Show notes
Show Notes: Erin-Michael Gill, founder of Genaesis, shares his upbringing in Middletown, Maryland, and his education at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, where he studied astronomy and physics. Erin-Michael explains his decision to attend Johns Hopkins University for graduate studies in applied physics while working at the US Patent and Trademark Office. He also holds an MBA from MIT. Erin-Michael describes his realization that intellectual property law was more valuable than the technology he was learning in grad school. Working As a Patent Examiner Erin-Michael explains his role as a patent examiner at the PTO, where he reviewed patent applications and determined their patentability. He describes the process of evaluating inventions, including understanding the novelty and non-obviousness of the claims. He also shares his experience of learning to identify unique and fundamental improvements in inventions. Erin-Michael emphasizes the importance of his ability to understand and evaluate inventions, and what the scope of impact could be, which he found more valuable than his technical skills. Intellectual Property Specialist at DuPont Erin-Michael discusses his transition from the PTO to a job in patent strategy at DuPont in Richmond, Virginia. He describes his role as an intellectual property specialist, helping inventors file patents and develop new technologies, and how his role also included evaluating new materials and products. Erin-Michael recounts a significant moment when he identified a promising new material and was given the opportunity to lead its commercialization. He explains the process of vetting thousands of ideas to identify the most promising ones for commercialization, and how he secured a promotion early in his career Challenges in Patent Processing Erin-Michael shares his involvement in the Obama administration's transition team, where he advised on fixing the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). He describes the challenges and opportunities of working with the transition team to address issues at the PTO, including backlogs and operational inefficiencies. Erin-Michael explains his role in writing a strategic plan to improve the PTO's operations and reduce patent processing times. He highlights the success of the strategic plan, which significantly reduced the time it took to grant patents. Patent Wars at Tech Companies Erin-Michael discusses his career in IP and his involvement in taking tech companies public based on the strength of their IP. He describes his work with an investment bank in Canada and his role as Chief IP Officer. Erin-Michael shares his experience of predicting the value of Yahoo's patent portfolio and its impact on the tech industry. He explains his involvement in the patent wars between tech companies like Yahoo, Facebook, and Google. Founding Genaesis - An M&A Brokerage Firm Erin-Michael recounts the founding of Genaesis, an M&A brokerage firm focused on government contracting. He explains the unique challenges and opportunities of working with government contracts. Erin-Michael describes the process of identifying and acquiring government contractors with valuable contracts. He shares the success of Genaesis in growing from $0 to $800 million in loans within three years, and shares insights on patents on next generation items, including a real-life iron man suit and his company's role servicing national security operations or running facilities. He goes on to discuss his company's role in small business set asides and gives examples of categories, competitors, and contract negotiations. Advising Congress on Trade Agreements Erin-Michael discusses his service on the Industry Trade Advisory Committee, which advises Congress on trade agreements. He explains the importance of intellectual property in trade agreements and his role in advising on IP issues. Erin-Michael shares his experience of serving under four different administrations and his role as chairman of the committee. He highlights the challenges of balancing the interests of various industries and advising on complex trade issues. The Impact of Trade Agreements of Intellectual Property Erin-Michael discusses the impact of trade agreements on intellectual property and the importance of maintaining stability and predictability. He shares his experience of advising on trade agreements like the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement (USMCA) and the challenges of balancing a wide variety of different industry interests with cross-cutting issues. Erin-Michael explains the importance of objective advice and the role of advisory committees in providing technical expertise. He underscores the ubiquitous presence of IP in every aspect of daily life, and he highlights the broader implications of trade agreements on the US economy and the importance of IP in global trade, and the scale and scope of the US on the world stage. Timestamps: 01:53: Role at the Patent Office 04:52: Transition to IP Strategy 09:36: Involvement in the Obama Administration 12:06: Career in IP and Government Contracting 21:09: Founding Genaesis and Government Contracting 44:03: Service on Federal Advisory Boards 48:46: Impact of Trade Agreements on IP Links: Website: www.Genaesis.com Website Bio: https://www.genaesis.com/erin-michael This episode on Umbrex: https://umbrex.com/unleashed/episode-637-erin-michael-gill-founder-of-genaesis-on-govcon-ma/ Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com. *AI generated timestamps and show notes.