Kerri A. Hochgesang

Kerri A. Hochgesang is an associate in the Intellectual Property Section of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP.

Ms. Hochgesang concentrates her practice in the areas of preparation and prosecution of patent applications for mechanical, biomechanical, biological, and chemical inventions, and practices patent, trademark, trade dress, trade secret, and copyright litigation, as well as advising clients on the protection of intellectual property. Ms. Hochgesang also has extensive experience and expertise in drafting favorable software, patent, and trademark licensing agreements.

Ms. Hochgesang received her B.A. degree in Political Science from Indiana State University in 1999, where she was President of the Pre-Law Student Association, member of the Blue Key Honor Society and volunteer ESL instructor. She completed requirements for Patent Bar Eligibility in Chemistry and Biology from Northeastern University in Boston, and earned her Juris Doctor and Master of Intellectual Property degrees from Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, New Hampshire. While in law school, Ms. Hochgesang served as a teaching assistant in torts, contracts and Constitutional law. She was also a member of the civil practice clinic, where she obtained a written opinion after a bench trial decided in her client’s favor as a third year law student.

Ms. Hochgesang is a member of the Georgia Bar and the United States Patent Bar. She has also been admitted to practice in the Northern District of Georgia, the Georgia Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of Georgia in 2003, the Middle District of Georgia 2004, the United States Court of Federal Claims in 2007, and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 2008.

Ms. Hochgesang speaks German.

Ms. Hochgesang was a featured speaker at the 2010 National Association of Bankruptcy Trustee’s Spring Seminar, giving a presentation entitled “Even if You Can’t Touch, Smell, or Feel It, You Can Still Sell Intellectual Property.” She also was a speaker at the 2005 Atlanta Claims Association Ethics seminar, giving a presentation entitled, “An Insurer’s Obligation to Defend an Insured when Coverage is an Issue: Ethics, Law, and Strategy.” She has written an article in Issue 20 of Trust The Leaders magazine titled “Back to the Future: In Intellectual Property Law.” In March of 2009, she presented at the Jacksonville Bar Intellectual Property Section on the subject entitled IP Holding Companies.

She also spoke in March of 2010 to the American Israeli Chamber of Commerce on the topic of Green Patent intiatives at the USPTO.