Hans R. Troesch

One of the five founding partners of Fish & Richardson's Silicon Valley office, Troesch has worked in patent prosecution for nearly two decades. But that specialization only came after he spent years as a computer programmer.

"In my long professional career, I have put together circuit boards and written code and supervised people writing code," Troesch said. "In the last 20 years, I've pretty much focused my efforts on the preparation and prosecution of patent applications."

Troesch, who counts Google, Adobe Systems Inc. and SAP AG among his recent clients, said his experience as a programmer, systems analyst, programming manager and consultant has helped him immensely in his technology-focused patent practice.

"I really do speak fluent computer," he said. "With that work, you develop a good understanding of how systems are actually built and the questions to ask of engineers."

Although Troesch had his beginnings as a programmer and now works to secure patents for software and computer technology, he also has experience in general law, where he said he learned about mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcy and areas of law that would ultimately serve him well in his specialty.

"I had 10 years of fairly broad-range legal practice," Troesch said. "I'm a resource for that, and I bring that perspective to the work that I do and the advice I provide my clients."

It's not difficult to see how a background in programming might help Troesch in his patent work, given his specialization in software-related technologies. One recent patent on behalf of Google involved "privacy-sensitive cookies" and was resolved last November, after approximately 3 ½ years of prosecution.

"That patent is about a way to provide cookies that protect the privacy of the user," Troesch said.

As senior principal of the Fish & Richardson office in Silicon Valley, he regularly manages the work of 30 or more colleagues, on top of his own practice.

"Day in and day out, what I do is supervise a very talented group of patent prosecutors," he said.

- DAVID MCAFEE

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