Kevin Christopher

Kevin Christopher is the founder and principal of Rockridge®, and is widely recognized for his work at the nexus of innovation + impact in venture ecosystems. Kevin's daily work includes helping promising startups raise funds and secure intellectual property protection, providing due diligence to investors, acting as outside corporate counsel to impactful firms, and litigating complex patent and trademark suits. Kevin uniquely offers experiences as an entrepreneur, operator, director, investor, and litigator to best counsel firms at all stages of their existence.

-Founder, Calliope Bio
-Founder, Quantiscope AI
-Member, World Economic Forum Working Group on Carbon Credits
-Awardee, Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Lawyer
-Awardee, Leadership Tennessee
-Studied at UC Berkeley and Yale

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Kevin Christopher is founder and principal of Rockridge Venture Law®, one of the only B Corp law firms in the U.S. and a Real Leaders Top 150 Impact Company. Kevin is also co-founder of Calliope Bio, a synthetic biology company launched through the Nucleate Activator program and Berkeley Skydeck accelerator, and QUANTiSCOPE, a microscopic AI company launched through the BARDA WheelsUp accelerator.

Prior to founding Rockridge®, Kevin led biotech commercialization activities at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore National Lab. Kevin is a Berkeley Form + Fund Fellow (startups), NIH RADx Faculty Member (technology), and Yale 2050 Fellow (sustainability). He’s been featured by B the Change, Forbes, the Los Angeles Times, Sustainable Brands Magazine, and many other media outlets for his work in impact + innovation. Kevin is a registered patent attorney and impact investor, and his practice areas include: corporate law and governance, data privacy, government contracts, intellectual property, startups, technology, and venture capital.

• Biotech
• B Corps and Benefit Corporations

• Free Consultation
  I am happy to arrange a brief call to determine if I can help you.
• Credit Cards Accepted

District of Columbia

District of Columbia Bar

Since 2017

Patent and Trademark Office

Since 2016

Tennessee

Since 2016

Co-Founder

QUANTiSCOPE

2022 - Current

Quantiscope is a deep tech imaging company enabling better, faster, and safer drugs. -Launched AI/ML startup from Broad Institute of MIT/Harvard. -Developed early IP strategy including patent, copyright, trade secret, and trademark protections. -Oversaw development of MVP on Microsoft Azure. -Secured industry pilots, recruited key leadership, and obtained early capital.

Principal / Founder

Rockridge B Corp Law

2016 - Current

Rockridge is an award-winning business law firm operating at the nexus of impact and innovation. My specific activities include: -Management of practice and oversight of attorneys; -Leadership of complex federal and state litigations and TTAB disputes; -Prosecution of patent and trademark portfolios; -Due diligence advisory to institutional investors; -Corporate representation for high-growth tech startups; -Negotiation of government, technology, and alliance agreements; and, -Establishment of data privacy frameworks for corporate clients. Recognition includes: -Earned recognition as Best For The World B Corp four times from 2018 to 2023 and RealLeaders Top 150 global impact status. -SuperLawyer from 2019 to 2024; -Conscious Capital Magazine Business Person of the Year; -Featured speaker on impact and innovation at BYU, MIT, Purdue, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UCSC, Vanderbilt, Yale, and multiple conferences.

Industrial Partnerships Office

Lawrence Livermore National Lab

2014 - 2016

Led business development and strategic partnership activities within Industrial Partnerships Office for bioscience and biotech programs involving big data, biosecurity, drug discovery, human-on-a-chip, microbiome, microfluidics, neural interface, synthetic biology, and other specialized research and development. Created master agreements and organizational plans for life science consortia. Crafted and optimized commercialization strategies for over 400 technologies including: microelectrode array for neural recording and stimulation; nanolipoproteins for vaccine development and drug delivery; pharmaceuticals, including biologics and small molecules; and diagnostics. Negotiated license agreements, establishing valuation metrics based upon commercialization plans, comparables, market data, and intellectual property attributes. Established, negotiated, and finalized cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs), inter-institutional agreements (IIAs).

Office of Intellectual Property and Industry Research Alliances

University of California, Berkeley

2011 - 2014

Judicial Extern

Chambers of Judge Charles R. Breyer

2009 - 2009

Law Clerk

U.S. Attorney's Office, Civil Division, San Francisco

2009 - 2009

Yale University

MBA (2023) | Business

2021 - 2023

Honors: 1st Place, Venture Capital Investment Competition 1st Place, Nucleate Accelerator Yale 2050 Fellow, Center for Business and Environment

University of California, Berkeley School of Law

Certificate (2021) | ESG Law

2020 - 2021

University of California, Berkeley School of Law

Certificate (2017) | VC Unlocked

2017 - 2017

University of California - Davis

other | Biomedical Engineering Graduate Group

2014 - 2015

University of California - Berkeley

other | Energy, Law

2012 - 2013

Activities: Tutor, Governor Jennifer Granholm, Renewable Energy Law & Policy; Computer Law, Berkeley School of Law; Research Member, Berkeley Rural Energy Group / Renewable and Appropriate Energy Lab

University of San Francisco School of Law

J.D. (2010)

2007 - 2010

Honors: Arthur Zief, Jr., Scholar

Activities: Intellectual Property Law Bulletin, Survey Editor; Student Bar Association, 2L Representative; Advanced Advocacy Program, National Moot Court Competition; Public Interest Law Foundation grantee & Pro Bono Publico recipient for community service

University of California College of the Law, San Francisco

Visiting Student

2010 - 2010

Honors: Outstanding Scholarship Award, Law and Bioscience (LAB) Project

Lipscomb University

2005

Honors: Presenter, Tennessee Honors Conference, "Technology and God: Effects of Invention upon Spiritual Communication."

Mid-South Super Lawyers

Super Lawyers

2022

https://digital.superlawyers.com/superlawyers/taslrs22/MobilePagedReplica.action?pm=2&folio=Cover#pg1

Best For The World

B Lab / B Corp

2022

Mid-South Super Lawyers

Super Lawyers

2021

Class of 2020

Leadership Tennessee

2019

Mid-South Rising Star

Super Lawyers

2019

Global Association of Impact Lawyers (GAIL)

Member, North America

2023 - Current

World Economic Forum

Carbon Credits Working Group

2022 - Current

Activities: Developing industry guiding surveys of blockchain tools for carbon financing.

Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law

Member, Class of 2017

2017 - Current

Tennessee Bar Association Intellectual Property Section

Member, Executive Council

2017 - Current

Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)

Member, Tech Transfer Committee

2016 - Current

Blockchain for Scaling Climate Action

World Economic Forum

April 1, 2023

Recommendations for the Digital Voluntary and Regulated Carbon Markets

World Economic Forum

March 1, 2023

Benefits of Enforcing Your Intellectual Property with U.S. Customs: Make the Government Work for You

Rockridge Blog

January 1, 2023

Defending Your Trademark Rights Against Overseas Squatters

Rockridge Blog

January 1, 2023

Patent Strategies: The Benefits of Co-Filing a Provisional Utility Application and an Expedited Design Application

Rockridge Blog

January 1, 2023

Intellectual Property for Entrepreneurs, Yale Tsai CITY Accelerator, New Haven, CT

October 2023

Yale University

I was the keynote legal speaker concerning corporate structuring and intellectual property protection for Yale startups.

California's Climate Rules, 3rd Annual ESG Summit, New York, NY

October 1, 2023

American Conference Institute

I surveyed the new California climate legislation concerning requirements for corporate carbon tracking and materiality assessments around climate change.

2023 NIL Overview for Athletes, Nike Coach of the Year, Birmingham, AL

February 18, 2023

Nike Coach of the Year Clinic

I was a keynote speaker surveying the landscape of NCAA regulations surrounding name, image & likeness (NIL) deals for collegiate football athletes.

Startups and Venture Capital, Industry Contract Officers Network Annual Meeting, Caltech University

October 16, 2012

Crowdfunding and Crowdsourcing, University of California Office of Intellectual Property Managers Meeting

October 30, 2012

Certified Licensing Professional

Licensing Executive Society

Q. Can my logo that is a registered trademark change the background color while still keeping its tradmark

March 2, 2020

A: See our article here: https://rockridgelaw.com/2018/11/08/if-you-mess-with-your-trademarked-logo-say-in-a-rebrand-will-you-lose-your-trademark-rights/.

Q. Can you put a lean on mineral rights in Tennessee? If so, what are the implications, procedures, and requirements?

March 1, 2017

A: There's no straightforward answer without more of the story. For instance, a recent Tennessee case involved a dispute as to whether sandstone qualified as a mineral. Also, in order to qualify you would likely need to have provided some sort of services in connection with the mineral in order to attach to proceeds from its exploitation.

Q. Trademark ownership... implied ownership???

February 23, 2017

A: Part of this depends upon how they gave you permission. Was it a written permission to use?