Oblon, Spivak Elevates One Senior Attorney and Five Senior Associates

For Immediate Release

January 10, 2011

Oblon, Spivak Elects One Partner and Elevates One Senior Attorney and Five Senior Associates

Alexandria, Va. – Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, L.L.P. announces former senior associates Kevin McKinley has been elevated to senior attorney. In addition, Sameer Gokhale, Colin Harris, James Love, Johnny Ma and Marina Miller have been elevated to senior associates.

The new senior attorney:

Kevin McKinley, a patent prosecution lawyer in the firm's Electrical and Mechanical Patent Prosecution Groups, focuses his practice on patent preparation and prosecution, opinions, and client counseling. As a former patent examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Mr. McKinley has an insider’s perspective on the patent approval process. He is able to accelerate consideration of his clients’ patents by drawing upon his USPTO experience and by regularly conducting personal interviews with patent examiners. He received his J.D. from Widener University School of Law and his B.S. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Engineering Science and Mechanics, with a concentration in Biomedical Engineering.

The new senior associates:

Sameer Gokhale is an attorney in the firm's Electrical Patent Prosecution group. He prosecutes patents for a diverse clientele in the electrical and mechanical fields, including printing and copying technology, semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing, display systems, digital rights management, and personal electronic devices. Additionally, as a wireless industry patent attorney, he has prosecuted patents for wireless communications technologies. He received his J.D. from George Mason University School of Law and his B.S. from University of Maryland College Park in Electrical Engineering.

Colin Harris is a patent protection attorney in the firm’s Mechanical Patent Prosecution and Industrial Designs groups. He drafts and prosecutes patent applications in many fields, including automotive and aerospace technologies, packaging, consumer electronics, semiconductor manufacturing, and medical devices. Mr. Harris also provides client counseling, including clearance reviews and infringement and validity opinions for utility and design patents. He received his J.D. from George Mason University and his B.S. from University of Virginia in Mechanical Engineering.

James Love is an attorney in the firm's Electrical Patent Prosecution Practice Group. He regularly drafts and prosecutes patent applications for dozens of clients in many fields including computer software, telecommunications, networking, wireless technologies, semiconductors, encryption, medical devices, computer hardware and device UI technologies. He also works with overseas clients, managing their U.S. patent portfolios. He received his J.D. from College of William and Mary, Marshall Wythe Law School and his B.S. from Cedarville University in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics.

Johnny Ma is a registered patent prosecution attorney in the firm's Electrical Patent Prosecution group. He represents clients in protecting their core technologies and obtaining patents for standards aimed at increasing recognition of their technologies as international standards. He prosecutes non-provisional and reissue patent applications relating to a wide range of technologies including printers, cameras, displays, networking, wireless communications, semiconductors, power devices and information processing. He received his J.D. from George Mason University School of Law and his B.S. from University of Virginia in Electrical Engineering.

Marina Miller, Ph.D. is an intellectual property attorney in the firm’s Chemical Patent Prosecution group focused on chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology patents. Her practice includes all phases of patent prosecution, including the preparation of patent applications, client counseling, providing patentability, invalidity and infringement opinions, and patent reexamination proceedings. Dr. Miller has experience litigating pharmaceutical patents including abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) litigations, advising pioneering and generic pharmaceutical companies on U.S. Food and Drug Administration issues, and providing counseling and due diligence investigatory guidance. She received her J.D. from University of Maryland School of Law and her Ph.D. from Institute of Genetics and Selection of Industrial Microorganisms (Moscow, Russia) in Molecular Biology/Biochemistry.

Assisting clients for 40 years, Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, L.L.P. is one of the largest intellectual property specialty firms in the United States. The firm provides a full range of intellectual property services, including litigation matters in all courts, as well as trademark, copyright and patent interference services.