MBHB Partners Participate In 2017 Patent Cup Regatta

The fabled bays, harbors, and coves of the Long Island Sound welcomed Gary Ropski of Brinks Gilson & Lione along with Leif Sigmond and Marcus Thymian of McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP (MBHB) this spring as they sailed Team USA to a fifth-place finish in the 29th Annual Patent Cup Regatta, held May 8 through May 12, 2017, in the West Harbor off Oyster Bay, New York.

As in past years, the Regatta drew teams from around the world, this year with 14 teams and almost 60 sailors from Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the US. Teams competed on matched SONAR sailboats, keelboats that are specifically designed for competitive racing with three to five crew and for high performance in all wind conditions.

This was the 11th Patent Cup for IP litigator Ropski, who celebrated 40 years at Brinks Gilson & Lione in 2016. “Everyone enjoyed three days on the water in the spirit of the Patent Cup’s motto: Sailing, Friendship and Fun,” he said.

Sigmond, an IP litigator and the Commodore of the Chicago Yacht Club, remarked, “The competition this year was tough, with most of the best teams vying for the Cup. We are already planning to improve our standing next year.”

Added patent attorney Thymian, “The Patent Cup always exceeds its promise of fostering camaraderie among patent professionals from around the world. That brings us back year after year.”

Oyster Bay, the farthest eastern township in New York’s Nassau County, is the only town on Long Island to have shores on the Sound and on the Atlantic. The 2017 Patent Cup Regatta was ably handled by the race committee at the WaterFront Center, a non-profit community center for marine education and recreation on the North Shore. Once the home of US president Theodore Roosevelt, whose Sagamore Hill estate is managed by the National Park Service, the area now bears the moniker the Gold Coast.

The Patent Cup Regatta was established in France in 1989, when a French and a German patent attorney created the friendly competition to promote international cooperation and explore sailing venues around the world. According to its charter, each yacht must have a crew consisting primarily of patent professionals. Held in a different country each year, the tournament was last hosted in the US in 2006 at the Chicago Yacht Club.

Team USA won the Patent Cup in 2006, 2010, and 2014.

Left to right: Team USA members Marcus Thymian, Gary Ropski, and Leif Sigmond, Jr.

Left to right: Team USA members Leif Sigmond, Jr., Gary Ropski, and Marcus Thymian.

About McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP provides creative, pragmatic business solutions through a variety of intellectual property services, including litigation, prosecution, and general client counseling. With offices in Illinois, California and North Carolina, MBHB provides comprehensive legal services to obtain and enforce its clients’ intellectual property rights, from navigating patent office procedures to litigating complex infringement actions. MBHB attorneys prosecute patent and trademark applications in both the U.S. and abroad, handle intellectual property litigation matters in trial and appellate courts across the country, and counsel clients nationwide and worldwide on the enforcement and defense of their intellectual property rights. MBHB attorneys are experienced in the procurement, licensing, enforcement, and defense of patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and unfair competition actions in a number of technological disciplines and product categories including biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, chemical, electrical, mechanical and materials, medical device and diagnostics, software and business methods, and telecommunications. Comprised of over 80 attorneys, the law firm provides effective and service-oriented representation on a case-by-case basis. MBHB attorneys undertake each challenge with a full understanding of their client’s business plan and the ways in which the firm’s services help their clients reach their goals. Regardless of MBHB’s role, the firm never loses sight of their clients’ business objectives. MBHB clients know they have trusted their legal issues and plans for the future with knowledgeable, principled professionals who have their best business interests in mind. Website: www.mbhb.com.