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IP AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

Return to Article: Panel Discussion: Intellectual Properties and Licensing

Richard C. Hsu is a partner at the law firm of Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP (Palo Alto, CA) and chair of the firm’s technology transactions practice. He has extensive experience in licensing, development, acquisitions, service, purchase, and other partnering agreements for a variety of industries, including semiconductors, life sciences, medical devices, hardware, software, nanotechnology, entertainment, multimedia, and telecommunications.

Prior to joining Townsend, Hsu was a senior attorney at Venture Law Group and former general counsel at Cyrano Sciences Inc. (acquired by Smiths Detection), a venture-backed company founded by Caltech Nobel Laureate Robert H. Grubbs. Hsu holds a JD degree from Columbia Law School and a BS degree from Caltech.

 

While serving as senior vice president of law and licensing for Roche Molecular Systems (Pleasanton, CA) from 1998 to 2007, Melinda Griffith created and directed various out-licensing programs of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology, accounting for more than 300 licensees and aggregate royalty revenues in excess of $1 billion since 1998.

Griffith served as vice president, general counsel, and secretary of Genelabs Technologies from 1995 to 1998 and director of legal affairs for Axys Pharmaceuticals from 1992 to 1995. Griffith began in the biotechnology field as corporate counsel for Cetus Corp. from 1986 to 1992.

Griffith received a JD from Hastings College of the Law and a BS in business administration from University of California, Berkeley.

 

Ken Haas is a venture partner with Abingworth Management Ltd., based in the firm’s Menlo Park, CA, office. Prior to Abingworth, Haas spent 25 years in the management of both early-stage and public high technology and biotechnology companies. He was part of the founding management team at IntelliGenetics, one of the world’s first bioinformatics companies and, from 1992 to 2001, was CEO of IntelliCorp, a publicly traded enterprise software company.

At the beginning of his career, Haas practiced as an attorney in the business and technology group of Heller, Ehrman, White and McAuliffe. He is currently cochair of the advisory council to the neuroscience institute at Stanford University.

Haas received his BA from Harvard College, an MA from the University of Sussex, and a JD from Harvard Law School. He attended the advanced management program at Harvard Business School.

 

Jim Heslin founded the medical device patent group of Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP, which recently placed first in a national ranking of medical device practices. He has extensive experience advising clients on how to best obtain, protect, and enforce their United States and foreign intellectual property rights. He has practiced for more than 20 years in this area and in that time has represented many clients in varied technological fields. His clients have developed technologies including atherectomy, angioplasty, stent delivery, arthroscopic treatments, suturing devices, ultrasound imaging, therapeutic ultrasound, gynecological devices, minimally invasive surgical equipment, implantable hearing aids, drug delivery systems, orthodontics, orthopedics, and diagnostics.

In addition to obtaining patents for clients, Heslin has extensive experience in investor due diligence and portfolio evaluation, licensing matters, and preparation of patent validity and infringement opinions. He also advises clients regarding initiating in-house intellectual property protection programs.

Heslin has overseen the patent portfolios and strategies of more than 25 prepublic companies that have had IPOs or been acquired by public companies over the past five years.

Heslin earned a BS in chemical engineering with highest honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He received his JD from Boalt Hall at the University of California, Berkeley. He is admitted to practice in the state of California and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

 

Leslie Lippard has more than 12 years of experience working in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. She is currently in the process of forming a company to provide market research services to pharma and biotech clients, including those involved in developing and licensing new drugs and devices.

Prior to setting out on her own, Lippard held roles in a variety of service and industry organizations. Most recently, she was a director at AlphaDetail (San Mateo, CA), a market research firm. Prior to that, she worked for Intermune (Brisbane, CA), a biotech firm engaged in developing a variety of in-licensed compounds.

Additionally, Lippard has considerable experience with strategy in the pharma-biotech space. She spent nine years as a management consultant with Strategic Decisions Group (now part of IMS Health), where she assisted several top-tier companies in developing growth strategies, valuing licensing opportunities, and making other key investment decisions.

Lippard holds a BS in physics from the California Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of Oregon.