April 2, 2024 (Palo Alto and Irvine, CA) – Procopio’s robust powerhouse intellectual property team has added two new partners, Brent Johnson and Brian Coleman. Brent, based in Procopio’s Orange County office, represents life sciences and other companies in both patent prosecution and IP portfolio management.  Brian, based in Procopio’s Silicon Valley office, brings experience as an engineer and entrepreneur and provides strategic patent counseling for companies in industries such as software, robotics, medical software, cleantech, and artificial intelligence.

“Brent and Brian are welcome additions to Procopio’s partnership and our growing intellectual property practice,” said Managing Partner John D. Alessio. “Brent is a brilliant chemist with a long history of success empowering life sciences companies with robust patent portfolios. Brian is an experienced engineer and entrepreneur with a similar patent track record counseling technology companies. Their additions in Silicon Valley and Orange County highlight the expanding geographic reach of our AmLaw 200 firm.”

Brent counsels life sciences and medical device industry clients in a wide range of areas including pharmaceutical and chemistry-related technologies. He began his IP career at Allergan, where he managed patent portfolios for pharmaceutical products representing approximately $1 billion in annual sales, such as Lumigan®, Alphagan®, Combigan®, and Restasis®. Brent worked as a research chemist prior to his legal career. With recognitions from Super Lawyers® and Patexia Insights, his legal experience includes post grant proceedings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board, IP due diligence, and IP import/export issues. Brent earned a PhD in Chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles, a JD from Whittier Law School, and a BS in Chemistry from Brigham Young University. He joins Procopio from Maschoff Brennan.

“I was really excited to join Procopio,” Brent said. “It has a strong focus on life sciences patent prosecution, exceptional lawyers, and entrepreneurial culture.” 

Brian counsels in all aspects of IP law including patent and trademark prosecution. His services include portfolio management, blue sky patent development, handling IP audits and strategy, opinions of counsel, prelitigation patent defense and assertion, appeals, reissues, and reexaminations. Brian has been named for four straight years to the prestigious IAM Patent 1000 list and held several leadership positions in the Silicon Valley Intellectual Property Association. He has been a guest lecturer with St. Mary’s Executive MBA and Santa Clara University as well as a lecturer before the Wharton Alumni Club and Harvard Business School Alumni Association. He earned his JD From the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, and an MS in Systems Engineering and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, San Diego. Brian joins Procopio from Perkins Coie.

“Procopio was a natural fit,” Brian said in explaining why he chose to join Procopio. “It’s an entrepreneurial partnership with a firm depth in patent prosecution and a footprint in the relevant high-tech California markets.”

Procopio’s seasoned patent attorneys bring technical degrees and scientific knowledge, with many having experienced successful careers in a variety of innovative industries. Procopio has been recognized by Juristat as having one of the fastest-growing patent firms in the United States based on growth in applications, and the practice and several of its attorneys are on the IAM Patent 1000 list. Procopio’s intellectual property services include IP selection, development, registration, licensing, protection, portfolio management, export control and litigation in the U.S. as well as worldwide through international legal networks such as Meritas and Law Exchange International.

Procopio’s IP practice includes dozens of prosecution and litigation attorneys in two San Diego offices as well as Silicon Valley, Orange County and Washington, D.C., providing a complete suite of IP legal services comparable to any IP-only law firm. Among the Procopio practices ranked by Best Lawyers® Best Law Firms are Patent Law, Copyright Law, Intellectual Property Litigation, and Patent Litigation.