The "America Invents Act" and You
Brief:
The focus will be implications of the new Patent Process "First to File"
versus the historical "First to Invent". The panel will discuss:
(1) understanding the new process,
(2) becoming aware of the differences and
(3) implications to the independent inventor including opportunities, and
potential negatives, associated with the changes.
In short, the goal is to make all attendees aware, informed inventors to
avoid any missteps in the future. To paraphrase Sy Syms: "An Educated
Inventor Is Our Best Member".
Bio for Mike Blake:
Michael A. Blake has been registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office since 1997. He was admitted to the California bar in 1998
and the Connecticut bar in 2005. Michael graduated from Texas A&M University
with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1989. He received
his law degree from the University of Texas in 1996. Prior to attending law
school, Michael was employed for four years as a mechanical engineer at
Bently Nevada Corporation, now a GE Power Systems business. At Bently
Nevada he diagnosed machinery malfunctions and performed optical alignment
on various industrial machines, such as turbines, pumps, compressors and
reciprocating engines.
Michael is experienced in obtaining patent protection for a variety of
technical areas including consumer products, semiconductors, automobile
systems, turbine and pump systems, drilling systems, and computer systems.
Before opening his own firm, Michael was an attorney at the patent law
firm Cantor Colburn in Connecticut. Prior to that he was an attorney with
Sierra Patent Group in Nevada.
Michael is an instructor at Fairfield University where he teaches the
graduate level engineering course "Management of Intellectual Property
Assets". He is also a board member of the Yankee Invention Expo. Michael is a past vice-president of the
Inventors Association of Connecticut (IACT). Additionally, Michael is a
member of the Connecticut Bar Association; the State Bar of California; the
National Association of Patent Practitioners (NAPP); and the Innovator's
Resource Network (IRN).
Law Office of Michael A. Blake, LLC
Registered Patent Attorney
95 High Street, Suite 5,
Milford, CT 06460
(203)876-5081 phone
(203)876-7195; fax
Bio for Mark Nowotarski
Mark Nowotarski is the President of
Markets, Patents & Alliances LLC and
is a registered U.S. patent agent. He has served clients in the medical
devices, personal safety, consumer products, homeland security, and
financial services industries. Mark is a former Associate Director of R&D
for Praxair. There he was responsible for the development and successful
worldwide introduction of new products into the environmental, electronics,
metals and food industries. His initiatives generated over $300 million in
sales.
He is also an inventor on 17 US patents and was appointed Corporate Research
Fellow for the commercial impact of his inventions.
Mark has a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford and a
Bachelor's degree with honors in Aerospace, Mechanical Sciences and
Engineering Physics from Princeton. His academic awards include the Sigma Xi
award for most outstanding Mechanical Engineering research at Princeton and
the Union Carbide Award for Academic Excellence and Leadership in Mechanical
Engineering, also at Princeton.
Mark has been quoted as a patent expert in The New York Times, Stamford
Advocate, and Bloomberg Wealth Manager. He was also recently interviewed on
NEWS 12 regarding the dramatic growth of patents in social media such as
Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Bio for John Yankovich
John Yankovich is a patent attorney with over 35 years of experience in the
fields of electronics and patent law. He is presently a partner at the law
firm of
Ohlandt, Greeley, Ruggiero & Perle, LLP (OGRP), where his practice
is primarily directed to preparation and prosecution of patent applications,
and drafting of opinions relating to patentability and infringement. His
work at OGRP has been concentrated in patents relating to
telecommunications, computer systems and peripheral equipment, medical
imaging, optics, electrical circuitry, software processes and Internet
applications.
Prior to joining OGRP, Mr. Yankovich was employed as an electrical engineer
and a software analyst by Lockheed Martin, where he designed hardware and
wrote software for radar warning receivers.
Prior to that, Mr. Yankovich was employed by Picker/Cambridge Medical
Instruments, where he supervised a staff of electronic technicians engaged
in production of a variety of medical test and imaging equipment.
Education:
Westchester Community College, AS, Business Administration Pace University,
BS, Computer Science, Polytechnic University, MS, Electrical Engineering
Pace University School of Law, JD
Admissions/Affiliations
Connecticut
New York
Registered Attorney, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Connecticut Intellectual Property Law Association, past President
Click here for a video of this presentation.
Pictures of the panelists are available here: