of the firm’s diverse services. 

This year’s program featured nine associates and one technology specialist intern. Four of them are featured on this edition of IP Talk with Wolf Greenfield: 

• Neha Krishna: a rising senior at the University of Pennsylvania
• Ben Nickerson: attends the Northeastern University School of Law
• Katie Schneider: attends the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law
• Katherine Wade: attends the Chicago-Kent Law School and is a Patent Paralegal in the Biotechnology practice group

Here are a few highlights of their conversation.

01:10 - How the associates heard about Wolf Greenfield’s Summer Program and what led each to apply

03:12 - One of Neha’s favorite projects this summer

03:57 - Katie and Katherine discuss how the summer program has prepared them for what’s next in their legal career

05:28 - What surprised Ben this summer

06:46 - Advice for those considering the summer program 

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