Mark T. Stephenson

Patents

Mark prepares and prosecutes patent applications in the United States, and also prosecutes applications in a variety of international jurisdictions by working with foreign counsel. Jurisdictions of note include the European Patent Office, China and Japan. Mark particularly enjoys engaging with clients’ technical and business stakeholders to determine a preferred patent strategy in the U.S. and abroad.

In addition to patent prosecution, Mark also assists clients in assessing the potential impact of activities by third-parties and competitors by conducting design-around studies or providing freedom-to-operate opinions.

Technology Transactions & Licensing

Mark assists in reviewing nondisclosure agreements having IP ownership provisions. He also reviews terms of license agreements with respect to royalty payments on patented inventions.

Client Sectors

Mark’s experience spans a variety of industries, including:

• Electrical and Computer Engineering — including electric motor and electric generation systems, switchgears, power electronics, battery-charging devices, fuel cells and software
• Mechanical Engineering — including refrigeration systems, diesel engines, turbochargers, medical devices, lubrication systems, locks and door closers, fuel injectors, bearings, coatings, and agricultural implements
• Aerospace Engineering — including nozzle systems, gas turbine engines, aircraft structures, targeting systems and composite structures
• Software — including artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), application program interfaces (API), database development, and web scraping
• Control Engineering — including autonomous vehicles, automatic controls, actuation systems and robotic systems

NASA Experience

Prior to law school, Mark was an aerospace engineer for several years at the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, where he gained significant technical experience working with control system architectures, control system design techniques, fault detection and failure accommodation schemes, linear and nonlinear model development and analysis, simulations, and verification and validation (V&V) activities including hardware and aircraft-in-the-loop.

Personal Interests

Mark enjoys spending time with his family, helping out with automotive and home repairs, and developing a hobby of making French pastries (which was never a thing with him until he couldn’t find a local store that sold good chocolate croissants).