Expands Firm Commitment to Non-patent IP Assets and Attracts Leading IP Attorney to Oversee Group
CHICAGO, February 19, 2013. Ocean Tomo, the intellectual capital merchant banc® firm announced today an expanded practice offering directed to trade secret management and monetization. This announcement extends Ocean Tomo’s commitment to providing specialty services directed towards non-patent Intellectual Property (IP) assets made in its’ 2012 year-end report.
Reductions in technology life cycles combined with pendency in the patent office and the uncertainty of prosecution limitations have put even greater emphasis on protecting innovation through secrecy. “Trade secret related litigation in the courts and the International Trade Commission has been increasing steadily prompting not only greater focus by senior executives but also legislative attention with stiffened penalties for trade secret theft” explains Ocean Tomo Chairman and CEO James E. Malackowski. “President Obama’s signing on January 14, 2013 of the ‘Foreign and Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act of 2012’ increases penalties for those who knowingly engage in economic espionage based on the value of stolen trade secrets, including expenses for research and development and other costs of reproducing the trade secret that was misappropriated. This has significantly raised management efforts to identify and control trade secret assets for the benefit of shareholders.”
In response to this recent activity, Ocean Tomo outlined its unique holistic approach to assist clients in trade secret matters, including litigation damages, strategic planning, investment due diligence, risk management, valuation and transactions. Overseeing this newly created practice for Ocean Tomo is Dean A. Pelletier, who joins the firm from McAndrews, Held & Malloy in Chicago where he was a Board Member and Shareholder practicing intellectual property law for 17 years. For the past 15 years, Pelletier focused in part on litigating and trying trade secret cases as well as counseling clients on trade secret management best practices. “Being a part of the Ocean Tomo team is a tremendous opportunity,” said Pelletier. “I am especially excited about launching Ocean Tomo’s Trade Secrets Group, and believe that my background complements an industry leading collection of talented and experienced IP professionals.” “Trade secrets are incredibly valuable IP assets,” Pelletier continued. “And, bearing that in mind, our goal is to help companies realize their value by proactively developing, protecting and capitalizing on their trade secret portfolios.”
Dean has experience in such industries as pharmaceuticals, medical devices and imaging, railway products, foods and beverages, electronics and lighting, alternative energy, chemical processing, heavy construction equipment, film and entertainment and publishing.
Notably, Pelletier represented Amsted Industries Incorporated, the prevailing complainant, in a recent, significant trade secret misappropriation case before the U.S. International Trade Commission and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. That case, TianRui Group Co. v. ITC, 661 F.3d 1322 (Fed. Cir. 2011), involved “what might have been the single biggest intellectual property heist of all time,” according to Pelletier.
Pelletier, a Massachusetts native, received his law degree from Washington University School of Law in 1995 and his Bachelor of Science degree in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University in 1991. He is a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association including its Trade Secret Committee and Trade Secret Legislation Subcommittee, as well as a member of several other professional associations.
Ocean Tomo’s interdisciplinary approach to trade secret management and monetization leverages and extends the expertise and insight provided through Ocean Tomo’s collaboration with its strategic partner Tailored Solutions and Consulting, Inc. (TSC). “Ocean Tomo is the premier firm to address all financial and strategic aspects of trade secret management” noted Sean Doherty, President of TSC. “They are definitely the right partner for our trade secret protection solutions.”
Ocean Tomo’s concentration on matters involving trade secrets comes after the firm assisted in several marquee matters in 2012 wherein Ocean Tomo clients earned payments or were awarded damages for trade secret misappropriation as high as $75,000,000.
About Ocean Tomo
Established in 2003, Ocean Tomo, is the Intellectual Capital Merchant Bank® firm. The company provides financial products and services related to Intellectual Property, including expert testimony, valuation, strategy, research, ratings, investments, risk management and transactions. Ocean Tomo assists clients – corporations, law firms, governments and institutional investors – in realizing Intellectual Capital Equity® value broadly defined.
Headquartered in Chicago, Ocean Tomo has offices in Greenwich, Houston and San Francisco.
Subsidiaries of Ocean Tomo include: Ocean Tomo Risk Management, LLC; Ocean Tomo Asset Management, LLC; OTI Data Networks, LLC; Patent Marking, LLC; and Ocean Tomo Capital, LLC – publisher of the Ocean Tomo 300® Patent Index family. Ocean Tomo is the founder of the Intellectual Property Exchange International (IPXI), Inc. as well as the exclusive licensee and distributor of the PatentRatings® system.