Travels from San Francisco, California, USA
Michelle Lee's speaking fee falls within range: $20,000 to $25,000
Very few people know Silicon Valley and the national innovative landscape as well as Michelle Lee. The former CEO of the US Patent and Trademark Office is thoroughly versed in multiple sides of the tech creation world thanks to an eclectic academic/work history as a Google executive, law school graduate, and MIT researcher specializing in A.I.
Currently serving as the Board Director for Alarm.com, a cloud-based home and business security system, Lee was the first (and so far only) woman to lead the US Patent and Trademark Office in the organization’s 225+ year history. There, she oversaw 13,000 employees and an annual $3 billion budget in addition to acting as a principal advisor to the President of the United States on domestic and international intellectual property policy matters and representing the nation at numerous intellectual property engagements around the globe. Under Lee’s leadership, the USPTO was ranked #2 in the “Best Places to Work in the Federal Government” out of 300 agencies.
Prior to her work in the public sector, Lee was the head of patent strategy at Google for 9 years. In her pivotal role as Deputy General Counsel, she had the challenging task of navigating patent laws as Google grew from a small relatively unknown company into the multinational tech giant it is today. Lee oversaw the acquisitions and integration of YouTube (video sharing for $1.6B), Keyhole (map analysis technology for Google Earth), GrandCentral (voice over IP), and many other companies.
Recognized by multiple media groups as one of the most influential women and leaders in tech and innovation, Lee is a powerful advocate for recruiting and retaining more female talent in STEM fields. She has been profiled in Bloomberg, CNET, the Washington Post the Los Angeles Times, Politico, the National Journal and numerous other business and legal publications.
As the first female to lead the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); as an executive at Google; and as a computer scientist at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab and HP’s Research Lab, Michelle Lee has constantly been in the forefront of the newest innovations that are disrupting our industries and driving spectacular growth in the world.
It started early on, growing up around the huge wave of Silicon Valley companies that were revolutionizing our world, inspiring her to build her own hand-held radio as a child. Her love of technology led her to simultaneously earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the MIT. She later earned her law degree at Stanford University’s School of Law because she wanted to work on the most cutting edge legal and policy issues facing high-tech companies.
Lee’s career is as remarkable as it is diverse. She is an MIT-trained computer scientist where she wrote her thesis on artificial intelligence, and an attorney and former law partner at Fenwick & West, Deputy General Counsel and Head of Patents and Patent Strategy for Google, co-founder of the Chief IP Counsels (ChIPs), the first woman Under Secretary of Commerce, and Director of the USPTO in our country’s 200+ year history.
Her focus on creating an environment that assures inventors and innovators the chance to grow and prosper, led her into government service as Director of the USPTO’s Silicon Valley satellite office. In 2015 she was unanimously confirmed by the US Senate as the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and took the helm of USPTO’s 10,000-employee organization. During her tenure, she led a 13,000 person agency with a $3.4 billion annual budget. She modernized the 225 year-old agency, streamlining the review processes and creating the maximum economic benefit for American inventors and businesses.
Michelle Lee is a remarkable speaker who offers unique perspectives resulting from her experiences in the trenches of innovation at the MIT AI and HP Research Labs, at Google during its rise from small company to global powerhouse, and as the head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office where she witnessed first-hand inventions from across the globe. Her presentations not only journey thru the newest and most advance technologies, but also examine the business opportunities and regulations that will be key to our future. There is nobody else who has her unique experience at the highest levels as a scientist, business woman, attorney and government executive, and there is no presentation that is as effective at providing a complete picture for business leaders.
The first female leader of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Michelle Lee imparts sound advice for getting your invention patented, techniques for avoiding legal tangles, and ways to tap more female talent for careers in STEM fields and entrepreneurship.
Lee surveys the numerous free resources the U.S. Patent Office makes available to aspiring entrepreneurs and inventors, many of which they can take advantage of earlier in the process than they might think. A common mistake she sees, especially among engineers, is that they overlook the significance of something they’ve created and don’t file a patent, only to end up at the receiving end of an infringement claim years later from someone who did file.
“Don’t self-guess. Don’t underestimate what you have,” she comments about calculating the appropriate time to file. “Earlier is better than later because you don’t want to forfeit rights unintentionally.”
As a seasoned tech executive and former head of one of the largest intellectual property offices in the world, Michelle Lee is a wealth of information on emerging technologies and their implications for your business or industry. Drawing from her time at Google and the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab, Lee offers particular expertise in the changes and opportunities that AI is ushering in, both in the short and long term. Additionally, as a Stanford Law School graduate who carved her executive career navigating patent law for Google and the Federal Government, Lee is one of few technology speakers who can offer a credible legal perspective on processes related to patents, intellectual property, and trademarks.
The First of Many Firsts The Honorable Michelle K. Lee is the first woman and first person of color to serve as the Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, a 200+ year old governmental agency tasked with issuing patents and trademarks and advising the President on intellectual property policy. She was the first woman and Asian American partner in her law firm, and often the only person who looked like her in more ways than one. Ms. Lee shares her inspiring, yet improbable journey to the top levels of technology, law, business and government, and how individuals might chart their unique journeys, and how organizations can promote diversity and inclusion to drive innovation, business results and employee engagement.
What the Future Looks Like: Technology, Innovation, and Resulting Business Opportunities We are all excited (and maybe a little dizzy) from the constant barrage of new technologies. As the head of the US Patent and Trademark Office, Michelle Lee has overseen literally hundreds of thousands of the newest technologies and inventions, and the companies, entrepreneurs and inventors who are looking to change the world with their work. She delivers an enthralling journey into the future and provides guidelines to help leaders navigate this future.
Developments in Artificial Intelligence: How It Will Change Your Life Including The Way You Do Business Creating machines as intelligent as humans has captured the imagination of mankind since antiquity. For decades, scientists have been working on robots and computer algorithms to simulate human intelligence and decision making. We are now at the cusp of some of the most consequential changes to our lives in decades brought about by advances in artificial intelligence. Drawing upon her experiences at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab, at Google and as the head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (where she oversaw the review of inventions from across the globe), The Honorable Michelle Lee will paint a picture of our future world with AI. Ms. Lee delivers an enthralling glimpse into the future and how business leaders can and should think about using this technology to achieve competitive advantage OR prepare themselves and their companies for the changes to come.
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