Dunes^® CLE in Las Vegas

J. Matthew Buchanan is a registered patent attorney and owner of Buchanan Intellectual Property Office LLC, an intellectual property boutique located in Perrysburg, Ohio. Mr. Buchanan focuses his practice on intellectual property issues confronted by start-up and established organizations in the medical and chemical arts, including pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotechnology companies. He also assists clients with FDA-related regulatory matters and the development and use of intellectual property and regulatory-based competitive intelligence information.

Mr. Buchanan has a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from The Ohio State University and a Master of Science degree in Microbiology and Immunology from the Medical College of Ohio. He earned his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from the University of Toledo where he served as a Note and Comment Editor on the University of Toledo Law Review and became a member of the Order of the Coif, a national honor society for law school graduates.

Prior to practicing law, Mr. Buchanan worked in various capacities in the medical device industry, gaining experience with the scientific and legal aspects of the regulatory approval processes in the United States and around the world. Prior to founding Buchanan Intellectual Property Office LLC, he worked in his own intellectual property firm in Perrysburg, OH, in the medical device practice group of a large Washington, D.C. law firm where he focused on FDA regulatory law, and in a large Chicago intellectual property firm where he focused exclusively on patent law. Mr. Buchanan is admitted to practice in Michigan, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the Toledo Patent Law Association, the Licensing Executives Society, the American Bar Association, and the American Intellectual Property Association. Mr. Buchanan has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals on various topics, including immunology research and medical device regulatory and patent law.

Mr. Buchanan founded and maintains Promote the Progress, a legal blog focused on worldwide patent law and policy issues.

Ryan A. Heck, Ph.D. is Patent Counsel and Associate Director of the Technology Transfer Office for the University of Nevada, Reno and the Desert Research institute. Prior, Ryan was an attorney with various intellectual property law firms where he practiced in all areas of intellectual property law, including preparation and prosecution of U.S. and foreign patent applications, preparation and prosecution of U.S. trademark applications, litigation, licensing, and providing opinions regarding patentability, validity, and infringement. Although Ryan's formal training is in chemistry, he has extensive experience in many technical fields, including mechanical devices, materials science, nanotechnology, high energy physics, chemical processes, medical imaging, pharmacological substances, software, and biotechnology.

Ryan has spoken and lectured on a variety of intellectual property subjects, including prior talks at Dunes CLE events and as a lecturer for the MBA program at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Prior to attending law school at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Ryan obtained a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Nevada, Reno. Ryan is also a graduate of the Craft Brewers Apprenticeship program of, and a member of, the American Brewers Guild. Dr. Heck is admitted to practice in the states of Nevada and Texas and is also registered before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. His court admissions include the United States District Court for Nevada and the United States District Court for Southern District of Texas.

Jon Muskin is a founding partner of Muskin & Cusick, LLC. Mr. Muskin focuses the majority of his practice on prosecuting patents in the computer software, hardware, Internet, business method, and gaming technologies. He also helps develop and package intellectual property portfolios for acquisition. Mr. Muskin also serves as a consultant to the casino gaming industry regarding intellectual property issues and business strategies.

Mr. Muskin is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, New York and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Muskin holds both a Juris Doctor and an LLM in intellectual property law (with honors) from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago. He also holds a Masters Degree in Computer Science from American University, and a Bachelor of Science Degree from Tulane University . 

Robert Ryan Morishita is a founder of the Morishita Law Firm. Robert Ryan Morishita earned a B.S. degree, magna cum laude, in mechanical engineering from the University of Utah in 1995. While an undergraduate, Ryan was inducted into the Pi Tau Sigma mechanical engineering honor society and the Golden Key National Honor Society. Ryan earned a J.D. degree from the University of Utah College of Law in 1998 and was inducted into the Order of the Coif. While attending law school, Ryan was a staff member of the Utah Law Review and authored Patent Infringement After GATT: What is an Offer to Sell?, 1997 Utah Law Rev. 905.

Ryan is a member of the state bars of Nevada and Utah. Ryan is also a registered patent attorney. Ryan practices in the areas of domestic and international patent preparation and prosecution, trademark prosecution, copyright, and intellectual property litigation. Ryan has drafted and prosecuted patent applications in the art areas of mechanical devices, electrical devices, medical devices, casino games, electronic gaming machines, Internet business methods, sporting equipment, electrical control systems, and software. Ryan presented at CLE seminars on intellectual property and patent law for the State Bar of Nevada in 2002, 2003, and 2004 and has been a regular contributor to the Nevada chapter of INTA’s State Trademark and Unfair Competition Law treatise since 2000.