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Kevin Christopher is the founder and principal of Rockridge®, and is widely recognized for his work at the nexus of innovation + impact in venture ecosystems. Kevin's daily work includes helping promising startups raise funds and secure intellectual property protection, providing due diligence to investors, acting as outside corporate counsel to impactful firms, and litigating complex patent and trademark suits. Kevin uniquely offers experiences as an entrepreneur, operator, director, investor, and litigator to best counsel firms at all stages of their existence.
-Founder, Calliope Bio
-Founder, Quantiscope AI
-Member, World Economic Forum Working Group on Carbon Credits
-Awardee, Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Lawyer
-Awardee, Leadership Tennessee
-Studied at UC Berkeley and Yale
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Kevin Christopher is founder and principal of Rockridge Venture Law®, one of the only B Corp law firms in the U.S. and a Real Leaders Top 150 Impact Company. Kevin is also co-founder of Calliope Bio, a synthetic biology company launched through the Nucleate Activator program and Berkeley Skydeck accelerator, and QUANTiSCOPE, a microscopic AI company launched through the BARDA WheelsUp accelerator.
Prior to founding Rockridge®, Kevin led biotech commercialization activities at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore National Lab. Kevin is a Berkeley Form + Fund Fellow (startups), NIH RADx Faculty Member (technology), and Yale 2050 Fellow (sustainability). He’s been featured by B the Change, Forbes, the Los Angeles Times, Sustainable Brands Magazine, and many other media outlets for his work in impact + innovation. Kevin is a registered patent attorney and impact investor, and his practice areas include: corporate law and governance, data privacy, government contracts, intellectual property, startups, technology, and venture capital.
Practice Areas
- Intellectual Property
- Business Law
- Business Contracts, Business Dissolution, Business Finance, Business Formation, Business Litigation, Franchising, Mergers & Acquisitions, Partnership & Shareholder Disputes
- Trademarks
- Trademark Litigation, Trademark Registration
- Patents
- Patent Appeals, Patent Litigation, Patent Prosecution
- Communications & Internet Law
- Internet Law, Media & Advertising, Telecommunications Law
- Gov & Administrative Law
- Administrative Law, Election Law, Government Contracts, Government Finance, Legislative & Government Affairs
- Appeals & Appellate
- Civil Appeals, Federal Appeals
Additional Practice Areas
- Biotech
- B Corps and Benefit Corporations
Fees
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Free Consultation
I am happy to arrange a brief call to determine if I can help you. - Credit Cards Accepted
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
- District of Columbia
- District of Columbia Bar
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- Patent and Trademark Office
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- Tennessee
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Languages
- English: Spoken, Written
Professional Experience
- Co-Founder
- QUANTiSCOPE
- - Current
- Quantiscope is a deep tech imaging company enabling better, faster, and safer drugs. -Launched AI/ML startup from Broad Institute of MIT/Harvard. -Developed early IP strategy including patent, copyright, trade secret, and trademark protections. -Oversaw development of MVP on Microsoft Azure. -Secured industry pilots, recruited key leadership, and obtained early capital.
- Principal / Founder
- Rockridge B Corp Law
- - Current
- Rockridge is an award-winning business law firm operating at the nexus of impact and innovation. My specific activities include: -Management of practice and oversight of attorneys; -Leadership of complex federal and state litigations and TTAB disputes; -Prosecution of patent and trademark portfolios; -Due diligence advisory to institutional investors; -Corporate representation for high-growth tech startups; -Negotiation of government, technology, and alliance agreements; and, -Establishment of data privacy frameworks for corporate clients. Recognition includes: -Earned recognition as Best For The World B Corp four times from 2018 to 2023 and RealLeaders Top 150 global impact status. -SuperLawyer from 2019 to 2024; -Conscious Capital Magazine Business Person of the Year; -Featured speaker on impact and innovation at BYU, MIT, Purdue, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UCSC, Vanderbilt, Yale, and multiple conferences.
- Industrial Partnerships Office
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab
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- Led business development and strategic partnership activities within Industrial Partnerships Office for bioscience and biotech programs involving big data, biosecurity, drug discovery, human-on-a-chip, microbiome, microfluidics, neural interface, synthetic biology, and other specialized research and development. Created master agreements and organizational plans for life science consortia. Crafted and optimized commercialization strategies for over 400 technologies including: microelectrode array for neural recording and stimulation; nanolipoproteins for vaccine development and drug delivery; pharmaceuticals, including biologics and small molecules; and diagnostics. Negotiated license agreements, establishing valuation metrics based upon commercialization plans, comparables, market data, and intellectual property attributes. Established, negotiated, and finalized cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs), inter-institutional agreements (IIAs).
- Office of Intellectual Property and Industry Research Alliances
- University of California, Berkeley
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- Judicial Extern
- Chambers of Judge Charles R. Breyer
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- Law Clerk
- U.S. Attorney's Office, Civil Division, San Francisco
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Education
- Yale University
- MBA (2023) | Business
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- Honors: 1st Place, Venture Capital Investment Competition 1st Place, Nucleate Accelerator Yale 2050 Fellow, Center for Business and Environment
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- University of California, Berkeley School of Law
- Certificate (2021) | ESG Law
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- University of California, Berkeley School of Law
- Certificate (2017) | VC Unlocked
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- University of California - Davis
- other | Biomedical Engineering Graduate Group
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- University of California - Berkeley
- other | Energy, Law
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- Activities: Tutor, Governor Jennifer Granholm, Renewable Energy Law & Policy; Computer Law, Berkeley School of Law; Research Member, Berkeley Rural Energy Group / Renewable and Appropriate Energy Lab
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- University of San Francisco School of Law
- J.D. (2010)
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- Honors: Arthur Zief, Jr., Scholar
- Activities: Intellectual Property Law Bulletin, Survey Editor; Student Bar Association, 2L Representative; Advanced Advocacy Program, National Moot Court Competition; Public Interest Law Foundation grantee & Pro Bono Publico recipient for community service
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- University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
- Visiting Student
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- Honors: Outstanding Scholarship Award, Law and Bioscience (LAB) Project
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- Lipscomb University
- Honors: Presenter, Tennessee Honors Conference, "Technology and God: Effects of Invention upon Spiritual Communication."
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Awards
- Mid-South Super Lawyers
- Super Lawyers
- https://digital.superlawyers.com/superlawyers/taslrs22/MobilePagedReplica.action?pm=2&folio=Cover#pg1
- Best For The World
- B Lab / B Corp
- Mid-South Super Lawyers
- Super Lawyers
- Class of 2020
- Leadership Tennessee
- Mid-South Rising Star
- Super Lawyers
Professional Associations
- Global Association of Impact Lawyers (GAIL)
- Member, North America
- - Current
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- World Economic Forum
- Carbon Credits Working Group
- - Current
- Activities: Developing industry guiding surveys of blockchain tools for carbon financing.
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- Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law
- Member, Class of 2017
- - Current
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- Tennessee Bar Association Intellectual Property Section
- Member, Executive Council
- - Current
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- Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
- Member, Tech Transfer Committee
- - Current
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Publications
Articles & Publications
- Blockchain for Scaling Climate Action
- World Economic Forum
- Recommendations for the Digital Voluntary and Regulated Carbon Markets
- World Economic Forum
- Benefits of Enforcing Your Intellectual Property with U.S. Customs: Make the Government Work for You
- Rockridge Blog
- Defending Your Trademark Rights Against Overseas Squatters
- Rockridge Blog
Speaking Engagements
- Intellectual Property for Entrepreneurs, Yale Tsai CITY Accelerator, New Haven, CT
- Yale University
- I was the keynote legal speaker concerning corporate structuring and intellectual property protection for Yale startups.
- California's Climate Rules, 3rd Annual ESG Summit, New York, NY
- American Conference Institute
- I surveyed the new California climate legislation concerning requirements for corporate carbon tracking and materiality assessments around climate change.
- 2023 NIL Overview for Athletes, Nike Coach of the Year, Birmingham, AL
- Nike Coach of the Year Clinic
- I was a keynote speaker surveying the landscape of NCAA regulations surrounding name, image & likeness (NIL) deals for collegiate football athletes.
- Startups and Venture Capital, Industry Contract Officers Network Annual Meeting, Caltech University
- Crowdfunding and Crowdsourcing, University of California Office of Intellectual Property Managers Meeting
Certifications
- Certified Licensing Professional
- Licensing Executive Society
What to Know About Branding, Copyrights, Trademarks, and Privacy in Digitizing Your Business
Building Today's Company for Tomorrow's Economy
Legal Answers
8 Questions Answered
- Q. Can my logo that is a registered trademark change the background color while still keeping its tradmark
- A: See our article here: https://rockridgelaw.com/2018/11/08/if-you-mess-with-your-trademarked-logo-say-in-a-rebrand-will-you-lose-your-trademark-rights/.
- Q. Can you put a lean on mineral rights in Tennessee? If so, what are the implications, procedures, and requirements?
- A: There's no straightforward answer without more of the story. For instance, a recent Tennessee case involved a dispute as to whether sandstone qualified as a mineral. Also, in order to qualify you would likely need to have provided some sort of services in connection with the mineral in order to attach to proceeds from its exploitation.
- Q. Trademark ownership... implied ownership???
- A: Part of this depends upon how they gave you permission. Was it a written permission to use?
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