Overview
Todd M. Hopfinger is a director in Sterne Kessler’s Electronics Practice Group, where he advises clients on intellectual property strategy, patent procurement, licensing, and portfolio management. His practice focuses on artificial intelligence, software, digital health, bioinformatics, and computational biology technologies.
Todd works with clients ranging from emerging companies to multinational enterprises to develop intellectual property strategies that align with product development, competitive positioning, licensing opportunities, and broader business objectives. He regularly collaborates with legal, technical, and business stakeholders to build patent portfolios that support commercialization, transactions, enforcement, and long-term value creation.
As a Certified Licensing Professional (CLP), Todd brings a commercialization-focused perspective to intellectual property counseling. He advises clients on portfolio development and prosecution strategies designed not only to secure patent protection, but also to maximize the licensing and business value of innovative technologies. His experience includes counseling clients on portfolio positioning, technology transactions, and licensing-related considerations across a range of industries.
Todd is a member of the firm’s AI leadership team and regularly advises clients on intellectual property and regulatory issues involving artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. He has extensive experience addressing patent eligibility issues in the United States and abroad and developing prosecution strategies for software and AI innovations in evolving legal environments.
In addition to patent prosecution and strategic counseling, Todd prepares freedom-to-operate, non-infringement, and invalidity analyses, represents clients in post-grant proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and supports patent-related litigation matters.
Todd’s technical background spans artificial intelligence, software engineering, network security, communications systems, and computational biology. Before joining Sterne Kessler, he worked on Deep Packet Inspection technologies at Arbor Networks, communication systems for first responders at the University of Michigan, and molecular design and bioinformatics software platforms supporting data-driven scientific research. This multidisciplinary experience enables him to advise clients operating at the intersection of software, AI, and life sciences technologies.
Todd is a frequent speaker and author on patent eligibility, artificial intelligence, licensing strategy, and international patent prosecution. He has been recognized by IAM Patent 1000 as a leading patent professional.
Education
- J.D., The George Washington University Law School
- M.S., Computer Science and Engineering, University of Michigan
- B.S., Computer Science, Purdue University