Sasha G. Rao

Rao is a San Francisco-based partner and chairs Maynard Cooper & Gale’s national intellectual property and technology practice.

With an educational background in physics and a niche legal expertise in autonomy and robotics, Rao has counseled and litigated on behalf of major technology players including HP Inc., Juniper Networks Inc., Airbnb Inc., and Square Inc.

She’s also the chief outside general counsel for A^3 by Airbus LLC, which is developing a “flying car” akin to a self-driving electric car. Called Vahana, the self-piloted aerial passenger vehicle prototype presents a new spectrum of legal issues in urban air mobility while requiring IP protection for its range of technological innovations.

The prototype took its first test flight in January 2018, and Airbus has targeted 2020 for a production-ready version of the aircraft for short-range urban transportation.

“We talk about self-driving cars, so this is an extension to aircraft and air taxis,” Rao said. “We’re fortunate in that we see the cutting edge for technology across the board.”

Rao has handled cases on behalf of Maynard Cooper involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and unfair competition in district courts throughout the United States.

Rao advised Square on intellectual property issues during the company’s April 2018 acquisition of Weebly, a company that helps people build a website or online store, for $365 million.

Rao has been with Maynard Cooper since 2014. While the firm has built up a nice client base of companies around the world, Rao said she’d like to see her IP team further expand its legal reach into life sciences, autonomy, and hardware and software innovations.

“We’re excited to be part of that revolution,” she said.

— Jennifer McEntee