Peter N. Detkin was a managing partner and 20% owner of
Intellectual Ventures
Intellectual Ventures is an American private equity company that centers on the development and licensing of intellectual property. Intellectual Ventures is one of the top-five owners of U.S. patents, as of 2011. Its business model focuses on ...
. He is currently the Managing Director of the Sherpa Technology Group.
Biography
He graduated from the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
, with a
B.S.E.E.
A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an Academic degree, academic undergraduate degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited college or university.
In ...
in 1982 and
J.D. in 1985. He worked as a
patent attorney
A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing patent applications and op ...
for
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is an American international law firm that specializes in business, securities, and intellectual property law. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, the firm provides legal services to technology, life sciences ...
of
Palo Alto
Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
The city was estab ...
, becoming a partner in 1992
Following this, he worked as Vice President and assistant
general counsel
A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department.
In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...
in charge of patents, litigation, licensing and antitrust/
competition law
Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...
for
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
, and later became one of four founders of Intellectual Ventures. Detkin now allegedly owns approximately 20% of Intellectual Ventures Management Company, generating approximately $10-$20M annually in "management fees" for managing Intellectual Ventures Funds. This is ironic because Intellectual Ventures has been described as a "
patent troll
In international law and business, patent trolling or patent hoarding is a categorical or pejorative term applied to a person or company that attempts to enforce patent rights against accused infringers far beyond the patent's actual value or ...
", and Detkin helped popularize this as a pejorative term while at Intel. Detkin and Intellectual Ventures were prominently featured in an episode of
This American Life
''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internation ...
on patent issues.
He is an inactive member of the
bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
s of
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, and licensed to represent
inventor
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
s before the
U.S. Patent Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexan ...
.
Detkin serves on the Board of Overseers for
. He provided support for the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering to build a new principle teaching laboratory, The Detkin Lab. He also contributed a gift to
Penn Law School
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and oldes ...
to establish an intellectual property and technology legal clinic, Detkin Intellectual Property and Technology Legal Clinic.
Detkin is active with the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, serving as a Board Member and past-President.
Detkin is on the Board of Directors for the Humane Society of Silicon Valley (HSSV). His wife, Michelle Oates Detkin, is a retired attorney having worked in real estate law and in commercial law at Intel. Together they live in Los Altos with their adopted dog Chloe (an HSSV alum) and cats Joey and Danica (also HSSV alumni) and Blake. October 2021 HSSV announced that it received a $10 million multi-year investment from Michelle Oates Detkin and Peter Detkin to expand access to veterinary care, especially for families impacted by economic challenges. This was the largest financial commitment made to HSSV since its founding in 1929.
References
Living people
American patent attorneys
Year of birth missing (living people)
University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni
University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni
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