Banner & Witcoff Elects President Andy Mu and New Shareholder Class

Banner & Witcoff, Ltd., announces the election of firm president Chunhsi Andy Mu and 13 new shareholders, a group of attorneys who advise on all matters of intellectual property law and are dedicated to assisting their clients in protecting their work and ideas.

Speaking about his recent election to President, Andy Mu said, “I’m honored to take on this new role at Banner & Witcoff, a firm I have been involved with since starting as a summer associate in 2003 and have proudly served on the Board of Directors of for the past four years, and I look forward to representing the firm and my colleagues in this competitive space.”

“After collaborating with Andy for nearly a decade, I deeply appreciate his invaluable expertise and counsel in protecting ZTE’s intellectual property rights. I have tremendous respect for him, and trust that his leadership and perspective will be strong assets to Banner & Witcoff,” stated Qin Wang, Senior IP Counsel for ZTE Corporation.

The firm is proud to have this talent and congratulates the following newly elected class.

Chunhsi Andy Mu, President, Washington, DC

Mr. Mu specializes in portfolio management, client counseling and post-grant proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and prosecution in a broad range of technical fields, including Internet, consumer electronics, e-commerce, business methods, telecommunications, sensors and other mechanical devices, and computer software. In addition to prosecuting patent applications, he has extensive experience formulating freedom to operate, clearance, non-infringement and invalidity opinions, and counseling clients on all aspects of IP procurement, management, and enforcement strategy. Mr. Mu’s practice also includes assisting clients in design patent protection. Prior to joining Banner & Witcoff, Mr. Mu served in the National Institute of Standards & Technology’s (NIST’s) Intelligent Systems and Advanced Network Technologies Divisions. He earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, with honors, and a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland, and his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School, where he was a member of the Mock Trial Board.

Eric Hamp, Principal Shareholder, Chicago

Mr. Hamp’s practice spans many areas of intellectual property law, where his primary area of expertise is in the litigation and enforcement of patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret rights. Eric also prepares and prosecutes utility and design patent applications in a variety of technological fields, and assists clients in obtaining trademark and copyright rights. Prior to joining Banner & Witcoff, Mr. Hamp worked in the chemical industry at Ecolab Inc. and Stepan Company. He earned his J.D., cum laude, from the Northwestern University School of Law.

John Hutchins, Principal Shareholder, Washington, DC

Mr. Hutchins is a first-chair patent litigation attorney, who handles litigation in federal district court and the International Trade Commission, appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and aids in client counseling, license drafting and negotiations, and patent post-grant proceedings. He has represented clients in cases involving consumer electronics, automotive components, medical devices, paper making processes and chemicals, inks, vaccines, pharmaceuticals, e-commerce, and toys and children’s products. Prior to joining Banner & Witcoff, Mr. Hutchins was a partner at Kenyon & Kenyon LLP, which eventually became Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP. He earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1995, and his B.S.E., summa cum laude, in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1992.

Sean Jungels, Principal Shareholder, Chicago

Mr. Jungels’ practice comprises all areas of intellectual property, with a focus on patent and trademark litigation and the procurement and enforcement of design patents. He has experience in representing plaintiffs and defendants in many phases of federal litigation, including pre-trial investigation, discovery, motion practice, and pre-trial efforts. He also provides assistance to clients concerning design patents. Mr. Jungels’ experience in this field includes the prosecution and enforcement of design patents, both nationally and internationally. He has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in Illinois since 2016, and graduated Order of the Coif and earned his J.D. degree with high honors from Chicago-Kent College of Law.a

Kevin Keenan, Principal Shareholder, Chicago

Mr. Keenan is active in a variety of areas within intellectual property law, with particular emphasis in patent prosecution, patent litigation, portfolio management, and counseling. He has experience prosecuting and litigating utility and design patents in a variety of industries and technological areas, including athletic and recreational equipment, consumer products, construction machinery, manufacturing systems, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, control systems, electrical connectors, light emitting diodes (LEDs), and engines. Mr. Keenan also has significant post-grant proceedings experience, including inter partes review (IPR) proceedings. Prior to joining Banner & Witcoff, Mr. Keenan gained valuable experience as an associate at an international intellectual property law firm, where he focused on all aspects of intellectual property law. He earned a B.S. in Engineering, magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan, where he majored in Mechanical Engineering, and his J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2007, where he was a member of the Chicago-Kent Law Review.

Scott Kelly, Principal Shareholder, Washington, DC

Mr. Kelly represents clients throughout the life of an invention, from the birth of an idea through procuring a patent and enforcing it to protect key technologies and business interests. His practice is focused on intellectual property issues relating to a wide range of computer software, networking, and business methods. He has worked with technologies, including user interfaces, gesture-based input, mobile devices, cloud computing, algorithms, virtual and augmented reality, network routing, interactive television program guides, and video games. In addition to preparing and prosecuting patent applications, Mr. Kelly counsels clients regarding validity, infringement, and other issues presented by asserted patents or potential acquisitions. Prior to joining Banner & Witcoff, Mr. Kelly was an Examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He received a B.S. with honors from Virginia Tech, where he majored in Computer Science with minors in Physics and Mathematics, and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served on the Editorial Board of the Virginia Journal of Law and Technology.

Anna King, Principal Shareholder, Chicago

Ms. King concentrates her practice on trademark, domain name, and copyright prosecution and counseling matters. She manages worldwide portfolios and has extensive experience in prosecution and registration of applications, licensing, enforcement, oppositions, and cancellations, as well as counseling clients in protecting their international portfolios. She serves as a board member and Chair of the Trademark Committee of the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago (IPLAC), and is an active member of the Harmonization of Trademark Law and Practice Committee of the International Trademark Association (INTA) and the Trademark Relations with the USPTO Committee of American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). Ms. King was awarded her J.D. from Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington and her B.A. in Anthropology, cum laude, from Connecticut College.

Justin Philpott, Principal Shareholder, Chicago

Mr. Philpott’s practice includes patent prosecution, litigation, post-issuance review, diligence, transactions, and opinion counseling. Mr. Philpott serves as co-chair of the firm’s PTAB Litigation Committee. During his more than 16-year career in intellectual property law, he has examined, drafted, prosecuted, acquired, licensed, and litigated countless patents. Mr. Philpott regularly merges technical and legal analyses in complex electrical and computer arts, such as LTE and 5G wireless communications, MPEG video compression, and HDTV coding and transmission. Prior to joining Banner & Witcoff, Mr. Philpott counseled clients for 10 years in the IP group of a global general practice law firm, preceded by more than four years as a Patent Examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office where he examined patent applications in various communications technology. He earned his B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, with high honors, from Rutgers University, and his J.D. from Georgetown University.

Victoria Webb, Principal Shareholder, Chicago

Ms. Webb works with clients to strategically and creatively obtain, enforce, and leverage a broad range of intellectual property rights. Her practice focuses on the litigation and resolution of patent, trademark, trade dress, and other intellectual property disputes in an extensive range of fields, including, e.g., medical devices, consumer and retail products, sporting equipment, apparel and footwear, lifestyle and outdoor products, electrical, plumbing, and publishing. Her experience also includes transactional, counseling, and opinion work on intellectual property issues, and the preparation and prosecution of patents. Ms. Webb graduated from Marquette University with honors, earning a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Spanish, and graduated Order of the Coif from the University of Iowa College of Law.

John Curry, Shareholder, Washington, DC

Mr. Curry focuses on post-grant matters, and on the preparation and prosecution of patent applications at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. His technological expertise covers a variety of areas, including electrical engineering, communications, biomedical devices, computer science, business methods, financial software, optics, imaging, signal processing, wireless technologies, and instrumentation design and control. Prior to joining Banner & Witcoff, Mr. Curry worked as an attorney at a Washington, DC-based patent law firm and as a Patent Examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He earned his B.S. in electrical engineering and J.D. from The George Washington University.

Joshua Davenport, Shareholder, Washington, DC

Mr. Davenport was recognized by Managing Intellectual Property as one of the top 50 most active attorneys for inter partesreview petitions in 2017. He represents clients in a variety of intellectual property matters, including patent prosecution, litigation, and counseling, leveraging his experience as a former telecom engineer. He earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, cum laude, from the University of Alabama, and a J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law, where he made the national finals in the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition and was inducted into the Order of Barristers.

Bennett Ingvoldstad, Shareholder, Chicago

Mr. Ingvoldstad focuses his practice primarily on patent prosecution, counseling, and post-grant proceedings across a wide variety of technical fields within the computer and electrical arts. Mr. Ingvoldstad draws on his experience as a former Patent Examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and as intellectual property counsel for a Silicon Valley corporation to provide well-rounded perspective to his clients. He earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology and his J.D. from Georgetown University.

Camille Sauer, Shareholder, Washington, DC

Ms. Sauer represents clients in all facets of technology protection and commercialization, focusing on utility and design patent procurement and intellectual property counseling. Her practice encompasses a wide range of technologies, including mechanical and electrical devices, consumer products, renewable energy technology, aerospace systems, medical devices, and business methods. Ms. Sauer also has experience in researching and analyzing legal and technical issues, preparing freedom to operate, non-infringement and invalidity opinions for utility patents, and assisting in various phases of IP litigation, post-grant proceedings and counseling. She graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, and earned her J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law with a certificate in Intellectual Property.

Pei Wu, Ph.D., Shareholder, Boston

Dr. Wu provides assistance to her clients in intellectual property protection, including utility and design patent and trademark prosecution, strategic intellectual property portfolio development, licensing, and counseling in the fields of biotechnology, molecular diagnostics, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. Her intellectual property practice includes complex technologies spanning genes, proteins, enzymes, recombinant antibodies, microorganisms, medical diagnostics, blood products, cell matrices, tissue engineering, dietary and food supplements, cancer treatments, gene therapy, drug discovery and formulation, epigenetics, biopolymer, vaccine, and genomics. Dr. Wu received her J.D. from Suffolk University Law School and her Graduate Certificate in Management from Harvard Extension School. She received her Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology from the University of Florida, where she was a recipient of the Graduate Research and Medical Guilds Research competition awards. She obtained her B.S. in Biochemistry from Wuhan University in China.

About Banner & Witcoff

A national intellectual property law firm with more than 110 attorneys and nearly 100 years of practice, Banner & Witcoff, Ltd. provides legal counsel and representation to the world’s most innovative companies. Our attorneys are known for having the breadth of experience and insight needed to handle complex patent applications, as well as handle and resolve difficult disputes and business challenges for clients across all industries and geographic boundaries.