Contact: Barbara Fornasiero, EAFocus,  Inc.  248.260.8466 or barbara@eafocus.com

Ann Arbor, Mich. – May 14, 2018 — The Michigan Chapter of the Licensing Executives Society (LES) will hold its second annual Intellectual Property and Licensing Symposium on Thursday, May 24 in Southfield. Michael N. Spink, an intellectual property attorney and shareholder in the Ann Arbor office of Brinks Gilson & Lione, one of the nation’s largest intellectual property law firms, is a co-chair of the Michigan chapter.  LES is an international professional society comprised of nearly 3,000 members engaged in the transfer, use, development, manufacture and marketing of intellectual property.

The Intellectual Property and Licensing Symposium takes place from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Skyline Club and features a panel of in-house counsel addressing the topic, ‘Leading Business Strategies for Changing Times’. Distinguished panelists are William Cosnowski, Jr., Vice President, Chief IP Counsel, & Head of Intellectual Property, ZF Group; John Cheek, Associate General Counsel and Chief IP Counsel, Tenneco Inc.; Kendra Mattison, Chief IP Counsel, Koch Industries; and Dalpreet Saluja, Associate General Counsel and Chief IP Counsel, Visteon Corporation.

Topics will include:

  • Best practices in IP deal making; maximizing IP value for changing times
  • How intellectual property holders are responding to the evolving IP climate
  • How industry leaders are hedging IP portfolios in light of the recent downswing for the U.S. Patent System in the Global IP Index
  • Fighting bad patents and defending good ones in light of recent Supreme Court decisions
  • Growth of international IP enforcement strategies
  • Software IP – diversification strategies between utility patents, design patents, copyrights, trade secrets and deal structuring
  • Best practices in IP agreements – contracts for uncertain times
  • The welcome reception is 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and the panel discussion is 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., with networking immediately following. Pricing is $60 for members and $75 for non-members and $50 for LES student members. To register for the May 24

The welcome reception is 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and the panel discussion is 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., with networking immediately following. Pricing is $60 for members and $75 for non-members and $50 for LES student members. To register for the May 24th event, or to learn about LES and the Michigan chapter, visit the LES Michigan chapter website page. The Skyline Club is located at 2000 Town Center, Suite 2800, Southfield, 48075.

About LES USA and Canada

Established in 1956, LES (USA and Canada) is a professional society of nearly 3,000 members engaged in the creation, commercial development and orderly transfer of intellectual property. LES is a member society of the Licensing Executives Society International, Inc. (LESI), which has more than 10,000 members world-wide.

Brinks Gilson & Lione

Celebrating more than 100 years of intellectual property law, Brinks Gilson & Lione is one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the US, and helps clients around the world to protect and enforce their intellectual property rights.  Our more than 130 lawyers, patent agents and scientific advisors assist clients in all aspects of patent, trademark, unfair competition, trade secret, and copyright law.  Brinks attorneys provide informed counsel with respect to innovations in a range of complex and valuable technologies, including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, bioengineering, industrial manufacturing, electronics and software, and medical devices.  More information is at www.brinksgilson.com.

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