Mr. Hofman is an
accomplished IP prosecutor with
notable contributions to business
units in corporate organizations
involved in emerging
technologies. Mr. Hofman has
participated in the global
business of IP asset protection
for a variety of industries
including oil & gas,
semiconductor, telecommunications,
and medical devices and
instrumentation, among many
others. Mr. Hofman possesses
a wide range of intellectual
property experience that he brings
from his corporate
background. He has made
success and profitability by
applying his experience to
real-world IP opportunities.
Dave received his Bachelor of
Science in mechanical engineering
and his Juris Doctorate from the
University of Houston.
Roger Burleigh - Of Counsel
Roger Burleigh has significant experience in all areas of intellectual property law, including trademark clearance and registration, patent preparation and prosecution, and general legal counseling regarding intellectual property issues as it impacts business decisions. He has testified before the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Public Advisory Committee and participated in Senate Roundtable discussions on proposed patent eligibility legislation. He was formerly Associate General Counsel – Intellectual Property for a global wireless communications company, and led the company’s U.S. patent department for seven years. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Physics from Centenary College, a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University, and a Juris Doctorate from Louisiana State University.
David Weisberg - Of Counsel
David Weisberg has broad experience with patent and trademark prosecution, patent litigation, freedom of operation, and agreement work. He has significant experience in the medical device, oil & gas, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductor industries. Mr. Weisberg previously served as Counsel for ExxonMobil, working for over 10 years in their Chemicals and Downstream affiliates, managing portfolios in synthetic biofuels (involving genetic modification of algae), molten carbonate fuel cells, marine/jet/automotive petroleum fuels, fuels/lubricants hydroprocessing, and inorganic hydrocarbon catalysts/sorbents, among others. Mr. Weisberg also served as an undergraduate research assistant in Chemical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) focused on polymer scaffolds for cell growth. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Materials Science & Engineering at MIT, earned his Master's degree in Materials Science from Pennsylvania State University, completed the research/coursework for a Doctorate in Polymer Science from Pennsylvania State University, and earned his Juris Doctorate from George Washington University Law School.
Tom Papuga - Attorney
Mr. Papuga has broad experience with patent and trademark prosecution, including patent and business tort litigation. He specializes in mechanical and electro-mechanical technologies, including significant experience with oil and gas technologies. Prior to his legal career, Mr. Papuga worked as a professional engineer, specializing in fluid power and mechanical control systems in the manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries. Tom earned his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Rutgers University and his Doctor of Jurisprudence from South Texas College of Law.
Ashraf Lotfi - Technical Advisor
Ashraf Lotfi is a former Vice President and Fellow at Intel. Prior to Intel, Ashraf was Altera’s Power CTO serving its Enpirion Power Business as well as the broader FPGA community. Prior to that, Ashraf served as President & CEO of Enpirion, which he founded in 2002. In 2013 he drove Enpirion’s merger into Altera to realize his vision of highly integrated power management closely coupled to leading‐edge digital loads. Since Enpirion’s inception, he led its strategic direction with a unique industry‐first vision to create the ultimate power converter‐on‐chip to create ubiquitous DC‐DC conversion at the silicon level. Prior to founding Enpirion, Ashraf was Director of Advanced Power Research at Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ. Ashraf started as a Graduate Research Assistant at VPEC, Virginia Tech, working on high‐frequency power conversion. He received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Cairo University, his Master of Science and Doctorate in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech, and an executive MBA from Northeastern University. Ashraf is a prolific inventor with about 100 awarded patents.
Dave Corley
- Technical Advisor
Dave Corley has more than 40 years of experience as a nuclear and software engineer,
including specialty as a Director of Product Management and Director of Engineering at Selsius Systems and Cisco Systems,
where he led the product definition and market introduction activities of the first commercial Internet Protocol Private Branch Exchange (IP PBX)
and other distributed telecommunications innovations.
These activities included the preparation and authorship of several ground-breaking patents related to distributed voice-over-IP intellectual property
He also served as an expert witness relating to his telecommunications experience while at Selsius, Cisco and Netsocket.
Dave received his Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering from the United States Naval Academy
and his Master of Science in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.
Dave served as a nuclear-trained submarine officer during his 22 year service in the U.S. Navy.
Mark Jacobs
- Technical Advisor
Mark Jacobs has more than 40
years of experience as an analog
and systems engineer, including as
a Technical Manager at Lucent
Technologies for over 30 years,
where he led an advanced
development group for power
electronics and a systems
engineering group for new power
architectures in telecom
systems. Mark is also a
named inventor on more than 50
patents that cover technologies
ranging from control systems to
circuit topologies to system
architectures. Mark received
his Bachelor of Science, Master of
Science and Doctorate in
electrical engineering from
Carnegie Mellon University.
John Volpi - Technical Advisor
John Volpi has served as Chief
Technology Officer (CTO) for three
companies, as well as Technical
Manager, General Manager, and a
member of a patent oversight
committee at Texas Instruments and
Raytheon. He has over 44
years of direct experience in
Analog/Digital Decision and
Systems Architecture. His
experience includes wireless
technologies ranging from only a
few KHz through the infrared
spectrum, and he has also served
as an expert witness. John
received his BS and MS degrees in
physics from the Illinois
Institute of Technology and
Michigan State University,
respectively, and is currently a
Senior Member of the IEEE being
recognized for his work in
intellectual property. He
has over 26 awarded patents, both
U.S. and foreign, and many
additional pending patent
applications.
Randal Allen - Technical Advisor
Randal Allen has over 25 years of industry experience including as Chief Scientist for Lone Star Analysis responsible for applied research and technology development. Randal has experience with adaptive network architectures and nonconvex optimization with applications to machine learning and quantum computing. He also has experience with 6DOF modeling & simulation and guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) of aerospace systems. He is a certified modeling and simulation professional (NTSA) and co-author of the textbook, “Simulation of Dynamic Systems with MATLAB and Simulink.” He received his Bachelor of Science in Engineering Physics and his Master of Science in Applied Mathematics from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), his Engineer’s Degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Stanford University, and his Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Central Florida, where he serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department. He is also an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Richard Krobusek - Patent Agent
Mr. Krobusek has wide range of experience in technical writing, management, supervision, aviation and technical positions. Richard has been a Deputy Program Manager at Texas Instruments and a Retired Lieutenant Colonel with 21 years Commissioned Service with the United States Air Force. As a patent practitioner since 1998, Mr. Krobusek has prepared and prosecuted patents in a wide variety of disciplines including internal combustion engine design, air conditioning systems, semiconductor manufacture, oil and gas downhole tools, and subterranean fuel storage. Richard received his Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a Master of Science in aerospace engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology.
Trifon Liakopoulos - Technical Advisor
Trifon Liakopoulos has served as a Member of Technical Staff for Bell Labs, and a co-founder and Director of MEMS Technology for a spin-out operation of Bell Labs focusing on integrated power management solutions. He has developed CMOS compatible passive magnetic devices for power applications via MEMS fabrication processes including revolutionary micro-inductors, micro-transformers, and micro-fluxgate magnetic sensors with ultra-high sensitivity and the first ever micro-machined electroplates permanent magnet arrays on silicon wafers. Trifon has setup a wafer process prototype lab and established a MEMS technology platform for PowerSoC device manufacturing. In keeping with the Bell Labs culture, he has authorized more than 18 patents and is recognized as an industry expert in MEMS technology and semiconductor processing, especially in power electronics. Trifon received his BS and MS degrees in physics, and a Doctorate in electrical engineering from University of Cincinnati.
Al Cioffi - Technical Advisor
Al Cioffi has more than 36 years of technology management and executive leadership experience in telecommunication, reliable power, reserve energy, and alternative energy industries. He began his career in 1980 at AT&T Bell Labs and held several leadership positions at RELTEC Lorain Products division (now Marconi) and General Electric. Mr. Cioffi has published numerous articles and conference papers and holds seven patents. Of the seven patents, Mr. Cioffi is an author of several patents directed to computer security. He has implemented several transformative business process re-engineering projects and integrated several operations post acquisition. He authored and received a Department of Energy grant for a photovoltaic health monitoring and management system. He also served on a Deming prize winning quality team – the first non-Japanese manufacturing team to ever achieve this honor. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Manhattan College, a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Polytechnic Institute of NY, and has studied business and finance at the Wharton school of business.