HOUSTON (Legal Newsline) – Q. Todd Dickinson, a former under secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, has joined IP law firm Novak Druce Connolly Bove + Quigg LLP as a partner.
The firm, in a news release Monday, said Dickinson will assume the role of global chair of its Client Select Strategic Services Group. He will be co-based in the firm’s Washington, D.C., and San Francisco/Silicon Valley offices.
Dickinson
“Todd is an exceptionally well-known and respected member of the international IP community, and brings more than 35 years of hands-on experience to the firm and its global client base,” said Gregory Novak, the firm’s managing partner and CEO. “We are extremely pleased that our many years of close friendship has led to his decision to take a serious leadership role at Novak Druce, and help guide our client-centric practices forward into the next decade.”
Novak said the firm has been experiencing an increased demand for integrated services involving strategic management of IP portfolios, with a global outlook towards “protecting and enforcing core business and product lines.”
“Todd’s reputation and experience in this space, as well as his unequalled experience in global IP policy matters and government relations, is both unique and invaluable,” Novak said.
In July, Dickinson stepped down as the executive director of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, a 17,000-member national bar association for IP lawyers.
At the time, he was rumored to be appointed to a post within the Obama administration, but said he planned to continue working with the IP community.
“I could not be more pleased to be joining my friends at Novak Druce, particularly at such a critical time in the world of IP,” Dickinson said Monday.
“Having worked with many of the firm’s attorneys before, I know first-hand the caliber of the firm’s work and its strategic growth has always impressed me — to now have an opportunity to join them and to lead their strategic services platform was too good an opportunity to pass up.”
Dickinson served as PTO director from 1999 to 2001, and spent nearly six years with the AIPLA.
He also served both as corporate vice president and chief IP counsel for General Electric and as chief IP counsel for Sun Company.
Novak Druce has been listed by Intellectual Property Today in its list of top patent firms continuously since 2008.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at [email protected].
