Fireside Chat: Trademarks & Patents in the AI Era

How brand, legal and R&D leaders can reconnect trademarks, patents and trade secrets to reduce risk, speed decisions and spend smarter.

John Hancock — Data & Brand-Protection Expert (Guest) Data-analytics specialist focused on IP/brand-protection programs, with experience turning marketplace and takedown data into practical enforcement priorities and executive-level reporting. In this session, John shares how evidence from the field (counterfeits, look-alikes, online abuse) should inform trademark strategy and complement patent and trade-secret choices.

Szilvia (Silvia) Szep, PhD — CEO & Founder, Tornado IP Consulting Yale-trained PhD, Harvard-trained management professional, and U.S. Patent Agent. Former IP Strategy Laureate at DuPont (Electronics & Industrials) with prior IP leadership at Dow. She has shaped IP-driven growth across advanced materials, life sciences, and semiconductors—enabling 1,000+ colleagues and delivering seven-figure savings through portfolio audits, trade-secret programs, and deal diligence. Today she helps executives link IP strategy to revenue, run clean FTO pathways, and pressure-test partnerships/M&A.