McAndrews Shareholder Christopher V. Carani Elected to the U.S. Board of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property

11.20.14

Christopher V. Carani, a patent attorney and shareholder at the Chicago office of intellectual property and technology law firm McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd., has been elected to a two-year term to the steering committee of the U.S. national group of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property, known under the abbreviated name AIPPI-US, and part of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). The steering committee is the governing board of AIPPI-US.

Mr. Carani has been an active member of AIPPI, serving as the U.S. Delegate for AIPPI Design Rights (Q227) at the AIPPI World Intellectual Property Congresses in Helsinki, Finland in 2013, and Toronto, Canada in 2014.

AIPPI, an international organization (Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle, or AIPPI), was founded in 1897 after the signing of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. Today, it counts more than 8,000 members from 100 countries worldwide.

AIPPI is comprised of businesses, executives, lawyers, educators, patent and trademark agents, intellectual property owners, and others interested in the elimination of unfair trade practices and the worldwide protection of patents, designs, trademarks, trade names, know how, goodwill, copyright, and other intellectual property rights. The organization strives to act as a principal voice for the private sector in the field of intellectual property by advancing the development, expansion, and improvement of international and regional treaties and agreements, as well as national laws. More information can be found at www.aippi-us.org.

Christopher V. Carani, Esq., counsels clients on a wide range of strategic design protection and enforcement issues. He is the immediate past Chair of the American Bar Association’s Design Rights Committee, and the past chair of the American Intellectual Property Law Association’s Committee on Industrial Designs. He has litigated numerous disputes regarding design rights and has served as a legal consultant and expert witness in design law cases in a wide range of industries, including consumer electronics and accessories, consumer retail products, furniture, medical devices, apparel, footwear, and sporting goods, to name a few.  In addition, Carani has authored amicus briefs for landmark U.S. design patent cases, such as Egyptian Goddess v. SwisaLawman Armor Corp. v. Winner Int’l LLCCalmar, Inc. v. Arminak & Assoc. and Richardson v. Stanley Works, Inc.

Carani earned an engineering degree from Marquette University and a law degree from the University of Chicago, and went on to serve as a law clerk to the Honorable Rebecca Pallmeyer at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He is a registered patent attorney and licensed to practice before the USPTO.

Carani is a frequent contributor to CNN on intellectual property law issues, and is often called upon to provide commentary to other major media outlets, including New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, NPR, PBS TV, CNBC TV, BBC, Bloomberg TV, and Reuters.  Away from the law, Chris is a studied jazz musician who plays upright bass on the Chicago jazz circuit.

Follow Carani (@ccarani) on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ccarani.

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