Effective January 1, 2022, Karl Hefter, Daniel O’Brien, John Wakeley, and Jianping Zhang became partners of Seed IP Law Group LLP. Karl, John, and Jianping are in the firm’s Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Group, and Daniel is a member of the firm’s Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals & Chemistry Group. Each attorney focuses their practice on U.S. and foreign intellectual property matters, including patent procurement, licensing, and strategic planning.

Karl Hefter’s practice focuses on U.S. patent prosecution of computer engineering and computer software matters. His expertise includes drafting and prosecuting utility and design patents in the United States. Karl has drafted and prosecuted patents in many different technical fields, including distributed systems and cloud computing, audiovisual content distribution and set-top boxes, automobile head units, smart signs, video encoding, wireless power systems, social networks, online content management and delivery, image processing, noise reduction/cancellation, drone technology, networks, telecommunications, email systems, video games, and other software/hardware related technologies. Karl earned a B.S. (magna cum laude) in Computer Engineering from University of Idaho (2005), and his J.D. (cum laude) from Franklin Pierce Law Center (2010). He is admitted to the Washington State Bar and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Karl is a member of the Washington State Patent Law Association(WSPLA).

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Daniel O’Brien’s practice includes the preparation and prosecution of patent applications in biotechnology and other life sciences. He has a technical background in microbiology, cancer biology, cell biology, molecular biology, immunology, genetics, and biochemistry. Daniel received a B.S. (magna cum laude) from Middle Tennessee State University (2001) and a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (2008). He holds a J.D. (cum laude) from Case Western Reserve University School of Law (2011), where he earned a Law and Technology concentration with honors and served as president of the Student Intellectual Property Law Association. Daniel is admitted to the North Carolina Bar and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He is a member of the Washington State Patent Law Association(WSPLA) and Life Science Washington.

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John Wakeley’s practice focuses on patent prosecution in the electrical and mechanical arts. He received an M.T.M. in Technology Management from Stevens Institute of Technology (2001), an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Monmouth University (1995), and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers University(1990). John earned his J.D. from Seton Hall University (2007). John is admitted to the New Jersey and New York state bars and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., the Washington State Patent Law Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, and the American Bar Association.

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Recognized in both the U.S. and China as a patent attorney, Jianping Zhang helps clients on all aspects of worldwide patent portfolio development and monetization, including drafting and prosecuting patents and preparing opinions on patent infringement validity. His practice focuses on electrical and electronic arts, including digital/analog circuitry, MEMS, R.F., telecommunications, data/signal processing, semiconductors, software, and electrical devices. In 1992, Jianping earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Beijing Institute of Technology (Beijing, China). He received an L.L.M. from China University of Political Science and Law (Beijing, China) in 1999. Jianping received an M.A. in Criminal Justice from University at Albany (Albany, NY) in2002. He then received his J.D. (cum laude) from Albany Law School(Albany, NY) in 2005. Jianping is admitted to practice in Washington (2021) and New York (2006), and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He is also qualified to practice in the People’s Republic of China (1998) and at China SIPO Patent (2011). Jianping is a member of the Washington State Patent Law Association (WSPLA).

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Seed IP congratulates Karl, Daniel, John, and Jianping on their promotion to partner.