Sterne Kessler Adds Trio to Co-Chair of Patent Prosecution Practice

Washington, D.C. (June 4, 2024) – Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox is pleased to announce that Directors Bonnie Nannenga-Combs, Dan Gajewski, and Christian Camarce have been named co-chairs of the firm’s Patent Prosecution Practice. They join fellow Director Carla Kim who has led the award-winning group for five years.

Bonnie W. Nannenga-Combs, Ph.D.
Nannenga-Combs is a director in Sterne Kessler’s Biotechnology & Chemical Practice Group and represents clients at various stages of development and commercialization of life science therapeutics, including gene therapy, RNA and antisense technologies, therapeutic antibodies, cell therapy, vaccines, and small and large molecule formulations. With over 15 years of experience, she counsels clients on patent procurement, clearance strategies, and management of complex worldwide patent portfolios. Nannenga-Combs assists clients during IP due diligence for asset licensing, acquisitions, and collaborations. She is particularly skilled in identifying portfolio strengths and weaknesses, as well as helping clients assess IP portfolio exclusivity, valuation, and risk management.

Daniel A. Gajewski
Gajewski is a director in Sterne Kessler’s Mechanical & Design Practice Group with more than 14 years’ experience advising clients on how best to navigate the IP landscape for their products, particularly by building strategic utility and design patent portfolios. He specializes in protecting mechanical technologies and product designs. His practice spans an array of technologies, with a keen focus on those utilized for consumer products, packaging, and retail. Additionally, Gajewski is well-versed in the practical idiosyncrasies of utility and design practice in the most high-value foreign jurisdictions, and he works closely with local counsel in countries around the world. In addition to his practice, Gajewski currently serves as vice chair of the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) Industrial Designs Committee.

Christian A. Camarce
Camarce is a director in Sterne Kessler’s Electronics Practice Group focusing on patent portfolio management and global intellectual property strategy. As a former senior integrated circuit design engineer, he counsels clients to obtain and enforce patent protection in a wide variety of technologies, including chip design and packaging, semiconductor fabrication, and wireless communications. Camarce has received multiple recognitions from the IP analytics firm Patexia as one of the best-performing attorneys in patent prosecution and in Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) proceedings.

Carla Ji-Eun Kim
Kim serves as a director in Sterne Kessler’s Biotechnology & Chemical Practice Group and has chaired the firm’s Patent Prosecution Practice since 2019. With nearly 20 years of experience, she advises a diverse group of biotechnology companies on securing worldwide exclusivities around their innovations. Kim’s expertise is particularly noted in her ability to devise novel strategies to extend exclusivity periods of patents, ensuring her clients enjoy market protection entitled for their innovations. She adeptly manages and prosecutes complex patent portfolios on a global scale, specializing in a variety of biotechnological areas. These include therapeutic antibody, therapeutic fusion protein, antisense technology, personalized medicine, vaccine, gene therapy, cell therapy, formulation, bioinformatics, and upstream and/or downstream protein manufacturing processes.

About Sterne Kessler’s Patent Prosecution Practice
For 45 years, Sterne Kessler has protected innovation, providing strategic counsel from idea conception and product development to commercialization, launch and beyond. The firm has consistently been ranked among the leading law firms for patent prosecution work, including over 15 years being a topped ranked firm in Chambers USA with five consecutive years as the sole Band 1 firm in the Intellectual Property: Patent Prosecution category among Washington, D.C.’s leading law firms. The most recent edition of the Managing Intellectual Property (MIP) “IP Stars” guide also recognizes the firm in its “Tier 1” category for Patent Prosecution among firms across the country, along with a “Highly Recommended” commendation in the District of Columbia. In addition, Sterne Kessler has earned “highly recommended” status for the twelfth consecutive year in the prosecution category for the Washington, D.C. Metro Area of the latest Intellectual Asset Management “IAM Patent 1000” guide, along with a national top-tier placement in the same division.

About Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox
Based in Washington, D.C. and renowned for more than four decades for dedication to the protection, transfer, and enforcement of intellectual property rights, Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox is one of the most highly regarded intellectual property specialty law firms in the world. Its team of attorneys, registered patent agents, technical specialists, specialized trademark paralegals, and law clerks include some of the country’s most respected practitioners of IP law tackling innovations across a broad spectrum of industries. The firm’s practitioners hold over 50 master’s and over 60 doctorate degrees in science or engineering and represent Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, start-ups, inventors, venture capital firms, and universities in a client service driven environment that is welcoming, inclusive, and intellectually stimulating. Visit the firm online at sternekessler.com.