RALEIGH, N.C. -- Alice Bonnen, Ph.D., attorney at award-winning Myers Bigel Sibley & Sajovec, P.A. (Myers
Bigel), recently served on an agribusiness intellectual property (IP)
panel at the Eastern Region Meeting of the Association of University
Technology Managers (AUTM) held September 18-19 in Baltimore, Maryland.
The meeting gathered more than 200 technology transfer professionals
discussing best practices and strategies for industry-academia
partnerships that culminate in successful product commercialization
through company formation or licensing and other agreements.
“Our
practicing patent lawyers like Alice are heavily engaged in improving
their work and contributing to a supportive environment for our clients
and one another,” Managing Partner David Purks said, adding, “Being
invited to actively participate in events hosted by recognized industry
organizations like AUTM enables our attorneys to further best practices
in patent law by sharing their knowledge while staying informed of
important legal trends and issues.”
Dr. Bonnen’s panel,
“Agribusiness Deals Aren’t Just For Agriculture Schools: Learn How to
Identify and Leverage Intellectual Property Assets Relevant to
Agribusiness” explored how intellectual property and tangible assets
translate into agribusiness transactions. Attendees heard discussion
about how intellectual property protects agricultural assets; how life
sciences technology can be leveraged by agribusiness; and an examination
of multiple other elements of licensing and sponsored research
interactions between agribusinesses and universities.
Other
panelists included Billy Houghteling, Syngenta Biotechnology Inc.; Annie
Mitsak, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Kelly B. Sexton,
North Carolina State University.
“My contribution to the panel
discussion centered primarily on protecting IP, in particular the
strategies and considerations for protecting specific aspects of an
invention that may be identified after the initial conception of the
original invention,” Dr. Bonnen explained.
A nonprofit
organization with an international membership of more than 3,000
technology managers and business executives from more than 300
universities, research institutions, and teaching hospitals as well as
numerous businesses and government organizations, AUTM supports and
advances research discoveries for societal benefit on a global scale.
Recently, the organization released highlights of its annual Licensing
Activities Survey covering technology transfer activities in Fiscal
2013, showing steady growth in the patenting and licensing of new
technologies and a 16 percent increase in the number of new technology
business enterprises.
The Survey noted that despite reductions in
federal research funding, academic and research institution licensing
and startup activity are very strong and continue to play an important
role in the economy.
Dr. Bonnen is one of nine attorneys
practicing in the Biotechnology group at Myers Bigel which provides
clients with access to years of technical training, including advanced
degrees, and legal experience in a broad range of biological and
biochemical technologies including molecular biology; genomics;
proteomics; immunology; combinatorial chemistry; plant biotechnology;
agricultural biotechnology; bioinformatics; diagnostics; therapeutics;
food science; and biomechanical inventions. She has been included in the
IAM Patent 1000 - The World’s Leading Patent Professionals (2013-2015).
Dr.
Bonnen holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Michigan State
University; Master of Science degree from the University of Minnesota
(Plant Physiology); and Doctor of Philosophy degree in Plant Pathology
from Michigan State University. She conducted graduate and post-graduate
research in the areas of plant host-pathogen interactions and fungal
physiology and biochemistry prior to earning her Juris Doctorate from
Wake Forest University.
Operating out of the Research Triangle
Park area of North Carolina, Myers Bigel represents corporate and
university clients located in the Carolinas, throughout the Southeast,
across the United States, and in Europe and Asia.
For more information, visit www.myersbigel.com.
About Myers Bigel
Award-winning
Myers Bigel Sibley & Sajovec, P.A. (Myers Bigel) is a nationally
ranked intellectual property law firm combining patent law expertise
with real-world industry experience. We are the largest independent
patent law firm in North Carolina, representing corporate and university
clients around the world in acquiring, protecting, and exploiting
patent assets, including patent preparation, prosecution, licensing, and
litigation. Dedicated to best practices in patent law, Myers Bigel is
consistently recognized over the years by legal media and industry
organizations as one of the top performing law firms in the country for
securing the highest quality patent grants from the USPTO for its
clients, offering a unique combination of quality law practice and
breadth of legal expertise. For more information visit www.myersbigel.com.
