According to the USPTO website, “The AIA directs the USPTO to work with intellectual property law associations across the country in order to establish pro bono programs for financially under-resourced inventors and small businesses.”

Texas has created a regional pro bono inventor assistance center serving Texas and south central U.S. that is hosting a summit on November 10, 2014, in Austin.  Michelle Lee, Deputy Director of the USPTO, will speak at lunch, along with several other intellectual property experts.

For the agenda and to register, see: USPTO Summit – 11-10-14

For CLE information, see: November 10th Invitation Letter

For background information see: Briefing Document

Marc S. Katsanis, CPA/ABV, CFA, CPV, has been associated with Chaffe & Associates, Inc. since 1996.  As Senior Vice President, his areas of specialty include valuations of privately-held partnership, limited liability company and corporate ownership interests, restricted stock, stock options, warrants and intangible assets such as patents, tradenames, contracts, non-compete agreements, and customer relationships.

Mr. Katsanis is accredited in business valuation (ABV), a certified public accountant (CPA), a chartered financial analyst (CFA), and a certified patent valuation analyst (CPVA).

Mr. Katsanis received a B.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from Loyola University, New Orleans, where he graduated magna cum laude and joined the Beta Gamma Sigma and Beta Alpha Psi Honor Societies.  He is a member of the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants (LCPA) the CFA Institute (CFA), the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP), and the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO).

Mr. Katsanis is an expert in the valuation of employee stock options and non-traded warrants.  He is the creator of the Valrex^TM model for valuing non-traded employee stock options and warrants and is frequently requested to address organizations on the topic of option valuation.  He has also authored articles on employee stock option valuation that have appeared in nationally distributed periodicals including Business Valuation Review, The CPA Journal, and The Journal of Employee Ownership Law and Finance. He is a member of the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants (LCPA), the CFA Institute, the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP), and the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO).

Chase Kasper is the Director of the Office of Technology Development at the University of Southern Mississippi. He has been involved with technology licensing, intellectual property management, and technology transfer in a university setting for over 10 years. Prior to working in a university setting, Mr. Kasper has spent over 13 years in the private sector. He has been involved with successfully managing multi-million dollar product lines, product planning and execution, assess partnership opportunities, designing corporate identity guidelines, developing international pricing structures, launching new products, and assessing customer requirements and meeting customer satisfaction goals.

Mr. Kasper is the outgoing Assistant Vice President for the Association of University Technology Managers Central Region and has been a member of AUTM for almost 10 years. He has presented on a wide variety of topics related to university technology transfer including technology assessment, economic development, and intellectual property.

Mr. Kasper received his B.B.A and M.B.A. from Mississippi State University and has been active in several professional organizations including Association of University Technology Managers, the Licensing Executives Society, the University-Industry Demonstration Partnership and the Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers.

Heather Nolan, partner at InfoLawGroup, has over ten years of legal experience focused on digital and offline marketing, promotions, and ad campaigns and all legal issues touching on them.  As a media, advertising, promotions, and intellectual property lawyer, Heather works closely with clients to develop, launch, and administer all types of advertising campaigns and promotions. Heather’s practice covers the spectrum of traditional and emerging advertising, promotions, and intellectual property issues. She regularly works on promotional offers, giveaways, sweepstakes, skill contests, games, loyalty programs, coupons, rebates, web sites, and mobile apps, as well as e-mail, text message, mobile marketing, and viral marketing campaigns, and all related agreements, terms, disclosures, and campaign elements. Heather has extensive experience handling all aspects of promotions that involve charities and charitable causes.  Heather is a member of the Promotions Marketing Association, now called the Brand Activation Association, and a frequent speaker at its annual law conference.

The GCIPA is honored to welcome Dr. Ashok Singhal as the lunchtime keynote speaker for our upcoming meeting. The meeting covers SBIR/STTR programs and their relationship to IP law.  Dr. Singhal and CFDRC are multiple SBIR award recipients, among their other many accomplishments.  Please join the GCIPA on October 30, 2014, at the New Orleans BioInnovation Center to learn from Dr. Singhal. Click here to register!

Dr. Ashok K. Singhal
Dr. Ashok Singhal is the principal founder of Computational Fluid Dynamics Research Corporation (CFDRC), a high-technology small business located in Huntsville, Alabama.  CFDRC develops cutting-edge technologies with highly-competitive federal contracts and adapts and commercializes them for both defense and civil applications. CFDRC has received several national awards for its successes in innovation and commercialization of the SBIR-developed technologies. During 1987-2012, as President, Dr. Singhal led CFDRC’s evolutions as: a) an industry leader in advanced CFD and Multi-Disciplinary simulations; b) a successful commercial software developer with sales to over 500  organizations, worldwide, before the spinoff and divesture of the division in 2004; and c) a prominent technology incubator, developing innovative designs, prototypes and new hardware and software products for the aerospace, biomedical, energy and materials markets.  Since 2013, CFDRC is growing under the direction of a new President, while Dr. Singhal as Chairman is focused on developing strategic partnerships and commercialization of promising technologies.

Prior to CFDRC, Dr. Singhal worked for Tata Consulting Engineers and CHAM of North America. He received his Mechanical Engineering degrees from BHU Varanasi, IIT Kanpur, and Imperial College, London. Dr. Singhal has participated in numerous scientific workshops and advisory panels and given invited lectures in England, Belgium, France, Japan, Mexico, and USA. Presently, he serves on the Board of Directors for Huntsville/Madison Chamber of Commerce, and is an active member of HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology (HAIB), Northern Alabama Business Incubator (Biztech), and Angel Investors Management (AIM) Group.

Presently in addition to CFDRC, Dr. Singhal serves on the Board of Directors for two non-profit organizations: Huntsville/Madison Chamber of Commerce and Alabama India Business Partnerships (AIBP). He is also an active member of HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology (HAIB), Northern Alabama Business Incubator (Biztech), Angel Investors Management (AIM) Group, and Huntsville Angel Network.

Moderator:

The panel is moderated by Knud Berthelsen, CEO of Connect + Trade LLC, an online marketing firm with global perspective.  Connect + Trade helps clients develop and control their online presence, generate and manage online content, connect with and sell to customers near and far, and analyze data to optimize marketing.  To do this the company has developed an Ecommerce Platform for clients to sell their products through, and an Export Market Index to determine the right new markets for their products. Knud holds an MBA with concentrations in International Business, Strategic Management & Leadership from Tulane University, and a BA in North-American Studies from the University of Oslo, Norway.  Before he moved to New Orleans to pursue his MBA and later found his company, Knud spent a decade in free-market think tanks and politics in his native country of Norway, the Nordic Countries, and the US.  Knud teaches global business in the Tulane MBA, PMBA, and Master of Management programs, and tries to find time to finish his book on how new technology lets anyone sell to anyone anywhere.

Panelists include:

Justin Ourso, a partner at Jones Walker, enjoys the challenge of working with clients to solve difficult problems with creative strategies.  Justin is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, who practiced seventeen years in New Orleans before returning to his native Baton Rouge. He practices in state and federal courts throughout Louisiana, and has practiced in federal court outside of Louisiana. He also practices in the Trademark Office of the U. S. Patent & Trademark Office and in the Copyright Office.  Mr. Ourso practices primarily in three areas: business litigation; intellectual property counseling, litigation, and transactions; and media law. He also has a selective practice in state agency regulatory disputes and experience in entertainment law.  Justin’s current areas of interest and research are trademarks in social media, including social media policies for businesses; geographical indications; and web site audits.  Justin has been active in the committee work of the International Trademark Association (formerly, the United States Trademark Association) since 1994 and of the Intellectual Property Law section of the American Bar Association since 2001.

Will Manuel, partner at Bradley, Arandt, Boult, Cummings, focuses his practice primarily on commercial and employment litigation. He has handled various disputes for both large and small businesses in both Mississippi and other jurisdictions.  Will’s clients include numerous manufacturers and commercial interests as well as various insurance and financial services companies. He has worked to defend these clients in both MDL litigation and individual actions brought in Mississippi. Will also has experience in advising businesses on issues involving age discrimination, sexual harassment and wage/overtime disputes. Will’s focus is on active litigation from the initial discovery process through trial.  Will received his J.D. from University of Virginia School of Law, and received a B.A., Political Science, from Mississippi State University magna cum laude, where he was a Harry S. Truman Scholar.

Rick Biagi is a partner with the intellectual property and marketing law firm of Neal & McDevitt, LLC in Northfield, IL.  Rick’s practice includes counseling clients in the areas of selection, adoption, use and protection of trademarks, copyrights and domain names on a worldwide basis, as well as licensing of intellectual property, and advertising and promotions law compliance.  Rick’s extensive litigation experience includes proceedings involving intellectual property and advertising disputes before U.S. Federal Courts, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus.  Rick currently serves as Vice Chair of the Pro Bono Committee for the International Trademark Association and Chair of the Trademark Litigation Committee for the ABA’s IPL Section as well as being a member of the Editorial Board for the ABA-IPL Section’s magazine, Landslide.  He received his Juris Doctor from the DePaul University College of Law, magna cum laude, and he holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from the University of Illinois.  Rick has received numerous awards and recognition for his pro bono advocacy and is involved with numerous civic and charitable organizations in addition to holding elected office in Park Ridge, IL where he resides with his wife and five children.

Heather Nolan, partner at InfoLawGroup, has over ten years of legal experience focused on digital and offline marketing, promotions, and ad campaigns and all legal issues touching on them.  As a media, advertising, promotions, and intellectual property lawyer, Heather works closely with clients to develop, launch, and administer all types of advertising campaigns and promotions. Heather’s practice covers the spectrum of traditional and emerging advertising, promotions, and intellectual property issues. She regularly works on promotional offers, giveaways, sweepstakes, skill contests, games, loyalty programs, coupons, rebates, web sites, and mobile apps, as well as e-mail, text message, mobile marketing, and viral marketing campaigns, and all related agreements, terms, disclosures, and campaign elements. Heather has extensive experience handling all aspects of promotions that involve charities and charitable causes.  Heather is a member of the Promotions Marketing Association, now called the Brand Activation Association, and a frequent speaker at its annual law conference.

Please join the GCIPA in welcoming this distinguished group of panelists on October 30, 2014!