Fish & Richardson Elevates 14 Attorneys to Principal

Fish & Richardson has elevated 14 attorneys to principals at the firm, effective January 1, 2020. The new principals in the firm's Intellectual Property Litigation Group are Bailey Benedict and Tony Nguyen (Houston); Riqui Bonilla (Dallas); Chris Dryer, Leah Edelman, and Daniel Gopenko (D.C.); Jeffrey Mok (New York); and Jenny Shmuel, Ph.D. (Boston). The new principals in the Patent Group are Rick Bisenius, Craig Deutsch, Nicholas Stephens, and Paul Western (Twin Cities); Annie King, Ph.D. (Boston); and Indranil Sarkar, Ph.D. (D.C.).

Bailey Benedict focuses her practice on all areas of intellectual property litigation in federal district courts, with a particular focus on patent and trademark litigation. She also has experience in trade secret and False Claims Act litigation. In addition to litigating in federal courts nationwide, Benedict has been involved with a number of appeals before the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. Her expertise spans a wide variety of technology areas, including 3D printing, chemicals, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, software, and oil-and-gas technology and equipment for exploration, drilling, and production. She received her J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law in 2012 and her B.S., cum laude, in chemical engineering with emphasis in nanotechnology from the University of Southern California in 2009.

Rick Bisenius focuses his practice on patent post-grant proceedings, patent reexamination proceedings, U.S. and foreign patent portfolio strategy and management, and due diligence investigations. He has represented both petitioners and patent owners in over 60 inter partes review, CBM review, and reexamination proceedings in the areas of telecommunications, telephony, software, communications systems and hardware, navigation systems, electro-mechanical devices, bio-medical devices, microchip design, and consumer products. He received his J.D., with honors, from the University of Chicago Law School in 2013 and his B.S. in electrical and computer engineering, computer science, from the University of Wisconsin in 2001.

Riqui Bonilla has represented hundreds of clients in federal courts around the country in commercial and intellectual property disputes involving a wide range of technologies, including e-commerce and website systems, computer network architecture, computer software, encryption, telecommunication, and mobile applications. He has also been involved in multiple appeals before the Federal Circuit. He received his J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, Order of Barristers, National Order of Scribes, from Texas Tech University School of Law in 2012 and his B.S., cum laude, in software engineering from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2009.

Craig Deutsch focuses his practice on defending and invalidating patents in post-grant proceedings, drafting and prosecution of utility and industrial design subjects in the United States and abroad, investigation and analysis of patent validity and infringement, and strategic portfolio management and counseling. His technical experience spans the mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical industries, including mobile and connected devices, electromechanical equipment, building control systems, medical devices, oil extraction and production, and consumer products. He received his J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2011 and his B.S.M.E., with high distinction, in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota in 2008.

Chris Dryer has a practice focused on patent litigation and appeals. He has experience litigating intellectual property cases before the U.S. International Trade Commission, in federal district courts, and at the Federal Circuit involving a wide array of technologies, such as network protocols, flash memory, lithium-ion batteries, streaming video, and fiber optics. He also has significant experience with inter partes review proceedings relating to his litigation practice. He received his J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, from Georgetown University Law Center in 2011 and his B.S. in computer science from the University of Mary Washington in 2004.

Leah Edelman is a patent litigator specializing in cellular technology, including cellular standards, computer software, battery technology and FRAND. She has extensive experience with FRAND damages and FRAND-related issues, including issues related to SSO IPR policies. She has represented clients in federal court, including the Southern District of New York and Eastern District of New York, among others, and before the U.S. International Trade Commission. She received her J.D. from the University of Florida in 2011, her M.S. in materials science & engineering from the University of Florida in 2006, and her B.S. in materials science & engineering from Northwestern University in 2005.

Daniel Gopenko is a patent litigator in the firm's Washington, D.C. office, where he advises companies on how to protect their IP and avoid infringement risks. He represents clients from complaint through trial in federal district courts throughout the country, including extensive experience before the Eastern District of Virginia's "rocket docket. "Most recently, he helped defend a multinational client against the threat of an injunction in the cutting-edge market for sustainable, plant-based sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Before that, he represented device manufacturers in multiple lawsuits related to cellular network equipment and various 3GPP standards for cell phones and tablets. Gopenko also maintains an active pro bono practice working with The Children's Law Center, which provides legal services for D.C.'s at-risk children. He received his J.D., with honors, from the George Washington University Law School and his B.S., cum laude, in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland.

Annie King, Ph.D. focuses her practice on patent prosecution in the life sciences industry. Her technical areas of expertise include organic, inorganic, and organometallic chemistry; pharmaceutical formulations; polymer; and industrial chemical processes. During her doctoral study, she gained extensive experience in the synthesis and characterization of organometallic complexes useful in olefin metathesis. She received her J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in 2014, her Ph.D. in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010, and her B.A. in chemistry, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Barnard College in 2005.

Jeffrey Mok focuses his practice on litigation and counseling for patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secrets. His work spans a variety of technical areas, including wireless communications, semiconductor technology, automotive technology, financial services, software, and medical devices. He has represented clients in federal courts across the country and before the U.S. International Trade Commission. He received his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 2012 and his B.S. in electrical engineering, with a minor in computer science, from Columbia University in 2007.

Tony Nguyen focuses his practice on patent litigation before the U.S. International Trade Commission and in federal district courts, particularly in the areas of computer hardware and software. He has been involved in cases involving graphic processing, memory systems, high-performance computing, digital signal processing in digital televisions, and various consumer electronics. Other areas of expertise include medical devices, telecommunications, security equipment, ATMs, manufacturing machinery, and large-scale industrial matting. He received his J.D. from Texas Tech University School of Law in 2012 and his B.S. in microelectronic engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2006.

Indranil Sarkar, Ph.D. focuses his practice on strategic patent prosecution, portfolio management, post-grant proceedings, and client counseling in the areas of electrical and computer engineering. His technical focus includes wireless technologies, signal and image processing, blockchain, video coding, computer architecture, biometrics, medical devices and software. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Suffolk University Law School in 2018, but has been with the firm as a technology specialist/patent agent since 2008. He obtained his M.S. (2004) and Ph.D. (2007) in electrical engineering from State University of New York at Buffalo and his B.E., with distinction, in electronics and communication engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University in 2002.

Jenny Shmuel, Ph.D. is a patent litigator with an emphasis on medical device and pharmaceutical technologies. She has represented pharmaceutical clients in competitor litigation, Hatch-Waxman litigation, and biosimilar litigation. Over the last several years, she has helped successfully defend Gilead's HCV franchise and secured a significant damages award for a medical device manufacturer. She regularly authors blogs and presents webinars on hot topics in biosimilar litigation. Her doctoral work focused on biological applications for polymer thin films. She received her J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 2012 and her B.S. (2004) and Ph.D. (2009) in materials science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Nicholas Stephens focuses his practice on post-grant proceedings, patent prosecution, and client counseling. He has substantial experience with a broad range of technologies, including computer networking, electrical power management, communication systems, web security, machine learning, blockchain, and medical devices. He received his J.D., with high distinction, Order of the Coif, from the University of Iowa College of Law in 2012 and his B.S. in electrical engineering, with highest distinction, from Purdue University in 2008.

Paul Western focuses his practice on patent preparation, prosecution, and strategic IP portfolio management. His technical areas of expertise include medical devices, mechanical technologies, and software/smart wireless devices. He has substantial experience with medical devices in the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, minimally invasive surgery, and extracorporeal blood processing space. He worked for many years in industry - at 3M Company, Terumo Cardiovascular and the University of Michigan Office of Technology Transfer - before becoming an attorney. He received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 2011 and his B.S. in mechanical engineering from North Dakota State University in 1984.