Steven A. Hill, Intellectual Property Attorney
Intelligence becomes an asset when some useful order is created out of free-floating brain power – that is, when it is given coherent form (a mailing list, a database, an agenda for a meeting, a description of a process); when it is captured in a way that allows it to be described, shared, and exploited; and when it can be deployed to do something that could not be done if it remained scattered around like so many coins in a gutter. Intellectual capital is packaged useful knowledge.–Thomas A. Stewart, Intellectual Capital,
I design and implement ways to protect intellectual capital, in light of business risk and needs. This includes helping clients to identify and organize information to enhance value. Vehicles for protection include patent, trademark (branding), copyright, trade secret, non-disclosure agreements, employment agreements (for employer or employee), licensing, contracts, and other means and combinations. All of it is designed for particular client circumstances and need.
I was an engineer at Bell Laboratories (The Ohio State University: B.S. Electrical Engineering, M.S. Computer Science) when a patent attorney there encouraged me to consider law school. Engineer/programmer by day, law student by night, and trying to be a good father and husband in between, I eventually graduated from Capital University Law School (J.D.). Over the years I passed several bar examinations, including Ohio (“Attorney”), U. S. Federal District Court (“Attorney”), U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“Patent Attorney”), and England and Wales (“Solicitor”, still on roll although not currently practicing there.)
I work as in-house counsel as well as outside counsel. Clients include individuals and companies, largely in the U.S., but also including clients in China, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the British Virgin Islands. The practice focuses on business matters and transactions, with particular emphasis on intellectual property, and using an engineering-based approach. Other business attorneys refer me to their clients, become clients themselves, or ask me to participate in disputes or otherwise resolve intellectual property issues.
Client needs and my own curiosity keep me current and reasonably knowledgeable on a wide range of technologies and topics. Seeing and learning from the creativity of others are personal and professional rewards.
I am privileged to be of assistance to people who are more creative than I.
