McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd.

In the Chicago Lawyer article, “A Guiding Light: Chicago Attorneys Help Create National Arab American Bar,” Sandra Frantzen is featured among those who have leveraged their time and expertise to launch the National Arab American Bar Association (NAABA). Sandra currently serves as Vice President and founding Board member of NAABA, which seeks to promote the Arab American legal community through networking, mentorship, and community service. Read the article here: https://bit.ly/3WBRye3 #IntellectualProperty #IPLaw #IP

Scott P. McBride and Alex’s recent webinar, “Understanding the Impact of the FTC's Noncompete Rule,” examined the growing importance of trade secret and patent protection programs in light of potential FTC-driven changes to the legality of noncompete agreements. Their webinar discussed tools companies can use to protect their intellectual property, including developing or updating patent and trade secret programs, and the use of non-disclosure agreements. Plus, they discussed some recent patent and trade secret case studies. #IntellectualProperty #IPLaw #IP

In this Law360 article, Sanjay Murthy and Chris Tuinenga look at the EU’s Unified Patent Court a year after its highly anticipated launch. The pair explore why there has been a high opt-out rate, especially from large U.S.-based life sciences companies. Sanjay and Chris explain why they think many life sciences companies have opted out and what they anticipate the path will be moving forward. Read their article here: https://bit.ly/4cO7FKu #IntellectualProperty #IPLaw #IP

Congratulations to Michael Weil on being selected to serve as Vice Chair of the ISBA IP Section Council for the 2024-2025 term. Michael previously served as the IP Section Council Secretary, and he has been a member and proud supporter of the organization for eight years. ISBA aims to assist Illinois lawyers in the practice of law and promotes improvements in the administration of justice. #IntellectualProperty #IPLaw #IP

Licensing trade secrets is a "nuanced and risky endeavor" according to Wil Rao, who notes that “once a trade secret is no longer a secret, all value is gone.” Wil also explains that leveraging a bundle of rights increases the value of the transaction and provides the licensee with the opportunity to utilize the assets “in a more market-efficient way.” Building off his experience in licensing and litigation involving trade secrets, Wil shared that “[a] key takeaway […], is the need to suitably document and identify trade secrets before litigation starts, including potentially and intentionally leaving the trade secret owner’s ‘fingerprints’ behind, such as errors, in the trade secret documents that can be pointed to as proof of copying…” Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/3XQlzHR (subscription required) 

Congratulations to Christopher V. Carani, Esq., Sandra Frantzen, Troy Groetken, RPh, JD, LLM, Herb Hart, Sharon Hwang, Edward Mas, Eligio Pimentel, Wil Rao, Bob Surrette, and Malaika Durham Tyson, Ph.D., all designated as “Patent Stars 2024.” Managing IP also ranked the firm as “highly recommended” in the areas of patent prosecution and patent disputes. Click here to learn more about our IP Stars: https://bit.ly/3OjmbOv #IntellectualProperty #IPLaw #IPStars

On July 25 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern in Boston, Malaika Durham Tyson, Ph.D., along with a panel of women leaders in Life Sciences law, will kick off the 11th annual conference with their session: “Coffee & Conversation with Women Leaders in Life Sciences Law: Exploring the Top Legal, Regulatory and Policy Concerns Keeping the Industry Up at Night in 2024.” They will cover “influential developments impacting life sciences IP, products liability, and compliance in 2024” and end with an interactive Q&A. Learn more and register here: https://bit.ly/3W8fXYe

Joe McCollum has joined McAndrews as an Associate. He focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation and has experience in pre-suit investigations and assessment, motions practice, claim construction, and discovery. Prior to joining McAndrews, Joe practiced at another intellectual property firm, where he gained substantial patent litigation and prosecution experience. He graduated cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law, where he served as an associate editor of the University of Illinois Law Review and as secretary of the Intellectual Property Society. We are excited to have Joe join our team. Read more about him here: https://bit.ly/3xyWNBx #IntellectualProperty #IPLaw #IP

McAndrews, Held & Malloy is pleased to announce the election of Alan Montera to Partner. Alan focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation and prosecution. He has experience in pre-suit investigation and assessment, motion practice, and discovery for cases in a variety of technical areas. He also has experience drafting and prosecuting patent applications. “Alan has become a go-to team member for many of our most senior attorneys,” said McAndrews President Bob Surrette. “The extreme levels of commitment and discipline Alan puts into play for our clients and firm are not surprising for someone who graduated with merit from the United States Naval Academy and served as an officer on a fast-attack nuclear submarine.” Alan currently serves as President of the Filipino American Lawyers Association of Chicago, a professional network of attorneys, judges, law students, and supporters that facilitates career development, learning opportunities, and fellowship within the Chicagoland legal community. Alan graduated magna cum laude from Chicago-Kent College of Law, where he was a member of the Chicago-Kent Law Review and the Intellectual Property Law Society, as well as the treasurer for the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association. #IntellectualProperty #IPLaw #FALAChicago 

On Tuesday, June 25 from 12 -1:30 p.m. central, participate in a Strafford CLE webinar on the critical role of trade secret protection amidst the potential ban and uncertain future of noncompete agreements. The panelists will discuss strategies and best practices for developing an effective trade secret program, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding company innovations for long-term business success. For more information and to register, click here: https://bit.ly/4coxUqE #IntellectualProperty #IPLaw #IP