Cannabis IP Portfolios: Diligence Before you Buy

Marcelo Pomeranz Related Seminars and Products

Associate

Cooley LLP

Dr. Marcelo Pomeranz’s practice focuses on the development and execution of world-wide intellectual property strategies for biotech and pharmaceutical companies. He has extensive experience in securing, defending, and challenging patents to provide clients with the necessary protection and freedom to operate to monetize their inventions. He has extensive technical experience in plant biology, RNA silencing, CRISPR gene editing, strain engineering, plant-derived medicines, molecular biology and systems biology. Marcelo is also an expert in cannabinoid biology and chemistry, representing clients in all areas of cannabinoid research, including cannabis and hemp breeding and genetics, cannabinoid and terpene biosynthesis, synthetic cannabinoid chemistry, cannabinoid and terpene extraction and detection, and cannabinoid formulation and pharmacology. He successfully secured the first patents to THC-containing plants in the US, Canada, and Europe. He holds a PhD in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. Marcelo's doctoral research focused on elucidating mechanisms for AU-rich mediated RNA degradation and the formation of RNA processing bodies and stress granules in plants. After his graduate work, he undertook a postdoctoral fellowship at The Ohio State University Center for Applied Sciences and the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center. His postdoctoral work focused on the discovery of gene regulatory networks and developmental expression programs using next-generation sequencing and mathematical modeling. Marcelo was awarded the American Bar Association's Award for Excellence in intellectual property law. He has authored and co-authored numerous publications appearing in Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, The Plant Journal, Plant Physiology and Plant Signal Behavior.

Mary Shapiro, JD, MBA Related Seminars and Products

Of Counsel

Crown, LLP

After 20 years in the book publishing industry and ten years at the renowned intellectual property law firm Townsend and Townsend and Crew, LLP, I started my own law firm in the heart of San Francisco’s Financial District in 2009. From there, I joined forces with another boutique powerhouse IP Law firm, Crown, LLP. With Crown, I counsel a broad range of clients in owning, enforcing, protecting, and profiting from their intellectual property.

Law is my second career, and I am passionate about protecting brands and creative properties. I have extensive experience in trademark selection, clearance, prosecution, and enforcement, including handling trademark applications before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and representation in proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), and Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy panels.

As the legal cannabis industry began emerging, I was able to start at the ground floor and strategize about how to obtain federal trademark registrations for cannabis goods and services. I've positioned my work at Crown as a go-to legal resource to cannabis clients as the industry grew, helping them navigate complex legal issues, such as securing trademark protections for related goods and services. I am also very active in the battle for federal legalization, or simply a change at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, so that owners of cannabis businesses can be on the same footing as other business owners regarding their capabilities to protect their brands.

I advocate for cannabis legalization and often do pro bono work for Americans for Safe Access, International Cannabis Bar Association, Marijuana Policy Project, Origins Council, and Sweetleaf Collective. I am on the board of directors for Americans for Safe Access, an organization dedicated to bringing access to cannabis therapeutics to patients. I am also on the advisory Board for the International Cannabis Bar Association, an organization focused on raising the standard of legal services available to the cannabis industry and advocate for the lawyers’ right to represent cannabis industry participants.

Specialties: State, U.S. and International Trademarks (Clearance, Prosecution, Enforcement and dispute resolution, Brand and technology Licensing), Cannabis consumer protection (Trademarks, Packaging and Labeling, Recall Plans), Trade Secret Plans, Copyright, Domain Name Disputes, Internet Policies, New Top Level Domains

Jason Moscovici Related Seminars and Products

Founder | President

Provisions Legal Services Inc.

Jason Moscovici is a lawyer, biochemist, and founder of Provisions Legal Services, a Canadian law firm specialized in regulated industries. His practice focuses on intellectual property and regulatory compliance in fields such as cannabis, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, cosmetics, personal care products, nicotine delivery and natural health products.

Jason’s focus on the valorization and enforcement of IP, as well as the numerous compliance issues that orbit regulated businesses, have allowed him to become one of the most trusted legal advisors to the emerging international cannabis industry. His perspectives on innovation, and the commercial hurdles related specifically to the area of controlled substances old and new, are routinely solicited by industry groups and other stakeholders in this space. He sits on several committees and working groups dedicated to identifying and establishing international legal practices in these areas.

Jonathan Cousin Related Seminars and Products

Associate

Cooley LLP

Jon advises pharmaceutical companies and specializes in integrating regulatory and patent exclusivity strategies in order to maximize the value of his clients’ products. He has worked on several Orange Booklisted products. He works closely with his clients to develop and implement patent strategies, with a particular focus on late-stage clinical trial inventions that provide significant additional patent protection. He also has experience conducting patentability, invalidity, freedom-to-operate/non-infringement analyses, IPOs, and due diligence for acquisitions and sales. Jon has counseled clients in a variety of technologies including pharmaceutical formulations and methods of treatment based on clinical trials, new chemical entities, biotechnologies, companion diagnostics, purification processes, polymers, and food additives. He represents clients of all sizes, including startups, specialty pharma, and publicly traded companies. Jon knew he wanted to work with cutting edge pharmaceutical products, so he pursued in PhD in organic chemistry after earning his JD. Jon's doctoral research focused on the synthesis of multivalent ligands to study biological recognition processes in cancer. While pursuing his PhD, Jon was also in-house patent counsel at Montana State University’s Technology Transfer Office.