David Bates
Chairman
Regenerate Asset Management
Rik Posthuma
Investment Manager
Pymwymic
This panel session will examine legal nuances when promoting innovation and collaboration whilst at the same time safeguarding proprietary information
- Indemnification: Best practice for incorporating trade secret clauses
- Internal training: How to emphasis training, reporting and enhanced ethical behaviours
- Successfully establish a risk mitigation framework when collaborating with another party and ensuring reasonable measures are taken to protect your trade secret.
Stephen Bychowski
Assistant General Counsel
Sanofi
Will Cottrell
Executive Director IP Licencing
RTX
Jeff Pade
Partner
Paul Hastings LLP
Kelly Burke
Associate Senior Legal Counsel- IP Investigations
Adobe
Kelly Burke is Associate Senior Legal Counsel, IP Investigations at Adobe, where she focuses on IP investigations and protection, and leads the Trade Secret Protection Program. Prior to that, she was Senior Security Counsel at Apple, concentrating on insider threats. Before she went in-house, she was a prosecutor for more than a decade at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, where she specialized in trying complex white collar, public corruption, and public integrity criminal cases.
Diane Fiddle
General Counsel
Qloo
Julie Lappin
Senior IP Counsel
Nestle
Julie is a Senior IP Counsel at Nestlé S.A. She has worked for multiple business units in her 14+ year career with Nestlé, including Coffee, Nestlé Health Science, and PetCare. Julie significantly contributed to developing and deploying Nestlé's trade secret protection program. Before joining Nestle, she was a Corporate Patent Counsel at Pfizer Inc.
Damon Gupta
Director, Patent Counsel
Spark Therapeutics, Inc
Damon Gupta is a Director, Patent Counsel at Spark Therapeutics, Inc., a leader in gene therapy and member of the Roche Group. With over a decade of experience in intellectual property (IP) law and a background in molecular biology, Damon advises biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies on patent strategy, IP transactions, and risk mitigation. At Spark, Damon leads efforts to protect proprietary assets, including trade secrets, manage IP disputes, and provides IP support to cross-functional teams, including R&D, manufacturing, and corporate transactions. Damon holds a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law, an M.S. from Baylor College of Medicine, and a B.S. from The Ohio State University.
John Williamson
Partner
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
John Williamson is a partner in Finnegan’s D.C. office. He advises companies on protecting and enforcing their intellectual property, with a strong focus on trade secrets and patent litigation. With more than 20 years of experience, John has represented clients in complex disputes before federal and state courts, the U.S. International Trade Commission, arbitration panels, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. John works closely with in-house legal teams to develop IP strategies that align with business goals and mitigate risk. His practice includes trade secret investigations, litigation preparedness, and counseling on technical standards, economic exposure, and freedom-to-operate issues. He also supports clients in building and managing IP portfolios, helping them navigate competitive landscapes and protect proprietary technologies across a range of industries.