• Chair - Kevin G. Rivette
  
  

  Kevin Rivette most recently was the Vice President for Intellectual Property Strategy for the IBM Corporation. In this roll he developed and directed the Intellectual Property (IP) strategy for the company. This work included creation and deployment of high level global strategies as well as helping to revamp IBM’s licensing program for better results.

  In September 2007, Mr. Rivette was honored to be voted into the Intellectual Property Hall of Fame (www.iphalloffame.com) by members of the IP community.

  Prior to his work with IBM, Mr. Rivette was the Executive Advisor for Intellectual Strategy at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In this capacity he helped establish and run BCG’s successful international Intellectual Property strategy practice. This practice included developing sustainable IP advantage for major Fortune 500 firms worldwide. These strategies included work in Telecommunications, Energy, Consumer Products, Chemicals, Biotech, as well as working in the Software and High Technology sectors. These engagements dealt with a range of issues, such as, merger & acquisition due diligence and negotiations, IP/business analysis of competitive landscapes, profit pools and value chains, development of IP licensing programs, IP acquisition programs and use of acquired IP for sustained client competitive advantage.

  Mr. Rivette was also founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Aurigin Systems. Aurigin Systems was the first company to develop and commercially market visualization technologies for analyzing and understanding the competitive landscape of worldwide patents. Aurigin’s customers included Sony, Philips, Avery Dennison, Kimberly Clark, Pfizer, AMD, Thomson Multimedia, Proctor & Gamble, HP, DuPont, among other high tech and Fortune 100 firms. Aurigin Systems was subsequently sold to Thomson Scientific, and the firm’s products are currently available under the Aureka name from Thomson Scientific.

  For his work in IP tool development, Mr. Rivette has been awarded over forty patents worldwide.

  Mr. Rivette is also the author of the Rembrandts in the Attic, which the New York Times declared to be the “textbook” on Intellectual Property strategies. He has also written on this subject for many publications including CEO, Chief Legal Officer Magazine, The Harvard Business Review and has made numerous TV and radio appearances to discuss the strategic business use of Intellectual Property.

  Mr. Rivette is a former patent attorney and litigator and is a frequent speaker at international conferences, including: The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland; The International Patent Licensing conference in London; Patent and Strategy Management in Washington, D.C.; and The National Post Automotive Conference in Toronto. He has also been a guest lecturer at Keio, Harvard and Stanford University business schools. He lives in Palo Alto California.

  
  
• Louis J. Foreman
• F. Scott Kieff
• Damon C. Matteo
• Douglas Patton
• W. David Westergard

• Robert D. Budens
• Catherine Faint
• Vernon Ako Towler

• Chair - John B. Farmer
  
  

  John B. Farmer is the founder of the Leading-Edge Law Group, PLC, an intellectual property boutique law firm in Richmond, Virginia.  His practice primarily consists of trademark and copyright matters and technology licensing.

  He writes a monthly column on e-commerce, intellectual property and high-tech legal matters for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.  He has written this column since 1998.

  Mr. Farmer has received numerous awards and honors for his work in the IP community.  Mr. Farmer was listed in the 2008 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the field of intellectual property law.  Also, both he and his law firm have been recommended in 2008 and prior years by Chambers USA. 

  Mr. Farmer has served in several intellectual property leadership positions.  He is a past chairman of the Board of Governors of the Intellectual Property Section of the Virginia State Bar and a past president of the Greater Richmond Intellectual Property Law Association.  He presently is the secretary of the Intellectual Property & Information Technology Law Section of the Virginia Bar Association.

  Mr. Farmer also is a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association and the International Trademark Association.

  Mr. Farmer is a co-founder and co-moderator of the Virginia Information Technology Legal Institute, which is an annual program sponsored by Virginia CLE, which is the continuing legal education arm of the Virginia State Bar.

  Mr. Farmer graduated from the University of Virginia in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1988.

  Following law school, Mr. Farmer served in three judicial clerkships:  1988-89, for the Honorable Donald H. Kent, the Honorable Donald M. Haddock and the Honorable Alfred D. Swersky of the Circuit Court for the City of Alexandria; 1989-90, for the Honorable Donald S. Russell of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; and 1990-91 for the Honorable James C. Cacheris of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

  Mr. Farmer lives in Richmond, Virginia, with his wife, Kathy, and their two children.  He enjoys church activities, ultra trail running, water polo, reading science and history, and, above all else, spending time with his family.

  
  

• James G. Conley
• James H. Johnson, Jr.
• Jacqueline Leimer
• Elizabeth Pearce
• Jeffrey W. Storie

• Howard Friedman
• Randall P. Myers
• Tanya LaShawn Baylor

KEY: =online business system =fees =forms=help =laws/regulations =definition (glossary)

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