Navigating IP Risks in Product Development: What In-House Teams Need to Know

In-house legal teams play a critical role in guiding product innovation while ensuring the company avoids costly intellectual property missteps. From early R&D decisions to launch planning and post-market updates, IP risks surface at every stage—and the ability to assess them effectively can determine both speed and strategic advantage. This session will explore how timing, types of assessments, communication methods, and collaboration with outside counsel all influence the strength of your IP risk framework.

Join us on Wednesday, December 10 at 12pm ET as Hussein Akhavannik (Partner, Blank Rome) and Nicholas Lingle (Director, Patent Attorney – Global Medical Devices and Digital Health, Teva Pharmaceuticals) provide practical guidance for in-house teams assessing IP risks throughout the product life cycle. The panel will address cost and timing considerations, best practices for presenting findings internally, strategies for partnering with outside counsel, and how recent legal developments—including updates affecting treble damages—should shape your approach to formal legal opinions.

Key Takeaways:

• Understand how IP risks emerge at different stages of product development and life cycle management.
• Compare risk assessment types and evaluate trade-offs around timing, cost, and mitigation value.
• Leverage outside counsel efficiently to support internal IP decision-making.
• Communicate risk assessments effectively to legal, technical, and business stakeholders.
• Apply updated legal standards on treble damages when considering formal legal opinions.

Who Should Attend:

This session is designed for in-house counsel responsible for guiding product development, protecting innovation pipelines, managing cross-functional risk, and advising business stakeholders on the IP considerations that shape product strategy.