Bea Koempel-Thomas

Bea advises and assists clients on a variety of intellectual property issues including the drafting and prosecution of patent applications and managing international patent portfolios.  Bea applies her knowledge of patent policy and procedure to meaningfully advance her clients' interests.  Her technical expertise is in information security, data mining, and other computer related technologies.  She also has experience relating to mechanical and electrical devices. 

Preparing and prosecuting patent applications in computer technologies and managing deadlines in a team environment are among Bea's strengths. Additionally, her expertise in cryptography, information security, database and file management, software engineering, visualization, and related computer technologies is also applied as a member of the firm's patent counseling and analysis practice.

Prior to joining the firm, Bea served as a Patent Examiner at the USPTO in the technologies of computer security and cryptography, which has enabled her to more efficiently prosecute applications and minimize costs to her clients. She also worked as a legal intern for the Washington State Attorney General and the Spokane County Prosecutor.  Bea had a successful career with a large national restaurant chain where she was responsible for operations and manager training and obtained extensive business management experience. 

Bea has a deep appreciation for innovation obtained from scientific research in several technologies including nanoscale materials at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory where she worked in the Environmental and Molecular Sciences Laboratory.  She also led a software engineering project for data mining and visualization research at Central Washington University developing an understanding of project management in the software development cycle.

ASSOCIATIONS

Bea is an alumni supporter of the Gonzaga University School of Law.  She is a member of the Diversity Committee at Lee & Hayes, and she is active in several committees of the American Intellectual Property Law Association. Bea is an active member of the Washington State Bar Association, the Association of Computing Machinery, and the American Bar Association.

PUBLICATIONS AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

"Accessibility in Patent Examiner Interview Practice," Partnering in Patents, 2009.
"In re Bilski Response Strategies," LHU, 2008.
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the USPTO," LHU, 2008.
"Database Visualization and Data Correlations: The Dynico Project," 2002, with co-authors.
"Characterization of Medical Features: Using Artificial Intelligence Methods to Analyze and Diagnose Anomalies from Mammograms," 2001, with Jon Brown.
"Formation and Characterization of Au Nanoclusters in MgO (100) Using High Energy Ion Beams,"  with co-authors, EMSL Annual Report 2000, Interfacial Chemistry and Engineering, Nanoscale Materials, 2001 and Northwest Vacuum Society Annual Meeting, 2000.

 

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Bea received the "Client First" award in 2008 and was voted Lee & Hayes' "Rookie of the Year" in 2007. While in law school Bea was selected for Moot Court Council and for the Law Review where she served as an Associate Editor. She was selected for Computer Science departmental honors and graduated cum laude from Central Washington University.

Bea's research poster and presentation "Implantation and Characterization of Au Nanoclusters in MgO (100) using High Energy Ion Beams was voted best student presentation by the Pacific Northwest Vacuum Society at their annual meeting in 2000.