Chris Sappenfield has substantial experience handling diverse world-wide intellectual property law-related matters in both law firm and in-house corporate settings with an emphasis in the technical areas of bioinformatics, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, molecular diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, medical/electromechanical devices, complex healthcare-related systems, software, and internet applications. Mr. Sappenfield possesses significant depth of knowledge and experience in assessing the commercial potential of new technologies, and in designing and implementing complex patent portfolio strategies that emphasize obtaining high value investment-grade patents. He handles all aspects of patent law, including preparing and procuring patents, conducting freedom-to-operate evaluations, rendering patent-related legal opinions, handling patentability and validity challenges before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, managing oppositions at the European Patent Office, and licensing patented technologies, among many other aspects.
Mr. Sappenfield also has significant experience handling acquisition-related issues from both the perspectives of the acquiring entities as well as the targets, including conducting transactional due diligence. In addition, he has other transactional expertise, such as drafting and negotiating numerous types of corporate agreements, including acquisition, product development, distribution, supply, licensing, and research agreements. Mr. Sappenfield has also successfully resolved numerous disputes among parties stemming from contractual arrangements. Moreover, he also possesses substantial experience in handling government contract and related compliance issues.
Before joining MH2 Technology Law Group, LLP, Mr. Sappenfield worked in the banking industry in Germany in addition to other hubs of innovation including Silicon Valley and San Diego. Over the course of his career to date, Mr. Sappenfield has worked in start-up environments as well as in the settings of premier global enterprises. Specific examples of some of these, include Hoffman La Roche, Ionis Pharmaceuticals (formerly Isis Pharmaceuticals), and Abbott Laboratories. In addition to helping clients attain their business goals, Mr. Sappenfield has also built and operated successful businesses as an entrepreneur himself. For example, he founded Aivia Technologies, Inc., which is successfully commercializing various innovative technologies. Mr. Sappenfield also founded the non-profit organization, the Abandoned Child Foundation, Inc., which is dedicated to helping abandoned children the world over. He is also the sole inventor on over twenty patents worldwide.
Mr. Sappenfield has a broad based formal education in a diverse array of technical disciplines, including molecular biology and chemistry. He also has formal training from Stanford and Oxford Universities in bioinformatics, which melds aspects of computer science, statistics, and the biological sciences. To provide clients with even more highly integrated and comprehensive business/legal solutions, Mr. Sappenfield also obtained formal education in business administration from the University of Notre Dame.