About Us
Our team is a rare blend of people with legal and technical expertise from top-tier law firms. The IP work by our attorneys has laid the foundations for public companies and emerging unicorns. With offices in Silicon Valley, Vietnam, and Kenya, we aim to serve the global IP needs of our clients, large companies as well as start-ups.
As advisors to disruptive companies, especially in the technology and small, medium, high-growth sectors, we know first-hand the power that innovation has. We invest significant time and resources into developing and implementing the systems and infrastructure that will dramatically improve the client experience.
PatentPC considers you a partner and not a transaction. Our goals are your goals. These are the characteristics that make us unique and distinguish us as the go-to IP law firm to safeguard your innovations
Bao Tran
Patent Attorney Bao Tran has over twenty-five years of experience in the intellectual property field and has extensive experience in counseling and management of intellectual property portfolios, patent and
trademark preparation and prosecution. Since 1993, he has patented a wide variety of technologies including AI, blockchain, 5G, medical devices, microbial tech, legal tech, semiconductors, automotive, business methods, computer hardware, electronics, internet applications, materials, electric vehicles, nanotechnology, and software. He invented the on-line workflow for patent filing and prosecution which we use at PatentPC to help our clients obtain high-quality patents. He has perspectives as both in-house and outside counsel to a variety of companies ranging from start-ups to public companies in intellectual property licensing and monetization, and enforcement.
Prior to founding the firm, Mr. Tran was a Partner at Tran & Associates, General Counsel at The Resource Group (TRG), Associate General Counsel at Align Technology (NASDAQ: ALGN), and Fish & Richardson. He has a BSEE from Rice University, an MBA from Columbia University, and a JD from the University of Houston Law Center.
Penelope Chapman
Penelope is a patent agent at PatentPC. Her experiences include patent preparation and prosecution, litigation support, and drafting opinions related to the electrical and software area.
She has a deep technical background in computer and electrical engineering. Her research was focused on hardware-based numerical algorithms. She was at Monolithic3D where I gained top-level semiconductor experience and patent drafting for the technologies developed there and was responsible for the assessments of 3D ICs including speed degradation analysis. She worked on patents in fields ranging from data science and machine intelligence to the design and manufacture of semiconductor devices and other related technologies. she has worked in all areas of United States and International patent prosecution. This includes patent application preparation, response to office actions, examiner interviews, portfolio strategy, and responses to office actions.
Grace Manning
Grace is currently a patent agent at PatentPC. Her experiences include patent preparation and prosecution, litigation support, and drafting opinions related to the electrical and mechanical arts.
She is experienced in managing and leading engineering activities developing advanced technology solutions and has worked on patents with complex electro-mechanical systems including hybrid/electric vehicle control systems, PEM fuel cells, and advanced energy storage systems. Her experience in patent litigation provides valuable insight into the patent prosecution process. Grace notes “I interact with examiners in such a way that preserves the full scope and maximizes client resources, I avoid common prosecution pitfalls such as leaving a record that could prove problematic in future litigation.”
Her undergraduate degree in electrical engineering technology is from Elon University. Her volunteer activities include providing enlightening cultural, educational, and social opportunities that transform the way individuals perceive their abilities, possibilities, and environment.
Dr. Kurt Brown, J.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Brown is of-counsel and works with biopharmaceutical clients worldwide in all areas of patent procurement, including domestic and foreign patent preparation and lifecycle management strategies.
With his extensive expertise, he assists innovator IP portfolios from a generic perspective, including method-of-use claim coverage relative to the product label, Orange Book patent listing strategies, Patent Term Extension, and data exclusivity.
Dr. Brown also is experienced in conducting searches to determine the availability of marks, filing, preparing, and prosecuting trademark applications, rendering trademark opinions, and counseling clients on a wide range of trademark issues. Dr. Brown counsels the firm’s clients to develop and protect their portfolios. Mr. Tran utilizes his extensive network of foreign associates to protect the intellectual property of the firm’s clients worldwide. Dr. Brown has a JD from the University of Houston and is a registered patent attorney.
Peter Phuong Tran
Attorney Tran has over 20 years of experience in intellectual property law. Peter has extensive expertise in dispute resolution and the management of patent claims. He has extensive experience in matters related to patent registration with the Hanoi National Office of Intellectual Property and resolving intellectual
property rights disputes under the Vietnamese legal system.
Peter is a member of Vietnam Intellectual Property Association (VIPA), International Trademark Association (INTA), Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA), International Intellectual Property Rights Association International Association of Intellectual Property (AIPPI), International Federation of Intellectual Property Lawyers (FICPI), ASEAN Intellectual Property Association (ASEAN IPA), International Association of Entrepreneurs (IABL).
Mr. Tran graduated with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Hanoi National University in 1996. In 1998, he received a Master’s degree in Materials Science from the International Institute of Materials Science, a program sponsored by the Dutch government. He was granted a Vietnamese patent law practice certificate according to the standards of the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (NOIP) in 2003. While he is based in Vietnam, Mr. Tran is highly experienced in industrial property law for patent professionals in many Asian countries, such as Korea, Singapore, and Japan.
Duke Quyen
Mr. Quyen specializes in chemical and material inventions. He has significant experience in all areas of intellectual property practice including patent search; managing the patent portfolio and participating in technology valuation, negotiating and drafting patent transfer contracts,
and technology transfer contracts. He also prepares validity and non-infringement opinions, conducts freedom-to-operate and competitive landscape analyses, and provides litigation support. Drawing on his background in chemistry and organic chemistry and research experience in small molecule medicinal chemistry, he works primarily with clients in the life sciences, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals sectors.
Mr. Quyen graduated with a master’s degree in chemistry from Vietnam Hanoi National University where his research focused on the design, synthesis, and SAR investigation of nucleoside analogs and prodrugs to develop anticancer and antiviral therapeutics.
Grace Manning
Dr. Nguyen is an expert in chemistry, biotechnology, and materials science. Dr. Nguyen has 20 years of experience as a senior scientist at Mircobiotix, Inc., (USA); Postdoctoral fellow at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (USA), a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (USA).
Dr. Son has many notable research papers and presentations. He was awarded the Thermo Scientific Certificate for LC/MS Operations, the ACS Minnesota Travel Grant Award in the US, and received many other awards. He has significant experience in preparing and prosecuting patents with a focus on chemical, biological, drug, and food chemistry-related technology as well as preparing freedom to operate, patentability, and invalidity opinions. Dr. Son is excellent at patent prosecution arguments, learning cutting-edge technologies, detail-oriented, presenting scientific information to a variety of audiences, communicating precisely, thinking critically, developing and implementing business strategies, and building collaborative relationships with clients, investigators, physicians, engineers, business and research organizations. Scientific expertise includes biochemistry, therapeutic molecules (such as immunological molecules, peptides, and small molecules), pharmacology, physiology, biotechnology, life sciences, diagnostic devices, wearables, oncology, cardiology, renal biology, hypertension, diabetes, and pulmonology.
Maureen Gitau
Ms. Gitau is a patent agent who specializes in agricultural technology including agricultural production machinery, materials/ingredients to the bio-fertilizer industry, beneficial soil microbes, and automation including IoT and robotics.
She has co-authored a book on Beneficial Microbes for Agricultural Applications. Ms. Gitau holds a Bachelor from the University of Kabianga and is working on her Master’s Degree at the University of Nairobi.
Charles Ithagi
Mr. Ithagi is a patent agent who specializes in business methods, software, and blockchain inventions. He has worked on patent applications in the fields of energy storage, chemical synthesis, and personal care products, as well as
in the pharmaceutical field relating to drugs, methods of treatment, stem cell compositions, and gene therapy; and he has interacted directly with clients and inventors for scientific strategy support. He thinks beyond the limits of technology to encompass leading-edge processes and individual talents for a unique blend that benefits our professionals, our clients, and our communities. Mr. Ithagi holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Nairobi.
Mary Kimani
Mary is the managing director for PatentPC’s Africa office serving African clients on their US and Asia patent needs. She is highly experienced with agricultural technology including agricultural production machinery, materials/ingredients
to the bio-fertilizer industry, beneficial soil microbes, and automation including IoT and robotics. She has co-authored a book on Beneficial Microbes for Agricultural Applications. She has experience with import/export rules for Kenya. She counsels her African clients on complex IP-based legal questions and how to best protect complicated devices, systems, and methods in numerous technical fields globally. Her mission is to provide legal services and solutions that consistently exceed client expectations, create healthy, sustainable work environments for our professionals, and positively impact our communities. Ms. Kimani has a Bachelor of Agribusiness Management from Rongo University.