Russ Jacobs heads the global Intellectual Property practice for Starbucks Coffee Company, leading a team of professionals based in Asia and North America who have responsibility for building, monetizing, and enforcing portfolios of trademarks, patents, copyrights, domains, and trade secrets.  He loves working with the agronomists, food scientists, product teams, engineers, creatives and marketers, and computer scientists who continue to innovate the Starbucks coffeehouse experience.

Mr. Jacobs started in this role in 2022, returning to Starbucks following three years as the General Counsel for the National CASA/GAL Association for Children, the leading organization promoting volunteer best-interest advocacy in dependency proceedings for children who have experienced abuse or neglect.  In that role, he established and led the legal function and managed public policy work.

In his prior tenure at Starbucks Corporation, he oversaw intellectual property clearance, prosecution, disputes, and transactions, led the global anti-counterfeiting program, and counseled on technology, litigation, commercial, and marketing law matters.  He started his legal practice at the New York office of Hughes Hubbard & Reed before moving to Seattle and working at Focal Law PLLC and teaching International Contract Negotiations at University of Washington School of Law.  After earning his A.B. from the University of Michigan he received his J.D. from Columbia University.

Dr. Dunstan Barnes is a partner at McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP (MBHB) and a leading intellectual property attorney with extensive experience across all areas of IP law, with a particular emphasis on protecting and analyzing design rights. He advises clients on the drafting and prosecution of design and utility patent applications, as well as conducting infringement analyses, freedom-to-operate opinions, and due diligence investigations.

Leveraging his academic background in materials science and metallurgy, Dr. Barnes provides deep technical insight across a wide range of industries and technologies, including medical devices, mechanical systems, and advanced materials. He is highly regarded for his ability to clearly and persuasively communicate complex technical concepts, making him a trusted advocate for protecting innovation in both the U.S. and global markets.

In 2021, he was named one of Illinois' "40 Under Forty" attorneys. A senior IP counsel at a global pharmaceutical company praised him as "one of the top 10 design patent attorneys in the United States, period."

(Current) Partner, McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP (MBHB), Chicago-based IP law firm

(Former) Partner, McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Chicago

(Former) Doctoral Researcher, Cambridge Centre for Medical Materials, University of Cambridge

Credentials

J.D., Chicago-Kent College of Law
Ph.D., University of Cambridge, Materials Science and Metallurgy
M.Eng., University of Oxford, Materials Science and Metallurgy

Admissions

• Illinois State Bar
• U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO)
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Recognitions

• Managing IP Stars: Rising Star (2024)
• Super Lawyers, Illinois Rising Star – Intellectual Property (2017–2023)
• 40 Under Forty: Illinois Attorneys to Watch (2021)

Dr. Jennifer Chheda has more than 25 years of experience in procuring and enforcing patents relating to biologics and small molecules. Jennifer's experience also includes patentability, invalidity, noninfringement, freedom-to-operate, and inventorship analyses and conducting due diligence for potential investors, acquirers, and licensees. Jennifer has coordinated worldwide litigations and invalidation proceedings to ensure consistency between the litigations and proceedings. She has provided strategic advice regarding invalidity and infringement contentions. Jennifer has also provided strategic advice to clients regarding PTAB and other post-grant proceedings. Her scientific background is an asset in working with experts to develop reports and to prepare them for depositions and trial. In addition, Jennifer has drafted and negotiated IP agreements and provided IP advice in the context of M&A transactions.

Judge Bowon Kwon serves at the Intellectual Property High Court of Korea. After passing the Korean Bar in 2008 and completing his training at the Judicial Research and Training Institute in 2011, he fulfilled his three-year mandatory military service as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer in the Republic of Korea Army. He was subsequently appointed as a Judge and has since been serving in the Korean Judiciary.

Judge KWON holds an LL.B., a B.A. in Economics, and a Master of Laws with a specialization in Law and Economics from Seoul National University, where he also completed coursework for a Ph.D. in law. Additionally, he earned an IP LL.M. from George Washington University, and holds several additional bachelor’s degrees, including a B.S. in Statistics and Data Science and a B.S. in Computer Science from Korea National Open University.

He has published scholarly work on the economic analysis of law and has been actively engaged in delivering lectures and presentations on the legal implications of artificial intelligence, both domestically and abroad.

Manyeol Han is an IP Attaché at the Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C. With over 20 years at Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP) as a patent examiner, presiding administrative patent judge, and director, he brings deep expertise in patent examination and stakeholder engagement, enriched by a three-year diplomatic assignment in the UAE.

Sung Keun Kim serves as the Minister Counselor for Competition Affairs at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Washington, D.C. and has worked at the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) since 1999, focusing on competition and consumer protection matters. From October 2016 to September 2019, he served for three years as an Expert on Competition and Consumer Protection at UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) in Geneva, Switzerland.

Sunghye Oh is the Director of the U.S. Capital IP Center at Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency (KOIPA). As a director, she administers a government subsidy program that supports Korean small and medium-sized enterprises with U.S. patent and trademark applications, legal opinion letters, and initial responses to IP disputes; offers consultations on IP-related inquiries; and provides education on U.S. IP systems, trends, and emerging issues to help companies manage potential conflicts.

Admissions

• Korean Bar (2013)
• New York State Bar (2018)

Hyun Kyung Lee is the new president of the PCT Korea Center (IPKC). In Korea. She has worked as a specialist in prior art searches at the Korean Intellectual Property Promotion Agency (KIPRO) for over 13 years, focusing on chemical and biological technologies, including life sciences and biotechnology.

• President of the PCT Korea Center (IPKC)
• PhD. Bio-Sciences
• Prior art search specialist (specialized in technical field of life science and biotechnology)

Korea SMEs and Startup Agency [KOSME]

• 2023 - present : Director of KOSME GBC-NY
• 2009 - 2022 : Senior Manager of KOSME HQ
• 2005 - 2008 : Joined GEPS