Press Releases

CHICAGO – Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the U.S., is pleased to announce that attorneys Jon H. Beaupré, Trevor K. Copeland, Robert K. Fergan, Ryan L. Marshall, Janet A. Pioli, Allyn B. Rhodes and Miyoung Shin have been elected as shareholders, effective January 2012.

“Each of these seven attorneys has exhibited excellence in their individual areas of practice within intellectual property law, and each has shown outstanding ability to serve Brinks' clients,” said firm president Gary M. Ropski. “We are pleased to honor their accomplishments and have every confidence in their continued ability to contribute to the success of our firm.”

Jon Beaupré focuses on litigation matters, including patents, trademarks, unfair competition, trade secrets, and contracts. He has extensive oral advocacy experience, including: arguing dispositive and non-dispositive motions; examining fact and expert witnesses during hearings; and taking and defending depositions. Mr. Beaupré’s writing experience includes appeal briefs, summary judgment briefs and Markman briefs. He has experience in a wide variety of technical areas, including medical devices, mechanical arts, electrical technologies, financial management technology and pharmaceuticals (initiated under the Hatch Waxman Act). He also manages patent portfolios, counsels clients, and drafts and negotiates intellectual property agreements.

Trevor Copeland's practice includes utility and design patent litigation, client counseling, due diligence, patent preparation and prosecution, and opinion work in diverse technologies such as diagnostic and therapeutic medical devices, sunglasses, footwear, biotechnology, and general mechanical arts. Mr. Copeland works closely with clients to develop intellectual property acquisition and management strategies, as well as to protect new ideas and products while respecting the rights of others. He has written and spoken on patent reform, false marking litigation, and new attorney mentoring and career development.

Robert Fergan specializes in client counseling, licensing and patent prosecution in the U.S., and in other countries under the rules of the Patent Cooperation Treaty. He has prepared and prosecuted patents in the electrical, mechanical and computer science arts, specifically including the machine vision and optical inspection industry, and has also prosecuted business methods patents. Prior to joining Brinks, Mr. Fergan had ten years of industry experience as a product development manager and product marketing manager, which gives him deep familiarity with industries and technologies including semi-conductor, electronics, automotive, pharmaceutical, packaging, metrology, instrumentation and optics. He currently serves as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the American Bar Association’s Landslide, a bimonthly magazine that offers analysis, news and commentary about the law of patents, trademarks, copyright, trade secrets and other IP-related subjects.

Ryan Marshall has substantial experience in the chemical, pharmaceutical and biochemical arts, and counsels clients and prepares opinions relating to patentability, invalidity, infringement and enforceability issues. He has worked with a broad range of chemical technologies, particularly in the medicinal chemistry field, including pharmaceuticals, synthetic methods, peptides, protein complexes and chelates, nucleosides, DNA sequence tags, point-of-care DNA diagnostics and DNA amplification. Mr. Marshall has assisted clients with design and utility patents for a wide range of products, including propellants, explosives, synthetic diamond drill bits, outdoor gear, eyewear, batteries and fuel cells, water softeners, packaging and medical devices, such as stents and stent delivery devices.

Janet Pioli’s practice encompasses patent clearance and due diligence, patent prosecution supervision, appellate practice, advertising review, clearance and National Advertising Divison challenges. Her active appellate practice includes appeals to the U.S. Patent Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She has experience in the areas of medical devices and systems; automobile and personal navigation systems; loudspeaker systems; financial institutions, automotive transmission systems; medical diagnostic devices; factory floor automation; personal care products; and green technology.. Her practice also includes pro bono appeals to obtain disability benefits for U.S. veterans. Ms. Pioli will take over has President of the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago in May 2012. She is an international delegate for the Licensing Executives Society USA-Canada and a former board member of the Richard Linn American Inn of Court. She is a contributing author of the IPLAC book “Patent Claim Construction in the Federal Circuit,” which IPLAC publishes annually. She frequently writes and speaks on a variety of subjects in the field of Intellectual Property.

Allyn Rhodes focuses on patent law matters primarily in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, including counseling clients on patent protection strategies, conducting due diligence investigations of patent portfolios, providing opinions on patentability, freedom to operate, validity and infringement, and preparing and prosecuting patent applications. She has assisted clients with a variety of technologies in areas such as medical diagnostics, pharmaceutical formulations, medical devices, insecticides, metallurgy, fiber optics, and tissue repair and regeneration.

Miyoung Shin's intellectual property law practice focuses on patent infringement litigation, patent prosecution and reexamination, particularly in the electrical and computer arts. She has worked with various technologies, including flat panel display devices and processing circuits, audio signal processing systems, semiconductor manufacturing processes, optic fibers and communications, tire pressure monitoring systems, internet hosting systems, computer software applications, and vehicle occupant position sensing systems. Ms. Shin has substantial experience in ex parte and inter partes reexamination by a third party requester and a patent owner. Prior to joining Brinks, Ms. Shin practiced as a registered Korean patent attorney.

Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione is one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the United States and serves the intellectual property needs of clients around the world. Brinks has 150 attorneys, scientific advisors and patent agents who specialize in intellectual property litigation and all aspects of patent, trademark and copyright law. The firm also advises on issues relating to intellectual asset management, trade secret, unfair competition, and technology and licensing agreements. Brinks routinely handles assignments for companies in the electrical, chemical, and mechanical engineering sectors; the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and nanotechnology industries; and for companies whose work relates to Internet and computer technology law. The firm’s trademark practice works on behalf of clients who deal in a wide variety of products and services. Brinks is based in Chicago and has offices in Ann Arbor, Mich., Indianapolis, Ind., Research Triangle Park, N.C., Salt Lake City, Utah, and Washington, DC. More information is available at www.usebrinks.com.