A wheat field with cloudy sky

 

Wednesday December 7, 2022 

Inspiration Hall, Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering

 

IP Day in Montana is a collaborative event presented by the Intellectual Property Section of the MT State Bar and the Montana State University Technology Transfer Office.  This year’s event focuses on the intersection of IP rights and agriculture.  

picture of Aaron Perzanowski and his book cover

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Join us for a full day of speakers discussing how patents, copyrights, trademarks, and other forms of IP protections play a critical role in driving agricultural innovation and economic development in Montana.  In addition to presentations from the US Patent and Trademark Office and MT-based IP law experts, Keynote Speaker Aaron Perzanowski will discuss “Right to Repair” during the lunch hour.

In recent decades, companies around the world have deployed an arsenal of tools - including IP law, hardware design, software restrictions, pricing strategies, and supply chain controls - to prevent consumers from fixing the things they own.  While frustrating for the owner of a broken iPhone, these same obstacles can represent a significant risk for Montana’s farmers and ranchers who need to quickly repair critical equipment.  Join us to learn more about this collision of IP law and modern agricultural technologies.

Click here or scan to Register and for more informationQR Code for IP Day in MT RSVP

You can also contact Quinton King at quinton.king@montana.edu


Anticipated Schedule of Events

Time
Event
8:45 - 9:00 am

Welcome,Introduction & Sponsorship Acknowledgement

Introduction and IP Day overview by:

Quinton King, Senior Technology Manager at TechLink, Montana State University

Sarah Rhoades, Founder and Attorney, Rhoades Intellectual Property Law, PLLC

9:00 – 10:30 am

USPTO and NOAA

The Director of the USPTO’s Rocky Mountain Office (Denver) will discuss “Innovation in response to an evolving climate”

Molly Kocialski, Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Rocky Mountain Region

Arin Peters, Senior Service Hydrologist at the National Weather Service

10:35 – 11:45 am

Grains to Growlers Panel

Hannah Turner, Director, MSU Barley, Malt, & Brewing Lab

Jason Uhlman, Bridger Brewing Co.

Jake TeSelle, Crooked Yard Hops

11:45 – 12:00 pm

Networking Break + Refreshments

12:00 – 1:30 pm

Right to Repair with Aaron Perzanowski

Professor Aaron Perzanowski, inaugural Thomas W. Lacchia Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School and author of Right to Repair. Aaron teaches and writes about the intersection of intellectual and personal property law.  He will discuss the complex landscape that surrounds arsenal of tools that companies have deployed that prevent consumers from fixing the things they own and ways to fight back.

1:30 – 1:40 pm

Networking Break + Book Signing

1:45 – 3:00 pm

Seed and Plant Presentation

Toni Tease, Partner and Founder, Antoinette M. Tease, P.L.L.C. 

Cort Jensen, Chief Attorney with Montana Department of Agriculture

Heather Unverzagt, Variety Release and Recommendation Committee

3:05 – 4:00 pm

Labeling and Trademarks

Montana Representatives willdiscuss branding and labeling specifically the MADE IN MONTANA program,COOL: country of origin labeling and GI: geographical indicators.

Cort Jensen, Chief Legal Counsel with Montana Department of Agriculture

JB Lorenzo, Chief Legal Counsel with Montana Department of Commerce

4:00 – 5:00 pm

Reception

 


Speakers and Panelists

Molly Kocialski

Molly Kocialski, Director of the Rocky Mountain Regional United States Patent and Trademark Office

As the Regional Director of the Rocky Mountain Regional United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), since January 2016, Mollybeth (Molly) Kocialski carries out the strategic direction of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, and is responsible for leading the Rocky Mountain regional office. Focusing on the nine states within this region and actively engaging with the community, Ms. Kocialski ensures the USPTO’s initiatives and programs are tailored to the region’s unique ecosystem of industries and stakeholders.

Ms. Kocialski brings more than 20 years of intellectual property experience to the USPTO. Most recently, Ms. Kocialski was the Senior Patent Counsel for Oracle America, Inc, where she was responsible for managing an active patent prosecution docket and was also responsible for all of the post-grant procedures and patent investigations for Oracle and its subsidiaries. Prior to Oracle, she worked at Qwest Corporation and was also in private practice in both New York and Colorado focusing on intellectual property litigation for multiple high-tech companies while maintaining an active prosecution docket.

Ms. Kocialski is a recognized IP leader in the Rocky Mountain region. Ms. Kocialski currently serves on the Colorado Federal Executive Board’s Executive Committee. Ms. Kocialski is the Vice President of the Colorado IP Inn of Court and was previously the Chair of the Planning Committee and a member of the Board of Directors of the Colorado IP Inn of Court. Further, Ms. Kocialski is a member of the Planning Committee for the Rocky Mountain Intellectual Property Institute, an annual two-day conference on intellectual property that attracts over 500 attendees. She was the Chair of the Intellectual Property Section of the Colorado Bar Association and served on the Colorado Bar Association’s Board of Governors. Ms. Kocialski served as the head of the IP Committee and was a member of the Board of Directors for the Colorado Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel and served on the National IP Committee of the Association of the Corporate Counsel. In 2015, Ms. Kocialski was recognized by Managing IP magazine as one of its North America Corporate IP Stars.

Ms. Kocialski is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law and received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of New Mexico. Ms. Kocialski is a registered patent attorney and is admitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the New York and Colorado state bars as well as to the United States Courts in those jurisdictions.

 

 

Arin Peters

Arin Peters, Senior Service Hydrologist at the National Weather Service, Great Falls

Arin J Peters is the Senior Service Hydrologist at the National Weather Service Great Falls, Montana Weather Forecast Office and also supports the Glasgow and Billings, Montana offices. Previously, he was a hydrologist for the Missouri Basin River Forecast Center in Kansas City, MO, and started his career as a hydrologist for the USGS Kansas Water Science Center in Lawrence, KS. Arin has a BS in Geophysical Engineering from Montana Technological University and a MS in Agricultural Meteorology from Iowa State University where he studied intense precipitation patterns in the Northern Plains in association with the Iowa Flood Center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aaron Perzanowski
Aaron Perzanowski, Thomas W. Lacchia Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School

 

Aaron Perzanowski teaches and writes about the intersection of intellectual and personal property law. Much of his work explores the notion of ownership in the digital economy. His books include The End of Ownership, co-authored with Jason Schultz (MIT Press, 2016), and The Right to Repair (Cambridge University Press, 2022). His current book project addresses how shifting conceptions of ownership threaten to undermine the core functions of libraries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toni Tease
Toni Tease, Partner and Founder, Antoinette M. Tease, P.L.L.C.

 

Antoinette (Toni) Tease is a registered patent attorney who practices in the areas of intellectual property and technology law. Ms. Tease attended law school at the University of Connecticut School of Law, where she was a Notes and Comments Editor for the Connecticut Law Review, and where she graduated with High Honors in the top 3% of her class. Ms. Tease obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University, where she majored in Economics. Ms. Tease is currently a member of the Montana World Trade Center Tech Export Team. Ms. Tease served on the Business Advisory Board for the Montana State University-Billings College of Business for a number of years and was formerly on the Board of Advisors for the Montana Business Incubator in Billings. She is also a frequent speaker on intellectual property law topics and has served for multiple terms on the Montana State Bar CLE Institute. Ms. Tease is an Inaugural Member of the Montana State Bar Intellectual Property Law Section, for which she served as Chair of the Section from 2018-2019. She is currently serving as Trustee for the State Bar of Montana and CLE Institute Trustee Liaison.

 

Cort Jensen
Cort Jensen, Chief Legal Counsel with Montana Department of Agriculture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

picture of Heather Unverzagt

Heather Unverzagt, Executive Director of the Montana Seed Growers Association

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JB Lorenzo, Chief Legal Counsel with Montana Department of Commerce

JB Lorenzo is the Chief Counsel at Montana Department of Commerce after serving as the broadband counsel for Montana’s broadband program.  JB counseled the setup of the state’s broadband program (ConnectMT), advising the Department of Administration Director and ConnectMT manager.  He remains serving as counsel to the ARPA/IIJA executive committee.  Along with previously serving as chief counsel and or director for various federal programs and for the State of Florida agencies, in 2021 he sold his practice in Florida and moved to Montana.  He has nearly 30 years of consulting, lobbying, legal and management experience in business development and trade, intellectual property, internet law, telecommunications, energy, government, contracts, appellate work, and litigation.  Among several governmental posts, he was the first general counsel and chief of staff for the newly created 220 employee Florida State Technology Office in 1999, overseeing and counseling on state intellectual property, internet portal MyFlorida.com, digitization of government processes, and the 800 MHz law enforcement radio task force and deployment program.  He’s served in Florida Bar’s section on intellectual property and on the media and communications law committee.

In private practice Lorenzo Law Firm, P.A. represented and counseled internet administrators, internet service providers, data centers, web designers, application designers, marketing and public relations agencies, online e-commerce businesses, and municipalities and electric coops on telecommunications issues. 

JB double majored in economics and international studies with a bachelor’s degree from the School of International Service at the American University in Washington D.C.. While at American he interned in Congress and at the Middle Eastern Institute.  He has a master’s degree in international relations policy and economic development from Florida State University.  He has a J.D. degree and a Ph.D. respectively from University of Denver Graduate School of International Affairs and the Sturm College of Law. He was MacArthur Ford Scholars Fellow 1989-90 and 1990-91 in public policy and international law. He’s consulted in energy and telecommunications field in Latin America and served in the military in the Middle East and in Latin America (USAF). Montana is now home.


Sponsors

Patterson Thuente IP

Worden Thane logo

Crowley Fleck Attorneys

 

 Garlington Lohn Robinson logo

 


Collaborators

US Patent and Trademark Office logo

Intellectual Property Section of the Montana State Bar logo


Link to MSU Calendar Event and Registration Page