Craig A. Gelfound

Gelfound, a former hands-on electrical engineer who developed radar systems during the Cold War, now aids clients in managing large patent portfolios nationally and offshore.

He works for IP giants like Qualcomm Inc.; Western Digital Corp. and its SanDisk flash memory acquisition; Dentons Europe LLP in its U.S. patent law department; Bennett Jones LLP, a Canada-based international law firm with a multibillion-dollar oil sands production client, MEG Energy Corp.; and A&S Intellectual Property, a Brazilian patent and trademark law firm.

As head of Arent Fox’s California IP practice, Gelfound has driven the group’s expansion from one lawyer in 2007 to more than 25 lawyers and professionals now. He also teaches patent law as an adjunct faculty member at Southwestern University School of Law, where he graduated magnum cum laude in 1994.

“As the Cold War ended, there were budget cuts and my colleagues were getting laid off,” Gelfound said of his engineering career’s waning days. I was working for ITT [an electronics company] and negotiating with the Air Force over a radar program. I liked working with the lawyers and decided to become one.”

He’s represented Qualcomm for more than 20 years. In the current project — which began in 2012 — he leads a team of attorneys who are significantly expanding the big wireless technology company’s patent portfolio in the move to 5G broadband.

“There’s a lot of opportunity to capture IP in the 5G space,” Gelfound said. “I’ve seen Qualcomm evolve in leadership through the telecommunications generations, and now it is unquestionably leading the field.”

Patent filings overall have been reduced by several percentage points due to the business slowdown caused by the pandemic — but not for Qualcomm, Gelfound said.

“There’s been zero growth overall, but for this company the advancement in newly patentable devices is significant,” he said. “5G will enable the internet of things and will advance other areas like imaging.”

“All will be supported by new patents that are still being developed,” Gelfound added.

Dentons Europe, part of one of the world’s largest law firms, has retained Gelfound and Arent Fox to represent some of its most important U.S. clients, Gelfound said. He will advise on all aspects of U.S. patent law and is expected to handle major U.S. litigation.

He’s handling patent prosecution in the U.S. for Upfield, the world’s largest margarine producer, after the private equity firm KKR & Co. purchased it from Unilever in 2018.

Gelfound said he has long enjoyed the challenge of litigation, but his transactional practice is also fulfilling.

“Now that I do deals, I recall how much I have always liked negotiating,” he said. “This is the perfect job for me. I am thrilled to be here.”

— John Roemer