Karen A. Buchanan

Karen A. Buchanan is an associate at Bromberg & Sunstein. She specializes in patent prosecution and litigation. Karen joined the firm after distinguished service as an Associate Solicitor at the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO").

Experience

• Karen devotes a portion of her time to the preparation and prosecution of U.S. and foreign patent applications in various technologies, with a focus on computer-related inventions. The technologies have included information systems, data management, application development, video graphic systems, data storage, signal processing, bio-informatics, ophthalmic lenses, surgical methods, and food processing.
• As an Associate Solicitor, Karen developed an extensive knowledge of USPTO regulations and procedures. She was one of the drafters of the USPTO's Examination Guidelines for Computer-Related Inventions ("Guidelines"), and she assisted with the drafting of the USPTO's guidelines on obtaining design patent protection for computer-generated icons. Karen was awarded a team Department of Commerce Gold Medal for her work on the USPTO's Guidelines.
• Karen also devotes a portion of her time to litigation matters, including appellate matters. As an Associate Solicitor, she argued numerous cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and helped prepare amicus curiae briefs filed by the United States in intellectual property cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including Warner-Jenkinson Co. v. Hilton Davis Chem. and Quality King Distrib. v. L'Anza Research Int'l.
• She is a former judicial intern for the Honorable Alan D. Lourie of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
• Karen is a former independent computer consultant, having assisted numerous small business owners in computerizing their businesses. She also worked for a large, multinational computer manufacturer as a manager and engineer. As a manager, she was responsible for various organizations, including a 100-person, $24 million field service organization. As an engineer, she worked on a wide variety of computer systems, including PDPs and VAXs.
• Karen is also the co-author of the law review article, "Patent Protection for Computer-Related Inventions: The Past, The Present, and The Future," published in Hastings Communications and Entertainment Law Journal, Summer 1996.

Professional and Community Involvement

• Karen has been a featured speaker at various conferences sponsored by intellectual property organizations on numerous subjects, including bio-informatics, the USPTO's Guidelines and means-plus-function claim language. The intellectual property organizations include the Biotechnology Committee of the Boston Patent Law Association; the Patent, Trademark and Copyright Section of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia; the Iowa Patent, Trademark and Copyright Association; the South Carolina Intellectual Property Association; the Intellectual Property Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia; and the ABA Intellectual Property Law Section.

Bar and Court Admissions

• Karen is admitted to the bars of the State of New York, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. She is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.