Memjet appoints chief patent counsel

Memjet, a manufacturer of color printing equipment, has appointed Ben Miller as chief patent counsel. The company also announced that David Osborn has become its patent counsel.

In the newly created executive role, Miller will oversee Memjet’s foreign and domestic intellectual property portfolio and manage all related legal matters. Memjet holds more than 5,000 patents worldwide, with 700 additional patents pending. Memjet’s intellectual property portfolio for fast, color printing centers on its printheads and the use of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).

Memjet provides technology and components to original equipment manufacturers that bring Memjet-powered industrial/commercial and office printers to market. Memjet’s partners include: LG Electronics, Lenovo, Océ (a Canon Company), Toshiba Tec and Delphax, among others.

‘With our recent acquisition of all Memjet intellectual property and the creation of Memjet Australia, a top priority as a company is our patent strategy,’ said Len Lauer, chairman and chief executive officer for Memjet. ‘Ben’s deep experience in global patent evaluation, filing and maintenance will serve us well as we accelerate our growth and support our OEM customers in the commercialization of Memjet technologies.’

Memjet assumed control of its intellectual property portfolio in May as part of a settlement resolving litigation with its co-founders and its Sydney-based research firm. Miller joins Memjet from Qualcomm, a 3G and mobile technology provider, where he was the architect of that company’s intellectual property strategies for its patents portfolio. Miller was most recently chief patent strategist and senior vice president at Qualcomm.

Prior to Qualcomm, Miller was an associate/partner with the law firm Brown, Martin, Haller & McClain, specializing in patent preparation and prosecution in various technologies around electronic arts. Before that, he served as patent attorney for Hughes Aircraft Company. He began his career in 1978 as an engineer with General Atomics.

David Osborn joins Memjet as patent counsel after serving nine years as the in-house patent attorney for Silverbrook Research, the original developer of Memjet technologies. In that role, Osborn was integral in the creation of new Memjet patent applications and the prosecution of European and US patents infringement, as well as advising on worldwide patent filing strategies. Prior to that, he served as a senior technical assistant for mechanical and chemical teams at the intellectual property law firm of Sydney-based Baldwin Shelston Waters (now Shelston IP), and before that, he was a technical assistant for Carpmaels & Ransford in London.

Miller will work out of Memjet’s corporate offices in San Diego, and Osborn will be based in Sydney at Memjet’s Australian offices and R&D facilities.

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