Dr. Sandra Thompson has spent the last 19 years counseling domestic and international clients—from Fortune 50 companies to startups to universities—on patent, trademark, copyright, licensing and new media transactional and litigation matters. Sandra drafts, files, prosecutes and licenses patent applications and trademark applications. She also reviews and enforces clients’ internet and social media rights, including drafting, reviewing and updating privacy policies and terms of use, takedown procedures, domain name enforcement, and social media-related issues. Sandra has a successful patent appeal and reexamination practice before the United States Patent & Trademark Office.
She represents clients in the fields of food and beverages, including beer, wine and spirits, nutraceuticals, agriculture, green and renewable technology and chemistries, biofuels, medical devices and telemedicine, cleantech matters, high-resolution audio systems, semiconductors, electronics, chemicals and chemical intermediates, solar and solar-related technology, transportation technology, including the design and utility of parts and systems, fuel cells, hybrid and electric engine technologies, bio-based and biodegradable plastics, waste/sludge management and conversion, fibers, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, computer hardware and software, children’s products and telecommunications. Her experience extends into the fields of chemistry, green technology, energy law and issues, biochemistry, audio and video software and hardware, electronics, electronic materials and plasma physics.
EXPERIENCE
Prior to joining the firm, Dr. Thompson chaired the Intellectual Property and Advanced Technology practice group at Buchalter Nemer, where she was a shareholder for 10 years. She was also a member of Buchalter’s Restaurant, Food and Beverage, Entertainment, and Solar and Renewable Energy practice groups. Before that, Sandra was an attorney with the firms of Slater, Hersey & Lieberman LLP, Bingham McCutchen LLP, Riordan & McKinzie, P.C. and Rutan & Tucker, LLP.
EDUCATION
Dr. Thompson earned her J.D. at Campbell University, Norman Wiggins School of Law, (1998) and her B.S. (Chemistry, 1990) and M.A. (Chemistry, 1991) at the College of William & Mary. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Department of Chemistry at North Carolina State University. Her dissertation is entitled “Control of Volatile Organic Compounds with a Pulsed Corona Discharge.” As a doctoral candidate, Dr. Thompson worked at both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Research Triangle Institute in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
MEMBERSHIPS & AFFILIATIONS
Dr. Thompson has presented several papers and presentations at American Chemical Society National Meetings directed to United States, PCT and Foreign Chemical Patent Practice, Inventorship Issues, Ethics and Intellectual Property, Corporate IP Strategies, the Strategic Uses of Printed Publications, and Alternative Careers in Chemistry. She is a member of the California State Bar, the American Chemical Society, the Society of Women Engineers, and the Society of Applied Spectroscopy. Dr. Thompson is the past Chair of the Chemistry and The Law Division of the American Chemical Society, the past Chair of the Intellectual Property Section of the OC Bar Association, and the current Chair of the Orange County Section of the American Chemical Society.
Dr. Thompson is active in the community, representing several non-profit corporations and groups, among them Delta Gamma Fraternity, Delta Gamma Foundation, the Junior League of Orange County, CA, Pacific Siamese Rescue, and Southern California Siamese Rescue. Dr. Thompson has volunteered for Election Protection since its inception after the 2000 election. She has trained and coordinated legal volunteers in California, North Carolina and Arizona, as part of this pro bono work. Dr. Thompson is on the Board of Trustees of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights. She served on the Board of Directors for the Junior League of Orange County, California Women Lead, and the National Women’s Political Caucus for Orange County. She is currently a member of the Governance Committee for the Association of Junior Leagues International or AJLI. She is the Chair of the Advisory Council for the Dean of Science and Mathematics at California State University, San Marcos.