Team USA placed an impressive third in the international Patent Cup Regatta, skippered by Chicago patent attorneys Gary Ropski, President of Brinks Hofer, and Leif Sigmond, a former Managing Partner at McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff ("MBHB").  This year’s Cup was held in Venice, Italy on the Adriatic Sea.  Ropski’s and Sigmond’s crew included: 

Marcus Thymian and

Michael Gannon , MBHB attorneys;

Derek Minihane , in-house counsel at Intermolecular; and

Michael Pophal, in-house counsel at Energizer.  Congratulations Team USA!

The Cup was created in 1989 by a German patent attorney and a French patent attorney to foster camaraderie and relationships among IP lawyers internationally.  The Cup is held in a different country each year, with the host country organizing the event, providing vessels and setting the rules.  Chicago hosted the Cup in 2006, and Ropski’s and Sigmond’s crew won the Cup that year.