Experience you can trust
My clients benefit from my unique skillset combining over 15 years of experience as a patent attorney, which includes extensive experience with patent preparation and prosecution, patent litigation, technology-related contracts, and IP policy.
Since passing the USPTO’s patent bar in 2006, I have drafted and prosecuted hundreds of patent applications. As a young attorney I worked at a large, full-service law firm, and subsequently moved to a law firm specializing in intellectual property in the Denver, Colorado area, where I became a shareholder in 2017. My practice involved working with clients from around the world to build and manage global patent portfolios, counseling clients regarding IP issues, drafting and negotiating IP-related agreements, and representing clients in all phases of litigation.
From 2021 to 2024, I served as the USPTO’s IP Attaché in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil . As a diplomat, I represented the U.S. government on matters related to the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in Brazil and also in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Guyana, and Suriname.
During this time, my responsibilities included advising U.S. companies on the intellectual property landscape throughout the region; engaging with foreign government officials to strengthen intellectual property frameworks; raising public awareness of intellectual property and its economic importance; and serving as a resource to the United States Trade Representative, the United States Department of State, and other U.S. government agencies. I worked closely with IP-focused government officials in the region and also traveled extensively, ultimately giving presentations, holding meetings, or otherwise visiting cities in 12 of the 26 federative units of
Brazil as well as in Buenos Aires and Córdoba, Argentina; Asunción, Paraguay; Montevideo, Uruguay, Georgetown, Guyana; and Paramaribo, Suriname.
I graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where I was a senior editor of the Harvard Law Review. After graduating, I clerked for the Honorable Henry Coke Morgan, Jr., of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Brigham Young University, where I graduated magna cum laude, and an MBA from the University of Colorado–Boulder, where I graduated first in my class. Earlier in my career, I also taught patent law as an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Law School.
After my first year of college, I lived in São Paulo, Brazil for two years, where I learned to speak Portuguese while working as a volunteer missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Why do I believe?
I currently live in the Salt Lake City, Utah area with family. I’m an instrument-rated private pilot and love all things aviation-related. I also enjoy landscape photography.
Additional Areas of Expertise
In addition to years of experience with the preparation and prosecution of patent applications, I also have experience in the following areas:
Goverment Relations
I worked closely with government authorities responsible for IP policy and protection in Brazil, Argentina, Guyana, Suriname, Paraguay, and Uruguay throughout my time as the Regional IP Attaché.
Artificial Intelligence and IP
The Brazilian government is deeply interested in regulating artificial intelligence, and I’m following both the various efforts to develop legislation and how the proposed legislation - which has gone through multiple iterations - affects IP rights.
Patent Term Adjustment
Ever since Brazil’s Supreme Court struck down the legislative provision guaranteeing a minimum 10 years of patent term in 2021, the issue of patent term adjustment has been front and center in the minds of patent owners.
Regulatory Data Protection
Conflicting views about the benefits and impacts of introducing regulatory data protection for human medicines in Brazil have resulted in maintenance of the status quo for years - but I believe there is a way forward.
Copyright Reform
Several legislative efforts underway in Brazil could have significant impacts on those who rely on copyright, particularly to protect digital content. Do you know what’s in the latest bill?
Patent Pendency
Brazil has a long-standing reputation for long patent pendency, but significant improvements have been made and there are a number of options for accelerating the process.
Special 301 Submissions
The quality of Special 301 submissions varies widely, and neither length nor the identity of the submitter guarantee that the submission will have the desired persuasive effect.
U.S. Government Overseas Resources
The U.S. government provides a host of resources for U.S. companies seeking to do business overseas, but you have to know where to look.
Enforcement
Piracy and counterfeiting can significantly hobble, if not altogether break, a business model or brand. If you want to protect your IP from bad actors in South America, you have to take an active approach.