Ram is a Registered Patent Agent with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master's in Business Administration with an Information Technology focus. He has more than 25 years of experience in patent preparation, patent prosecution, patent research, examiner interviews, and intellectual property strategy for clients ranging from individual inventors to Fortune 500 companies.
Ram's practice spans a wide range of electrical, computer, software, communications, and emerging technology fields, including wireless and cellular networks, 4G/5G systems, software-defined networking, network virtualization, cybersecurity, authentication, blockchain systems, database architecture, cloud and enterprise software, artificial intelligence, signal processing, semiconductor technology, control systems, hybrid power systems, medical and physiological monitoring technologies, and mechanical/electromechanical devices.
In addition to drafting and prosecuting patent applications, Ram has extensive experience conducting patentability, validity, invalidity, freedom-to-operate, and prior-art research. He has also assisted in numerous Inter Partes Review projects across a breadth of technologies, ranging from consumer electronics, smartphones, IoT devices, and connected systems to complex standard-essential patent research in the wireless, telecommunications, and 3G/4G/5G spaces. Ram has also managed and supervised teams of patent agents, art-unit managers, and patent researchers across high-volume patent research and prosecution projects.
- Wireless communications, cellular networks, 3G/4G/5G, LTE, RAN, femtocells, network slicing, and mobile core technologies
- Software-defined networking, NFV, programmable networks, wireless mesh, backhaul, and network security
- Standard-essential patent research, telecommunications standards, wireless protocols, and cellular infrastructure
- Consumer electronics, smartphones, IoT devices, connected devices, and embedded systems
- Cybersecurity, authentication, privacy, secure transactions, anonymous credentials, and blockchain-based systems
- Databases, XML/JSON systems, indexing, query optimization, content management, workflow, and enterprise software
- Artificial intelligence, neural networks, signal processing, medical imaging, physiological monitoring, and feedback control systems
- Semiconductor devices, memory systems, analog/digital circuitry, photovoltaic devices, nanotechnology, and materials technologies
- Hybrid battery/supercapacitor systems, transportation systems, mechanical devices, and electromechanical control systems
Brandy McMillan holds a B.S.E. in Civil Engineering from Arizona State University and brings a combined background in structural engineering and patent research. She has hands-on experience identifying USPTO classifications and CPC codes, and has conducted patent and Non-Patent Literature searches supporting invalidity and novelty investigations across a range of technical disciplines.
Brandy developed disciplined search strategies and a strong command of patent classification systems in the civil and mechanical engineering arts, delivering comprehensive search reports with a high degree of accuracy.
Brandi Franklin supports IP Authority's patent prosecution practice, including docketing, electronic filings, prosecution administration, and coordination among clients, foreign associates, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and IP Authority's internal team. She has extensive experience in intellectual property administration and helps manage the procedural and administrative details that support effective patent prosecution.