Awards Ceremony

Awards Ceremony

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IPWatchdog is pleased to announce that Corey Salsberg has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the Pauline Newman Award, and that Chris Israel has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the Paul Michel Award.

The Pauline Newman Award, created with the blessing of Judge Newman, is given each year to recognize the unique achievements of one patent attorney over the course of their career. The award recognizes excellence, influence, integrity, vision, and wisdom – all characteristics commonly associated with the award namesake, Judge Newman. Past recipients of the award include Henry Hadad, Phil Johnson, and Steve Caltrider.

The Paul Michel Award, created with the blessing of Chief Judge Paul Michel (CAFC, ret.), is awarded annually to someone within the IP community who has selflessly served the best interests of the industry and its members as a respected leader, mentor, and advocate on behalf of fairness and for the best interests of the intellectual property system. Past recipients of the award include Hon. David Kappos, Hon. Andrei Iancu, Brian O’Shaughnessy, Joseph Allen, and Bob Taylor.

Corey Salsberg

About Corey Salsberg

Corey is a seasoned attorney with over two decades of experience. He serves as Vice President and Global Head of IP Affairs for Novartis, one of the world’s leading innovative biopharmaceutical companies. Corey is also the President of the Federal Circuit Bar Association (FCBA) for the 2025-2026 term, and he serves as a Board Member of the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO).

A thought leader in the fields of IP and innovation law and policy, Corey has been recognized multiple times by IAM as one of the 300 top IP strategists in the world. He has testified before both chambers of Congress, has appeared before WIPO, the WHO, and the United Nations, and is regularly featured in media, including recent appearances in the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, Politico, the Observer, National Law Review, Roll Call, STAT, Law360, Bloomberg, Reuters, Pink Sheet, IAM, IPWatchdog, and Managing IP.

Chris Israel

About Chris Israel

Chris is a Senior Partner at American Continental Group, which is one of Washington’s premier bipartisan government affairs firms. He serves as co-lead of the firm’s technology and intellectual property group, providing strategic consulting on intellectual property and innovation policy. Chris joined ACG in 2010, after serving in the George W. Bush Administration as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Commerce, and then later becoming the first U.S. International Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, a post that would become known within the IP community as the “IP Czar.”

Chris is a leader on IP and innovation issues and has been a frequent public speaker and has testified before Congress multiple times, both as an Administration official and since he left public service. He was also previously named one of the 50 “Most Influential People on IP” by Managing Intellectual Property magazine.

In addition to his work at ACG, Chris also currently serves as Executive Director of the Alliance of U.S. Startups and Inventors for Jobs, and he has previously served as Executive Director of the musicFIRST Coalition during the lead-up to the passage of the landmark Music Modernization Act, which earned him recognition on Medium’s inaugural “Power 10” list of music policy leaders.