Robert A. Jensen

Overview

Rob Jensen has over 15 years of experience counseling clients ranging from start-ups and academic institutions to large corporations. With a focus on patent preparation and prosecution, trade secret counseling, patent counseling, portfolio management, providing opinions regarding patent infringement and validity, as well as patentability and freedom-to-operate studies, Rob tailors his advice to meet clients’ individual business objectives.

Rob’s technology experience spans the areas of electronics, power circuits and systems, MEMS, semiconductors, image sensors, electromagnetics, control systems, energy storage, wireless communications, sensors, and software.

Prior to entering the IP field, Rob was involved in research in power electronics during his undergraduate and graduate studies. Rob’s research at Dartmouth College focused on design of magnetic components for power converters, as well as computational optimization techniques for photovoltaic power systems. While a graduate student at MIT, Rob studied power electronics, electromagnetic fields and waves, and semiconductor processing technologies. Rob developed moisture-barrier coatings to improve performance and reliability of electronics in extreme environments. 

Experience

• Drafted comprehensive trade secret policies for multiple companies.
• Compiled trade secret inventories reflecting the value of the trade secrets along with other key tracking information.
• Tailored level of measures employed to protect the trade secrets based on company culture.
• Counseled clients on patent vs. trade secret protection for individual secrets and inventions.
• Counseled a technology company facing allegations of trade secret misappropriation from a business partner. Conducted an internal investigation and addressed the allegations without litigation.
• Counseled a technology company on the risks of a proposal by engineers to use generative AI to process confidential data. Assessed policies of various generative AI solutions as part of risk assessment.
• Performed IP diligence for a potential acquisition of a target company. Identified previously unknown allegations of past trade secret misappropriation against a key employee who had joined the target company from a competitor. Counseled the client on risks of proceeding with the acquisition
• Developed comprehensive patent portfolios for several start-up companies.
• Successfully appealed dozens of patent applications to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), resulting in allowance of the patents.
• Prepared dozens of defensive opinions of patent noninfringement and invalidity for several clients threatened with patent infringement.
• Handled a freedom-to-operate investigation to support company acquisition in the image sensor field.

Activities

• Boston Intellectual Property Law Association, Co-Chair of Trade Secret Committee
• Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network

Recognition

• Ranked among the top 4% of most active high-tech patent prosecutors—out of 28,843 patent attorneys and agents—in Patexia’s Patent Prosecution Intelligence Report 
• John C. Woodhouse Environmental Engineering Design Prize