ON-DEMAND: Business Clinic Series - Intellectual Property

Would you like to understand some basics about Intellectual Property (IP) and how IP protections can be important to your start-up business? Are you curious about how to develop and protect your brand? Join us for this installment in our Business Clinic Series for a journey into the world of intellectual property.

About this event

Join us for this one-hour installment in our Business Clinic Series to learn about intellectual property protections, with guests Alison Mortinger and Steve Mortinger.

Presenters: Alison Mortinger and Steve Mortinger

Alison Mortinger is an attorney licensed to practice in Ohio and New York. She holds a B.S. degree in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from Cornell University, and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a registered patent attorney with over 25 years of corporate in house experience in a large variety of intellectual property matters including patent preparation and prosecution, trademarks, copyright, IP systems, open source, data, contract drafting and negotiations, and mergers and acquisitions. She managed the IP Resource Center for IBM where she trained and managed law students and recent law school graduates who handled NDA reviews, product clearance and data reviews for all of IBM worldwide. Most recently Alison was IBM’s first Corporate Trade Secret Counsel and led a worldwide effort to partner across teams to improve their trade secret management and protection program.

Alison enjoys teaching Introduction to Intellectual Property at the Ohio State (Moritz) Law School and encouraging law students to consider a career in Intellectual Property Law. In her personal time, Alison enjoys helping young people achieve their goals in Scouting, and promoting STEM careers to young women.

Steve Mortinger is an attorney licensed to practice in Ohio and New York. He is an honors graduate of Denison University and received a law degree from The Ohio State (Moritz) Law School. Steve continues to be an active alumnus of the Moritz Law School where he will soon be co-chair of the University Council and where he and Alison sponsor a scholarship. Steve is also an adjunct professor at Moritz and at the Capital University Law School.

Steve has been practicing law for 34 years and has had a varied set of experiences largely focused on intellectual property law, transactional work, and regulatory compliance. In his practice, Steve did everything from negotiating microelectronics (chip) deals for the design, manufacture, and sale of computer chips to all the major gaming platforms (Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo) to ultimately negotiating the sale of IBM’s Microelectronics business unit. Recently, Steve designed and implemented a corporate data program for a Fortune 50 company. Steve has spoken as a legal expert at numerous industry meetings on data, compliance, social media, virtual reality, intellectual property… and more. He authored the book Computer Games and Virtual Worlds: A New Frontier in Intellectual Property Law and wrote a chapter for the book: Intellectual Property Strategies for the 21st Century Corporation.

In his spare time, Steve enjoys being outdoors including running and camping. Steve is an Eagle Scout, and with Alison, he formed one of the first Scouts BSA Troops for girls in America.

Moderator: Bruce Walters, MS, CBA

Bruce is a Certified Business Advisor for the Ohio Small Business Development Center at Columbus State Community College, where he manages the intake process for new clients, and provides marketing, operations, and general advising services for established businesses. Bruce’s experience is predominately in insurance, human resources, entertainment, and non-profit administration. Bruce holds an Associate Degree in Art from City College of San Francisco, a Bachelor’s Degree in Art History from the University of California Berkeley, and a Master’s Degree in Marketing and Communications from Franklin University.

Our Business Clinic Series provides Ohio's small businesses with information on a variety of topics, delivered by knowledgeable industry professionals. Check our Calendar of Events for other topics in this series.