Patent Strategy for Scientists, Engineers, and Entrepreneurs

​Patent protection for inventions is a valuable component of business strategy for startups and established companies alike. This seminar highlights several elements of patent strategy, such as co-ownership of patent rights, weaknesses in the disclosure shield, provisional patent applications, the interplay between trade secrets and patents, continuation applications, third-party pre-issuance submissions, and the coordination of international patent filings. Through real-world case studies and practical examples, participants will gain insight into how strategic patent decisions can strengthen market positions and attract investment. Attendees will leave with actionable guidance to help them avoid costly missteps and build a proactive, competitive intellectual property portfolio.

​Lunch will be served!

​Agenda

• ​​12:00pm-12:40pm: Lunch & seminar presentation​

• ​12:40pm-1:00pm: Q&A

• ​1:15pm-2:15pm: One-on-one office hours with selected individuals by appointment

​​Guest Speaker

​Stephen Hou is the Vice President & COO of the American Patent Agency. He has practiced patent prosecution for law firms in Boston and San Francisco, where he counsels tech startups on patent portfolio development, patent drafting, and patent prosecution. He has taught seminars on patent law and strategy at Cornell University, Harvard Medical School, the London School of Economics, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), New York University, and the Wharton School, as well as at premier universities in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan.

​​Stephen graduated Phi Beta Kappa with four undergraduate and graduate degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering (EE), all from MIT, where he conducted master's and doctoral research in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and taught courses in digital signal processing. He earned the President Paul E. Gray Award for Excellence in Research and the Goodwin Medal, MIT's highest honor for excellence in teaching by a graduate student. Stephen received his law degree from the New York University School of Law, where he was a Dean's Award Scholar and an InSITE Fellow, advising startup companies and venture capitalists on patents, technology, and entrepreneurship. He is an alumnus of the International Patent Drafting Training Program hosted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a United Nations (UN) agency based in Geneva, Switzerland.