CincyIP  Newsletter
Election Issue - December 2017
Officer and Board Elections for 2018
CincyIP's annual elections for Officer and Board positions will be conducted online TOMORROW, Friday, December 1st.  All registered Voting Members of CincyIP will receive an electronic ballot via email. If you believe you are a Voting Member but have not received your ballot by Monday, December 4th, please contact Tim Ardizzone at [email protected].

Please read below to meet our candidates for Vice President,  Secretary, Chief Information Officer, and Board of Directors.  

Thank you to our outgoing Officers and Board Members for your years of service to CincyIP!
Candidates for Vice President   (2 year term)
Mark Hull

Mark Hull is a Senior Counsel at Calfee, Halter & Griswold with experience in managing large patent portfolios and in drafting complex development agreements.  Prior to joining Calfee, Halter & Griswold's Cincinnati office, Mark served as an Intellectual Property Corporate Counsel for Caterpillar, Inc., as an IP associate at Calfee, Halter & Griswold in Cleveland, and as an Engineering Group Manager for The Lubrizol Corporation, where he directed an R&D technical group.  Mark is a graduate of University of Akron School of Law (2004), Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management (1998), and The Pennsylvania State University (1990, mechanical engineering).  

Mark has been an active member of CincyIP for the last 3 years, including serving on the 2016 CincyBrand Steering Committee.

Dan Lajiness

Dan Lajiness is a registered Patent Attorney at Hasse & Nesbitt LLC.  Dan prepares and prosecutes patent applications with the United States Patent and Trademark office in a variety of technical areas, particularly in the chemical and pharmaceutical arts.  Dan also assists clients with other intellectual property related issues, including patentability, freedom to practice, and licensing. 

In addition to obtaining a J.D. from Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University in 2014, Dan earned a PhD from the University of Toledo in 2011 while researching drug targets for cell wall proteins in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.  Dan also earned a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Toledo in 2006.  Prior to joining Hasse & Nesbitt in 2016, Dan worked for a year as a document review attorney at Black Letter Discovery in Cincinnati, Ohio, and as a student law clerk at the Eastern District of Kentucky United States Circuit Court in Covington, Kentucky.  Dan has been a member of CincyIP since he joined Hasse & Nesbitt in 2016, and is looking to become more involved in the organization and in the Cincinnati legal community at-large.  

Mickey Sutton

Mickey Sutton is an associate attorney with the law firm of Dressman Benzinger LaVelle psc (DBL Law) and a member of the firm's transactional practice group. Mickey obtained his J.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 2017 where he served as Managing Editor of the University of Cincinnati Law Review. Mickey attended several CincyIP events as a law student. While at UC, Mickey wrote extensively on copyright infringement including sample-based copyright infringement within the music industry, public performance rights, and the international debate on copyright infringement via hyperlinking. He also published on the topic of the tension between publicity rights and the First Amendment.  

Mickey is a Northern Kentucky native who resides in OTR.  He would be honored to serve as Vice President of CincyIP in the next coming years. 

Candidates for Secretary   (2 year term)
Scott Conley

Scott Conley is a Senior Associate in the intellectual property practice group of Frost Brown Todd where he focuses on patent prosecution and freedom to practice in the field of chemistry.  Previously he worked at Eastman Kodak as a Senior Scientist and as a result is an inventor on eleven US patents and multiple foreign patents.  Scott earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute in sunny La Jolla, CA, where he also learned to surf.  Now living in landlocked Ohio, he travels to go whitewater kayaking.

Scott has been a longtime member of CincyIP and sat on the 2017 CincyBIO Steering Committee.

Caroline DeHaan

Caroline DeHaan is an associate in the Intellectual Property practice group at Taft Stettinius & Hollister. Her practice focuses on trademark and copyright matters, including clearance, prosecution, enforcement, and licensing. Caroline also counsels clients on various entertainment law issues, including right of publicity. Before law school, Caroline spent several years in public relations. Most recently, she was a Senior Account Executive at Edelman Chicago, where she partnered with clients on brand development and management, and comprehensive communications strategies. Caroline received her B.A. in rhetoric and communications studies, magna cum laude, from the University of Richmond and her J.D. from William and Mary Law School, where she served as an articles editor of William & Mary Journal of Women and the Law.

Caroline has been a member of CincyIP since 2015, and frequently attended CincyIP events during her law school summers in Cincinnati.

Jesse Jenike-Godshalk

Jesse Jenike-Godshalk is an associate at Thompson Hine LLP, where he focuses his practice on patent litigation and on trademark counseling, enforcement, and litigation.  Jesse has been a member of CincyIP since 2013 and has been active in the Outreach Committee for much of that time.  Jesse has experience serving as a secretary to charitable and professional organizations, as he currently occupies the position of Secretary for the Spina Bifida Coalition of Cincinnati.  Jesse is a 2011 graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where he was the Editor-in-Chief of the University of Cincinnati Law Review.

Candidate for Chief Information Officer   (2 year term)
Larry Williams

Larry Williams is an Associate in the Intellectual Property Practice Group of Thompson Hine, LLP.  Larry is a registered patent attorney who prepares and prosecutes patent applications for a variety of clients, both foreign and domestic, and also counsels his clients regarding freedom to practice and patentability issues. Although Larry's technical experience is broad, he focuses most of his practice on the chemical and medical device sectors to help derive value from his clients' inventions and protect their product research and development investments.  He has a Ph.D. in Organic and Medicinal Chemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University.

Since lateraling into the Cincinnati market from the East Coast in 2014, Larry has attended a number of CincyIP CLEs and was selected to serve on the Steering Committee for CincyBio 2017.  His efforts on the Steering Committee led to Professional Responsibility credits being offered for attending CincyBio for the first time in modern recollection.  Larry is excited to have a chance to become even more involved with our local IP community.

Candidates for Board of Directors   (3 year term)
Scott Andes

A 3-time University of Dayton graduate, Scott Andes has been practicing in the Cincinnati IP community for over 25 years.  After beginning his career at Procter & Gamble, Scott transitioned to GE's Aviation business where he currently serves as Senior Counsel for Patent Procurement.  He is also active with several area non-profits, including the National Railway Historical Society where he has served as President since 2000.  Scott is completing his first term on the CincyIP Board and hopes to continue serving the CincyIP membership as a Board member for another term.
Tim Ardizzone

Tim Ardizzone is a partner at Wood Herron & Evans, LLP, where he practices in all aspects of intellectual property.  Tim has been a member of CincyIP since joining Wood Herron & Evans in 2007.  Tim is completing his two-year term as the Secretary of CincyIP and is seeking a three-year term on the Board of Directors.  Tim also serves as the President of the Board of Directors for the Science and Engineering Fair of Northern Kentucky, which hosts a regional science fair for students in a 30 county area of Northern Kentucky.

Timothy Armstrong

Timothy K. Armstrong is a Professor of Law at the University of Cincinnati, where he has taught since 2006. Professor Armstrong's research and teaching specialties include United States, foreign, and international intellectual property law, particularly as they apply to computing and communications technologies. In addition to several articles on copyright and patent law issues, he has also published research in antitrust and administrative law. Professor Armstrong holds a J.D. degree from the University of Texas at Austin and an LL.M. from Harvard Law School.

After law school, Professor Armstrong served for one year as a law clerk to Judge John Minor Wisdom of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He then practiced for ten years with the law firm of Howrey & Simon (later Howrey, Simon, Arnold & White) in Washington, D.C. Before joining the Cincinnati faculty, he served as Assistant Director of the Clinical Program in Cyberlaw for the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School. In that position he supervised groups of clinical students handling both litigation and transactional matters in intellectual property law and co-taught classes at Harvard Law School and the Harvard Extension School. 

Professor Armstrong served as a panelist for the CincyIP CLE event in May 2017 (which featured litigant Simon Tam of "The Slants") to discuss the then-pending Supreme Court case of Matal v. Tam, an ultimately successful First Amendment challenge to the Lanham Act's prohibition on registering disparaging trademarks. He has also served as a member of the Board of Trustees for Cincinnati ArtWorks.

UC has experienced an upsurge of student interest in intellectual property in recent years, thanks in no small measure to CincyIP's valuable mentorship program for local law students and the warm reception students have received at the annual AOAIOIP. The student-edited Cincinnati Intellectual Property and Computer Law Journal is now in its second year of publication, and the College's new Patent and Trademark Clinic launched this fall. Professor Armstrong hopes to help strengthen connections between UC and the practicing IP community.

April Besl

April Besl is a Partner at Dinsmore & Shohl and practices within the Trademark Procurement/Management & Copyright, Licensing & Enforcement, and Entertainment Law practice groups. She counsels clients on non-patent intellectual property matters including trademarks, copyrights, social media, Internet law, advertising and trade secrets. She services a large and diverse portfolio of trademarks and copyrights, both domestic and worldwide, for a variety of clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to individual entrepreneurs.  She has extensive experience assisting clients with emerging issues related to the impact of social media, the web and technology on their business and marketing strategies.  She frequently appears in federal court and before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board including in multi-million dollar intellectual property trademark disputes, trademark oppositions, trademark cancellations, Digital Millennium Copyright Act disputes, copyright ownership disputes, and licensing disputes.

April served as the President of CincyIP for five years before serving in 2017 as the Past-President.  During her tenure as President she founded CincyBrand, the most successful premier conference offered by CincyIP to date.  She currently serves as the Co-Chair of CincyBrand 2018 and looks forward to another successful event.  Throughout her time with CincyIP she has served as Chair of the Programming Committee, member of the planning committee for CincyBIO, on the Outreach Committee, and as a mentor through the mentorship program.  

Sarah DeC ristofaro

Sarah DeCristofaro currently serves as Counsel of Intellectual Property for the Procter & Gamble Company.  She works in the Baby Care, Family Care, and Feminine Care business units.  Her experience includes preparing and prosecuting national and international patent applications, evaluating freedom-to-practice issues, and drafting and advising on various types of agreements.  Sarah attended The University of New Hampshire School of Law (formerly Franklin Pierce).  Prior to joining P&G in 2012, she obtained a  Mechanical Engineering degree from Miami University and worked at both Deloitte Consulting and Honda of America Manufacturing.  Sarah serves as a pro-bono attorney for the Volunteer Lawyers Program.  

Sarah has served as the Vice President of CincyIP for the past three years.

Inger Eckert

With over 20 years of experience at Fortune 500 global manufacturing companies, Inger Eckert is a business-minded corporate lawyer with broad experience in leading large corporate departments and fostering innovation for competitive advantage.  As Senior Vice President & General Counsel at Assurex Health, Inger provides strategic thinking and guidance on matters of corporate importance, developing and executing the company strategy, identifying opportunities to drive growth and competitive advantage, and forming the organization structure and policies needed to drive sustainable and profitable growth.  Before joining the Assurex Health team, Inger served as Chief Counsel, Global Intellectual Property and General Counsel for the Corporate Technology Division of International Paper, a $29 billion Fortune 150 company where she developed strategy and drove tactics for the acquisition, maintenance, enforcement, and monetization of International Paper's global intellectual property. Inger holds her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Dayton, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering Technology from The Pennsylvania State University.

Inger has been a member of CincyIP since 2008 and has served on the CincyIP Board for the last three years.

Chris Elswick

Chris Elswick is a partner in Dinsmore's Intellectual Property Department and his practice emphasizes patent prosecution and counseling. Chris has been a board member since 2015 and has been involved in CincyIP's Outreach Committee and also the mentorship programing.  In his spare time, Chris enjoys fishing, playing bocce and camping.

Jim Fondriest

Jim Fondriest currently serves as Senior Counsel of Intellectual Property for the Procter & Gamble Company's Baby Care business.  His experience includes preparing and prosecuting patent applications, drafting freedom-to-operate opinions, and preparing various types of intellectual property related agreements.  Jim obtained a B.S. in Biology from The Ohio State University and went on to obtain a law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.  Jim currently serves on The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Rising Professional Council, is a graduate of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce C-Change program, completed the United Way of Greater Cincinnati Board Orientation and Leadership Development (BOLD) program, and has experience serving on several non-profit boards.  

Jim has been an active member of CincyIP since 2011, and he would like to increase his involvement in CincyIP by joining the Board and furthering the organization's goal of providing valuable continuing legal education to its members.

Cindy Neal
      Cindy Neal is an associate in Dinsmore & Shohl's Intellectual Property Department who focuses her practice on patent preparation and prosecution. Cindy's knowledge spans from mechanical devices and software to complex chemical processes and pharmaceutical formulations. She counsels a broad range of clients, from individual inventors and startups to Fortune 500 companies, on intellectual property matters. 
Cindy has been a member of CincyIP since 2009, and has served as Secretary, Vice President, Interim CIO, and on various committees,  including the CincyBIO and CincyBrand Steering Committees, as well as on the programming committee. 

Jill Uhl

Jill E. Uhl is a senior licensing associate in the Technology Accelerator at the University of Cincinnati.  Jill has more than 20 years of experience in a broad range of intellectual property issues.  She has practiced law in a large general practice law firm (Chicago's Marshal Gerstein and Boston's Hale and Dorr), as Chief Patent Counsel for an international pharmaceutical company and has spent 9 years working in academic technology transfer at Arizona State, Johns Hopkins and the University of Cincinnati.  Jill received her undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky and graduated from the University of Cincinnati Collage of Law (1998).  She recently returned to Cincinnati to be closer to family.  Jill has attended CLE's sponsored by CincyIP, and is excited to become more involved with the Cincinnati legal and IP communities.

Jill is a registered patent attorney licensed in Illinois and Massachusetts. 

Seth Voit

Seth Voit  is currently an IP associate at Ulmer and Berne where he has been for over ten years.  Seth's practice focuses on intellectual property and encompasses patent, trademark, and licensing matters. Seth has been a Board member of Cincy IP for the last three years and is seeking re-election for another three year term. Seth has also been on the Board of New Life Furniture, a Cincinnati non-profit furniture bank that provides gently used furniture to those in need such as elderly veterans, the recently homeless, and recently displaced victims of domestic violence.



STAY CONNECTED: