95. William Cheng, Hospitalist and Singer
The 92 Report
William Cheng has been working in the Silicon Valley area since 2000. He graduated from Harvard as a bio concentrator and later attended UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine. He completed residency training in internal medicine at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, a county hospital affiliated with Stanford Hospital System. He then joined the Palo Alto Medical Foundation as a hospitalist, focusing on acutely ill patients. Working as a Hospitalist William's understanding of the world has changed over the two decades as a hospitalist. He now understands the importance of non-hard science...
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94. Jeanne Simpson, Actor/Dancer/Choreographer/Director/Teacher
The 92 Report
Jeanne Simpson moved to New York after graduating. She started doing day jobs in New York City to make ends meet while attending free dance classes, which allowed her to continue her training without having to pay for grad school. She eventually joined the American Isadora Dance Company, a modern company. Beginning a Career in the Performing Arts Jeanne began her acting career at HB Studios, where she was given a scholarship and studied under Austin Pendleton, a talented teacher who taught the advanced Acting Program at HB. She worked with other amazing actors and learned to choreograph scenes...
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93. Joshua Brandon Holden, Math Professor and Author of The Mathematics of Secrets
The 92 Report
Joshua Brandon Holden, the author of The Mathematics of Secrets, Cryptography from Caesar Ciphers to Digital Encryption, graduated with a degree in pure math and went on to teach at the University of Massachusetts and Duke. He discovered that he was spending most of his time on teaching, so he sought jobs where they would reward teaching. He then worked at the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, where he did both teaching and research. Common Misconceptions about Cryptography Joshua discusses common misconceptions about cryptography and its connection to the internet. He explains that...
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92. Mark Jacobstein, Accidental Entrepreneur
The 92 Report
Mark Jacobstein resides in Stanford, California with his wife, two children, and his mother in law. Mark's career has primarily focused on entrepreneurial technology, primarily in health tech, biotech, molecular diagnostics, and digital health arenas. After Cambridge, he worked with Scott Murphy, a close friend and business partner. He moved to California in 2003 to start a technology company and has been there ever since. He lives on the Stanford campus, which allows his children to grow up on a college campus. Founding a Fantasy Sports Business Mark shares his journey from writing...
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91. Andreas Stavropoulos, Entering the Third Act
The 92 Report
Andreas Stavropoulos, a venture capitalist and entrepreneur, came to the United States from Greece at 18 and has been in the United States ever since. His big moves include marrying his high school sweetheart, arranging their lives around graduate school, medical school, business school, and moving to California. He is now 55-years-old and is excited about the third act of his life, where he can choose where to spend his time more than he used to. A Career as a Venture Capitalist Andreas started his career as a venture capitalist in 1999 and has been doing so for over two and a half years. He...
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90. Shannon Frison, Marine and Judge
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Shannon Frison joined the United States Marine Corps during her time in law school. She spent her second year at officer candidate school and became commissioned as an officer. After law school, she returned to Massachusetts, worked for a year at the TAs office, took the bar, and went on active duty with the Marine Corps. After serving at Marine Corps Air Station, New River, North Carolina, she worked for a litigation firm called Dwyer and Clora before opening a law firm. In 2009, she applied for the bench in Massachusetts and was appointed to the Boston Municipal Court. She then...
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89. Anastasia Fernands, Patent Litigator
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Anastasia Fernands has been practicing law since graduating from NYU. She started practicing in Boston at Hutchins, Wheeler and Dittmar, which was the oldest continuously running firm in Boston at the time. Anastasia has since moved to New York and now practices at Quinn Emanuel. Anastasia’s career primarily focuses on intellectual property litigation, particularly patent litigation since the mid to late 90s. At that time there were two schools of thought on patent litigation: technical people who understood technology and those who were litigators by trade. There was a...
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88. Brett Janis, Principal at Strong Bridge Advisers
The 92 Report
After Brett Janis left Harvard, he worked as a journalist in Southeast Asia and later attended Georgetown University's Masters of Science and Foreign Service program, which introduced him to the International Affairs world. After a stint in Egypt, Brett joined the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 1995, where he focused on economic issues related to the Southeast Asia crisis, including issues related to banks and financial markets. He left the CIA just before 9/11, which was a critical moment in his life. He went back to Asia and started a business which dealt with finances for family...
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87. Richard Primus, Constitutional Law Professor
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Richard Primus initially had no idea what he wanted to do professionally after graduation, but eventually realized that he wanted to be a professor with interests in both law and political theory. He took HW Perry's constitutional interpretation class and decided to pursue graduate school and political theory before going to law school. Richard decided to study political theory at Oxford with the idea of becoming a law professor. He found his studies there focused on the abstract nature of political theory at the time, which required abstract questions about justice, liberty, and...
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86. Chris Ball, Research Scientist in the ElectroScience Laboratory
The 92 Report
Show Notes: After graduation, Chris Ball spent his summer working in Cambridge before returning to Columbus, Ohio, where he began graduate school in physics at The Ohio State University. He worked with Professor Frank DeLuca, a world-renowned researcher in microwave spectroscopy. Chris’ research focused on the microwave absorption of sulfur dioxide and its relationship to NASA's Microwave Limb Sounder instrument. Studying Interstellar Bands During his time at OSU, Chris collaborated with Professor Patrick Thaddeus from the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who was looking to hire...
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Anastasia Fernands has been practicing law since graduating from NYU. She started practicing in Boston at Hutchins, Wheeler and Dittmar, which was the oldest continuously running firm in Boston at the time. Anastasia has since moved to New York and now practices at Quinn Emanuel. Anastasia’s career primarily focuses on intellectual property litigation, particularly patent litigation since the mid to late 90s. At that time there were two schools of thought on patent litigation: technical people who understood technology and those who were litigators by trade. There was a shift for litigators who weren’t necessarily experts in technology to be more involved in patent litigation.
The Initial Stages of Patent Litigation
Patent litigation starts after someone has received a patent from the patent office. If the patent owner thinks someone is infringing, they might reach out in a friendly business manner, send a cease and desist letter, or immediately file a complaint. Litigation begins when a complaint is filed, and sometimes even a motion for preliminary injunction is filed to try to enjoin the competitor from selling the accused infringing product. Depending on the jurisdiction, there are local patent rules in many jurisdictions. Once the complaint is filed, there is an answer, a scheduling conference, and, in jurisdictions that have patent rules, a number of specific deadlines. The preliminary phase involves exchanging information about how to interpret the patent, exchange documents, take depositions, and have expert discovery where experts give their opinions on infringement and invalidity, as well as other issues.
Statutory Damages Limitation and Prosecution Latches
In patent litigation, damages are limited by statute to only six years before filing of the complaint. Prosecution latches is based on delay in patent prosecution. If a party continues to file follow on applications with the patent office, prosecution latches could kick in, if they get new claims 10-12-15 years into prosecution. [AF1]
A Discussion on High-profile Litigation Cases
Anastasia talks about her involvement in Samsung versus Apple and Apple vs. Samsung. Her role was to be a member of the team in various trials and appeals, and she was on the team from the beginning of the case through trial for one of the Northern District of California litigations. Anastasia also shares her experiences in pharmaceutical and biologics cases, highlighting the challenges of patent law. She discusses Section 101, which determines whether a patent claims patent-eligible subject matter. Invalidity can occur due to the nature of the subject matter, such as if something is naturally occurring or a law of nature. The bargain between the patent office and patentee is that the patentee must advance the art to obtain exclusive rights for their invention. A patent must provide adequate written description and sufficient information for a skilled person to recreate it. Anastasia reflects on her understanding of the world and how it has changed over the years as a patent litigator.
Misconceptions about the Patent System
Anastasia discusses the misconceptions people have about the patent system, particularly regarding the concept of patentable ideas. She explains that just because an idea is great doesn’t mean it meets all the requirements for statutory patentability. She discusses the difference between trademark, copyright, and patent, and the different types of intellectual property rights each covers. Anastasia cites the Supreme Court case of the Myriad, which revolved around a link between the BRCA gene and breast cancer. She also discusses the concept of section 101, which determines whether a subject matter is patentable. Section 101, concerning not patentable subject matter, has been a hot topic in law over the last 10-15 years. As advancements in science and the human genome continue to link specific genes to specific conditions, there is a tension between the remarkable advancements in identifying genes that correlate with specific conditions and the notion that a naturally occurring gene cannot be patented.
Patenting AI Generated Ideas
The conversation turns to the possibility of patenting an AI-generated idea using Chat via Chat GPT. They discuss the potential for a computer-assisted story to be copyrightable and the question of whether using technology to assist in idea formulation does not prevent patentability. They also discuss the possibility of independent AI agents submitting ideas to the patent office. Anastasia explains that patents currently have humans identified as inventors, and they discuss whether AI programs could also be considered as inventors.
Influential Harvard Professors and Courses
Anastasia talks about why she chose to pursue a career in patent litigation and who influenced her decision. At Harvard, some of the courses that resonated with her include Shakespeare, The Early Plays, Eckehard Simon’s Medieval Court, and Michelangelo, and the tutor for her Sophomore History Tutorial, Rachelle Friedman.
Timestamps:
03:49 Patent litigation stages and latches
08:59 Patent law and litigation involving smartphones and pharmaceuticals
13:55 Patent law and its applications
21:21 Patentability of natural gene discoveries and AI-assisted inventions
26:43 Patent law and AI inventorship
32:15 Harvard experiences
Links:
https://www.quinnemanuel.com/attorneys/fernands-anastasia-m/