Karen F. Copenhaver

Karen F. Copenhaver is a partner in Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP's Business & Technology Group. Her practice focuses on technology transfer and licensing of intellectual property, particularly in the areas of software licensing and open source business models. Karen is the Director of Intellectual Property Strategy for the Linux Foundation, a nonprofit consortium dedicated to fostering the growth of Linux, and serves as an advisor to Black Duck Software, Inc., where she was instrumental in establishing automated methods of software compliance management as an industry best practice. Before joining Black Duck, Karen was a partner in the Patent and Intellectual Property Group of Testa, Hurwitz & ThibeaultLLP from 1994 through 2004. She began her legal career in 1979 at IBM Corporation and served as, among other positions, site counsel for the IBM Microelectronics Division, Semiconductor Design and Manufacturing facility in Essex Junction, Vermont. She was a Partner at Brown & Bain LLP in Phoenix, AZ and Palo Alto, CA from 1991 through 1994. Karen has served as an adjunct professor at Suffolk Law School in the field of Computer Law, lectured at Suffolk's Advanced Legal Series conferences on copyright law and sophisticated licensing issues, and served as chair for the Practicing Law Institute's annual conference on Structuring, Negotiating and Implementing Strategic Alliances.

Karen is a frequent speaker on issues relating to technology licensing and open source software. Karen Copenhaver is listed in The International Who's Who of Internet & e-Commerce Lawyers, Chambers USA, Best Lawyers in America and as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer. She has been named the 2012 Boston "Lawyer of the Year" for Information Technology Law by Best Lawyers and was also named in The Legal 500 for technology transactions. Ms. Copenhaver is only the 5th lawyer ever to receive Mass High Tech's prestigious "Mass High Tech All-Stars Award," which honors the thought leaders and innovators throughout the New England technology sector. She has been chosen by Intellectual Asset Management magazine as one of the world's top IP strategists in their feature "lAM 250-A Guide to the World's Leading IP Strategists." She has also been named a top patent and technology licensing practitioner in "lAM Licensing 250" and a world's leading patent practitioner in "lAM Patent 1000."

Ms. Copenhaver is also director of intellectual property strategy for the Linux Foundation.