Speakers: Kevin Roe, Patent Attorney, and Phil Marcoux, Entrepreneur, Inventor and Patent Generator
 
Meeting Date: Thursday, May 4, 2017
Time: 6:00 pm Networking; 6:30 pm Management Forum/Guided Networking; 7:00 pm sandwich dinner;
7:30 pm Presentation
Early: $12 IEEE members; $15 non-members; Standard: $5 more; At Door: $20
Location: AMD Commons Building, Sunnyvale
Reservations: tems1705.eventbrite.com

Slides: “Trade Secret Protection Advice”
Handout: “Popquiz 2 Inventors Important Lessons”

 
SUMMARY
Management Forum / Guided Networking: Bring Your Management Challenge; Arrive by 6:30 PM to join this exciting Management Forum. Following informal networking is a guided discussion typically related to the topic of the evening’s after dinner talk, or of general Technology Management interest.
Light Dinner: This month we’re continuing with our light dinner format — typically sandwiches, salad, drinks, and cookie or similar light dinner.

Presentation: Protecting Inventions: Inventions can only really be protected in two ways — either as a trade secret, or by filing a patent application. Patent applications were the default choice for invention protection for decades, until the anti-patent bias of the US federal courts really kicked into high gear in June 2014 with the Alice decision. The Alice decision was then mutated in 2015 and 2016 into even more patent-hostile rationalizations to invalidate patents, even patents that would have been considered valid by any rational person with a technical education. Now patent enforcement and patent protection of an invention is very chancy in US federal courts, especially for individual inventors and small companies. The time and expense of patent applications is now not very cost effective in view of this anti-patent hysteria at every level in the US federal court system.
Fortunately, many inventions can be protected as trade secrets. The advantages and disadvantages of trade secrets will be discussed, as well as trade secret cross-licensing. Kevin and Phil collaborated on an article for Chip Scale Review magazine which was released this month.

Speaker Bios
 
   Kevin Roe has two graduate degrees in electrical engineering and a JD degree in law. He is an intellectual property attorney with over 21 years of experience advising inventors and companies on their inventions and has created several entire patent portfolios for many different technology companies — frequently with a 100% patent issue success rate. He also advises clients on all issues regarding trade secrets, patents, technology licensing, contracts, trademarks and litigation in general. He is registered to practice before the US Patent and Trademark Office and is also registered and authorized to litigate before the US Supreme Court and the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. His email address is kevin.roe@att.net.
 
   Phil Marcoux’s developments in 2.5D and 3D packaging represent his fourth major new business development. He has been a pioneer in laser trimmed IC devices, surface mount technology, wafer level packaging and now 3D. A common thread in his industry involvement is multi-chip and complex IC packaging.
Phil has been co-founder and CEO of three companies and technical adviser to many. He has successfully and unsuccessfully sold and commercialized patents and technology. He is co-inventor and owner of over 38 issued patents in the area of Wafer Level Packaging, Chip Scale packaging, Silicon Interposers, 3D and 2.5D packaging. Author of many articles and texts on SMT, 3D IC assembly, and one of the first textbooks on fine pitch SMT packaging and processes titled “Fine Pitch Surface Mount Technology”, published by Van Nostrand in 1992.
Phil received his BSEE from University of Florida and MSEE/MBA from Santa Clara University. He was an Assoc. Professor in the Graduate School of Engineering for 3 years. Since 2010 he has been a technical consultant to companies in the Santa Clara area, a recipient of the IPC President’s award, a member of the MEPTEC Advisory Board, a past member of the University of Florida College of Engineering Advisory Board, and Past Vice President of the Packaging Division of the FOA — Wafer Fab Owner’s Association. Life Member of IEEE. ACP-Advisor Net Mentor for Military.
   In 2007 Phil was named “The Father of Surface Mount Assembly in the US” by the IPC resulting from his founding and management of AWI (Santa Clara, CA). AWI (founded in 1981) was the first company in the US to specialize in SMT. AWI was successfully sold and integrated into SCI Systems in 1988. SCI was, in 1988 the world’s largest contract assembly company.