Speaker bio coming soon...

 

Tod Cohen serves as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel   of Global Government Relations, Intellectual Property, Regulatory and Asset Protection for eBay Inc.  

Since 2000, Mr. Cohen has been responsible for global public policy for eBay, adding PayPal when it was acquired in 2002.  Beginning in 2006, he took on responsibility for eBay’s regulatory work, as well as law enforcement affairs and global investigations, which now include an anti-counterfeiting investigations team.  His team of over 100 employees includes lawyers, lobbyists, external affairs specialists, and investigators in more than 20 cities around the world.  Mr. Cohen also leads eBay Inc’s intellectual property group, including brand owner relationships.  He opened eBay’s first government relations’ office in March 2000 in Washington DC and now leads his group from eBay’s corporate headquarters in San Jose.  

Prior to joining eBay, Mr. Cohen was Vice President and Counsel of New Media for the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Before that, Mr. Cohen served as European Vice President and Legal Counsel for the Business Software Alliance in London.  He also spent six years as an associate with the Washington law firm, Covington & Burling.  

Mr. Cohen formerly served as a member of the U.S. Department of Commerce/U.S. Trade Representative’s Industry Trade Advisory Committee for Information and Communications Technologies, Services, and Electronic Commerce.   He also served as Vice Chairman of the Free Trade Agreement of the America’s Joint Experts’ Committee on Electronic Commerce.   

Mr. Cohen received his B.A. from the University of Utah in 1985, and his J.D. with Highest Honors from the George Washington University Law School in 1992.  Before law school, Mr. Cohen worked as a Congressional aide for four years.

 

Victor de Gyarfas is a partner and registered patent attorney with Foley & Lardner LLP. He has been lead counsel in dozens of patent infringement lawsuits in many of the most active litigation venues, including all districts of California, E.D. Tex., Delaware, and other forums throughout the country. He has also litigated cases concerning copyright, trademark, and trade secret causes of action. His litigation experience has involved a wide range of technologies, including computer software, network authentication and cryptographic communications, radio frequency identification (RFID), business method patents, electronic banking systems, e-Learning technology, electrical circuits, television tuners, communications, automatic vehicle identification products, medical devices, power tools, and electronic musical instruments. Mr. de Gyarfas also litigated cases involving Internet-based business methods, cybersquatting, and a number of general business matters. In addition, he has extensive experience in licensing, patent portfolio management, and prosecution.

Representative engagements include the following:

• Obtained summary judgment of patent noninfringement for the world’s largest e-Learning company
• Trial counsel for a leading software company, obtaining a multi-million dollar judgment based on a novel theory of copyright infringement relating to computer outsourcing
• Member of the trial team that obtained one of the largest verdicts in a patent infringement case in the Eastern District of Virginia and a $100 million settlement
• Obtained dismissals of numerous lawsuits brought by non-practicing entities
• Lead counsel for a leading manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, obtaining damages and injunctive relief against patent infringers
• Lead counsel for the world’s largest power tool and accessory manufacturer, obtaining a favorable and cost-effective settlement
• Lead litigation counsel for a large retailer in a patent infringement suit involving cryptographic communications
• Lead counsel for several successful Internet-based businesses, obtaining damages as well as preliminary and permanent injunctive relief concerning trademark infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and liability under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act for circumvention of copyright protection systems

Mr. de Gyarfas also was certified as a special prosecutor for the Los Angeles City Attorney's office and first chaired criminal jury trials.

Before entering law school, Mr. de Gyarfas worked at Litton Data Systems and Hughes Training, Inc., performing electrical and software engineering. During his time as an engineer, Mr. de Gyarfas obtained two U.S. patents and received the Hughes Patent Award for Excellence in the Field of Patents. 

Mr. de Gyarfas is admitted to practice in California, Texas, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, and numerous District Courts, Courts of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. He was selected for inclusion in the 2009 - 2011 Southern California Super Lawyers® lists as well as the 2004 Southern California Super Lawyers–Rising Stars list for his intellectual property litigation, intellectual property, and business litigation work. Mr. de Gyarfas serves as a Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference Lawyer Representative for the Central District of California.

 

Raj Sardesai is Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property (IP) Counsel at Avery Dennison Corporation where he supervises a team of IP attorneys and professionals, and has responsibility for IP matters worldwide.  Prior to joining Avery Dennison in 2007, Raj was with Irell and Manella in Los Angeles where he worked on all aspects of IP including patent prosecution, litigation, licensing and client counseling.  Raj holds JD from Southwestern University; MBA from University of Cranfield, England; Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from University of Manchester, England, M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from University of Manchester, England; and B.Ch.E. in Chemical Engineering from University of Mumbai, India.

 

Brian is the Director of Intellectual Property Law at Altera Corporation, a Silicon Valley chip company, where he is responsible for overseeing all aspects of acquiring and protecting the company's intellectual property.  Most recently, he spent five years as Senior Patent Counsel for Apple, Inc, where he managed outside counsel in patent litigation matters and worked on licensing, intellectual property valuation and patent prosecution.  Brian joined Apple in 2002 from the law firm of Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco, where he was a litigator.  Previously, he did patent litigation and prosecution for a firm in New York and clerked for a federal district court judge in the Southern District of New York.  He recently served as Chair of the Intellectual Property Owners Association Damages Committee, through which he chaired a conference in Washington, D.C. on Intellectual Property Damages.  Brian received his BS from the University of Michigan and his law degree from Columbia Law School.  He is a member of the state bars of California and New York.