【活動訊息】11/18_SPARK GLOBAL Webinar Series - 3
IP Considerations for Emerging Startups
SPARK GLOBAL is pleased to announce the launch of the new SPARK GLOBAL Webinar Series, a monthly forum that brings together experts and participants from all SPARK GLOBAL affiliates. With invited speakers and rotating time zones, the series ensures broad participation and accessibility across the global community. Each month, an exciting new webinar will follow, offering valuable insights and perspectives from leaders in the field.
Event Details:
Date: 18 November 2025 (Tuesday)
Time: 8 AM PT | Nov 19 12:00 AM CST (Taiwan Time)
Location: Online via Zoom
Speaker:
Todd M. Hopfinger
Director in Sterne Kessler’s Electronics Practice Group
Todd Hopfinger is a Director in Sterne Kessler’s Electronics Practice Group, specializing in IP strategy and patent prosecution for cutting-edge technologies including AI, bioinformatics, blockchain, 5G, and cybersecurity. With a strong technical background in software, communications, and data science, he builds high-value patent portfolios that align with business goals. As part of the firm’s AI leadership team, he also guides clients on patent eligibility, licensing, and regulatory issues across global markets.
Paul A. Calvo
Director in Sterne Kessler’s Biotechnology & Chemical Practice Group
Paul A. Calvo, Ph.D., is a Director in Sterne Kessler’s Biotechnology & Chemical Practice Group, advising biotech and pharma companies on global patent strategy, FDA/ANDA matters, licensing, and disputes. With deep expertise in bioproduction, therapeutic formulations, and biosimilars, and a scientific background from Penn and NIH, he bridges complex science and IP to help clients protect and advance their innovations.
Online via Zoom | Please register
Click here to register
Key Takeaways
1. Protect Early, But File Strategically
- Timing matters: File before public disclosure (e.g., publications, conferences, or investor pitches).
- Be strategic: A provisional patent can secure an early filing date at lower cost while giving time to refine data and claims.
- Coordinate filings with your R&D milestones to avoid gaps in protection.
2. Data and Experimental Support Are Critical
- Biotech patents rely heavily on experimental evidence—mere hypotheses rarely hold up.
- Ensure your application includes sufficient data to support enablement and written description.
- Keep detailed lab notebooks; they can support both inventorship (especially critical for documenting human inventorship contributions where AI systems were used to assist the inventive process) and enablement arguments later.
3. Understand Patentability vs. Freedom to Operate (FTO)
- A patent gives the right to exclude others, not necessarily the right to practice your technology.
- Conduct FTO analyses early to identify third-party patents that could block your product.
- FTO is a business risk assessment—review it before scaling up manufacturing or entering partnerships.
4. Build an IP Strategy Aligned with Business Goals
- Don’t patent everything—focus on core technologies that create competitive advantage.
- Consider trade secrets for processes or data that are hard to reverse-engineer.
- Continually revisit your IP strategy as your business model evolves.
5. Ownership and Agreements Matter
- Ensure clear IP ownership—especially with university collaborations, consultants, and contractors.
- Use written agreements assigning IP to the company and clarifying inventorship.
- Investors will scrutinize IP ownership and chain of title during due diligence—get it right early.