Roberta A. Young

Roberta is a high-technology IP counsel and litigator with Shook, Hardy & Bacon. Her decades-long practice in intellectual property law focuses on helping technology companies actively grow assets, acquire other companies, license new products and protect their IP assets.

Roberta’s career began in engineering, where she created her own patent (U.S. Patent 4,963,425). As an IP attorney, she draws on her experience and passion as an innovative creator to successfully secure patent applications for her clients. Roberta knows firsthand that both companies and individual inventors contend with the “race to the patent office” to file a newly created invention application quickly, thoroughly and concisely within the scope of protection. With her deep engineering experience, Roberta’s technical acumen coupled with her business and legal insight enable her to quickly understand, describe and advocate for cutting edge innovations, offering a critical competitive advantage to clients. Roberta has drafted patent applications in 5G, 4G and 3G wireless technologies, 3D holograms, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and semiconductor physics.

Additionally, Roberta advises on strategy and risk management for patent and trademark issues. She directs clients on significant patent portfolio transactions, both acquisitions and divestitures, with each involving thousands of patents. She’s built a 1000+ patent portfolio, supported licensing revenues of more than $20 million, and completed a $1 billion merger. An industry expert and thought leader, Roberta advises technology managers, outside counsel, stakeholders and executives and provides innovative solutions for technology patents through claim charting, due diligence and assessments for offensive and defensive use. She is adept at navigating the legal nuances of patent preparation, enforcement, IP management and litigation for clients ranging from domestic and foreign multinational companies, to technology startups.

Roberta is a passionate advocate for new technology and licensing that technology to create better lives and build businesses. As an example, Roberta was retained by a small hologram company to draft the first patent on 3D holograms. She quickly prepared and filed a patent application and recommended the company debut the technology at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The “patent pending” technology quickly started trending and was featured on all three major news networks’ evening broadcasts, which led to significant initial product orders and business revenue.