Journey

Back in 2014, I was excited to learn that I was being given the opportunity to be patent counsel for a company that continually obtained the third most US Patents per year I began my career at Canon by supporting the engineers in a subsidiary of CUSA. One difference between working at a law firm and working at Canon was the integration of IP attorneys into the business process. In law firms, disclosures were provided and received in small pieces of information as to how a particular IP asset fit into the clients' business strategy. While interesting, the attorney did not always see how different IP assets related to one another. At Canon, it was clear that IP was integral to the business, including both protection and risk mitigation. There is real collaboration between CUSA IP, CUSA Legal and the different business units. This is key to ensuring our customers' needs are met. It was a true team effort, and I enjoyed learning how my part in this collaboration was helping to drive Canon business.

My close relationship with many members of CUSA Legal results in me being contacted when the business teams bring new projects to CUSA Legal. This early interaction between IP, Legal, and the business team enables securing IP rights around these new initiatives and mitigating risks associated with launching new products.

In 2020, Canon USA engineers began developing a brand new in-house solution using Canon Inc. image capturing products that would work with 3rd party video communication tools. The project, which was complex,, is known as Activate My Line of Sight (AMLOS). This complex project resulted in complex IP issues that required ongoing support. Working with the business team from the very early stages of design, I was able to obtain IP trends surrounding each technology area related to the AMLOS solution. Developing this core knowledge has been my most important contribution to the project. I worked with CUSA IP management to develop a greater understanding of the IP portfolio CUSA could begin to develop to protect this new business. I also advised on technology paths to avoid with respect to 3rd party IP. Since this project involved interaction with numerous 3rd parties, it was extremely difficult to secure the necessary intellectual property. However I was able to overcome it by leveraging my close relationship with CUSA Legal.

Hey, Jesse Good job!!
Take care

I would be completely remiss in not mentioning the integral part that ex-pats from Canon INC play in my daily work life. I have been closely working with Tomoaki “Tommy” Hokyo while supporting the IP needs for the AMLOS project. The development of this solution used Agile development with a very fast paced development schedule. This was (and remains) challenging because typically obtaining IP protection moves at a slower pace so that we are sure to identify all protectable assets and mitigate any risks of a final product. Bi-weekly meetings with the developers enabled Tommy and me to continually evaluate potential patentable aspects of the solution and conduct intellectual property activities that matched the development speed during the development cycle.
When development proceeds at such a fast pace and we identify solutions that we may want to protect, Tommy easily converses with the ex-pat engineers and translates that information into excellent English work-product. We continually converse about the solution and its features, while determining how best to protect CUSA's IP rights using both his training as a CINC IP engineer and mine as an American patent attorney. I continually learn from Tommy and all of the ex-pat IP members both professionally and culturally. They have made me a better IP professional.

Jesse has a deep and broad knowledge of legal issues in addition to Patent laws. I always learn a lot from working with him and I have become interested in legal matters.

Creating a portfolio and securing our rights with respect to 3rd parties for the AMLOS project was especially key because it was officially demonstrated at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show. That demonstration was the result of over 18 months of hard work by many people. I attended the demonstration and was proud to witness the achievements of my colleagues and see firsthand positive responses to this new product.
Working in CUSA IP has given me the ability to function as part of a multidisciplinary team and obtain an understanding what is needed for a successful business venture and how IP activities are a key part of this process. I am proud to be trusted to provide IP support to Canon to ensure the success of our business.