Team USA placed an impressive third in the international Patent Cup Regatta.  Team USA was skippered by Chicago patent attorneys Gary Ropski, President of Brinks Hofer, and Leif Sigmond, a former Managing Partner at McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff.  This year’s Cup was held at the Yacht Club de Ilhabela, located on the island of Ilhabela on the northeast coast of the Brazilian state of Sao Paolo.  Ropski’s and Sigmond’s crew included:  Marcus Thymian of McDonnell Boehnen and Derek Minihane , in-house counsel at Intermolecular.  In 2007, the team also placed third when the competition was in Venice.  Team USA won the United States’ first Patent Cup in 2006, when the event was hosted in Chicago.  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.