INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RESEARCH TEAM
IP Research: Meet the RWS experts
Our IP research team brings subject matter expertise across a wide range of specialist areas, as well as experience in the IP legal sector. Find our more about their skills and qualifications here.
Director of Search Consulting, NASA
Stacy Landry
Stacy Landry, J.D., Ph.D. (registered with QPIP and USPTO) has 30 years of experience in chemistry, patent drafting and prosecution, and intellectual property research.
Stacy joined RWS as a Study Manager after careers in chemistry, patent prosecution (both in-house and outside counsel), and patent search to manage IP searches in chemistry, biochemistry, physics, biophysics, and consumer products.
As the Director of Search Consulting, she has been instrumental in evolving RWS’s innovative Crowd Source approach to assist corporate and legal clients achieve their IP objectives in patent, copyright, and trademark protection. With a strong foundation in both the legal and technical aspects of intellectual property protection, Stacy leads a team of highly qualified search consultants in an iterative and interactive search process to enable clients to make confident business and legal decisions in litigation as well as other high stakes situations.
Director of Search Consulting for EMEA
Costas Stephanides
Costas has been involved in IP Research since the late 1990s. He has a strong background in all aspects of Search, including FTO, Patentability and Invalidity, mainly involved in mechanical engineering and design projects.
Costas works with his team of Search Consultants to understand the needs of each client whilst cooperating closely with the Analyst team to deliver high quality results.
In addition to his core consulting work, Costas has a keen interest in patent landscape analysis and business/competitive intelligence. He leverages search technologies to uncover insights that support strategic decision-making, innovation planning, and market positioning.
Global Director of Analyst Search Operations
Peter Shea
Peter Shea (QPIP) brings nearly 35 years of expertise in IP research. He has been instrumental in evolving RWS’s approach to meet the demands of a rapidly changing IP landscape and played a leading role in shaping our traditional patent search philosophy and methodology.
With a strong foundation - and belief - in Boolean-based search, his recent focus has been on integrating AI to enhance precision and efficiency at key phases of the search process. The scalability and power of AI, alongside Boolean-based searching, are essential elements of a modern search strategy.
Joining RWS as a graduate engineer in early 1991, before moving to a boutique patent search company the following year, Peter later returned to RWS.
During his career, Peter has witnessed transformative shifts in the IP research landscape: from manual, book-based review, to the democratization of patent data through computing power, and the emergence of AI-based searching. Tackling the procedural complexities these changes created, alongside the technical demands of individual projects, remains a compelling and ongoing pursuit.
Senior Search Consultant
Andrew Kendall
Andy is based in London, with over 30 years of experience in the patent search team. Leading the Chemistry and Life Sciences team for over 25 years, he has extensive experience in a wide range of chemistry, chemical and engineering and biotechnology subject areas working closely with law firms and corporate clients.
During that time, Andy has conducted and overseen searches of all types, from patentability and validity to freedom to operate, and also has extensive experience of conducting structure and sequence searches.
Within the subject field, Andy has worked extensively in areas such as cosmetics, agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, catalysts, foods, vaccines, gene manipulation, polymers, chemical engineering processes, water treatment, biological and chemical testing processes, and semiconductors.
Senior Search Consultant
Doug Hodder
Doug has over 25 years of experience practicing intellectual property law in private firms and in-house positions with both large, public corporations and private startups. This has given him experience with an extremely broad range of IP matters.
Most recently, Doug was chief IP counsel at Silicon Graphics International, ultimately overseeing all intellectual property aspects of SGI’s merger with HP Enterprise. He then worked as Senior Director of Intellectual property at Lam Research where he was lead patent counsel for a $4B division of a multinational semiconductor manufacturing tool company.
Doug has a background in physics and has engaged in a broad range of technical areas in his practice including semiconductor design and manufacturing; super-computer hardware and software; mechanical, optical and magnetic technologies; nanotechnology and material science; broadcast technology; and biometrics.
Search Consultant
Fabio Gigante
Fabio is based in London, UK, with over eight years of experience in IP research and analysis.
He has extensive expertise in conducting Patentability/Novelty searches, state-of-the-art and landscape analyses, freedom-to-operate (FTO) assessments, and validity analyses. Fabio is also skilled in providing accurate estimates and delivering detailed data-driven reports that support attorneys and corporate clients in making well-informed decisions regarding patent strategy, licensing, portfolio management, and litigation.
Fabio previously worked as a Patent Examiner Assistant at the European Patent Office, where he supported examiners in the examination and classification of patent documents, focusing on Electrical and Mechanical Engineering technologies.
Fabio has led searches across a variety of technology areas, including electric motors, controllers, power converters, energy management systems, charging stations, power tools, medical devices, and hybrid/electric vehicle technologies.
With a career grounded in technical expertise, analytical precision, and a client-focused approach, Fabio is dedicated to assisting clients and delivering comprehensive, reliable patent search solutions that provide innovators with the insights needed to make confident strategic and legal decisions in a dynamic global IP landscape.
SEP Specialist
Harshita Chopra
Harshita is an SEP Specialist at RWS, having joined the company in November 2025. She brings over nine years of combined experience, including two years in the telecom industry and seven years in intellectual property consulting at a leading IP firm.
Harshita has extensive hands-on expertise in standard essential patent (SEP) analysis, claim charting, invalidity and patentability searches, and landscape analysis. Her technical specializations include telecom, Wi-Fi/WLAN, audio-video codecs, and optical communications. She holds both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering.
Senior Search Consultant
Mark Crohn
Mark Crohn brings deep expertise in intellectual property research and analysis. With over a decade of experience as a professional IP researcher and seven years as an Examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Mark offers a distinctive perspective on prior art discovery.
A Registered Patent Attorney since 1997, he focuses on electrical, computer science, and mechanical engineering technologies. His career has spanned the full spectrum of IP -from drafting and prosecuting patents to examining applications and now conducting rigorous prior art searches to challenge patent validity -making him a trusted resource for complex IP research.
Search Consultant
Michael Deng
Michael is a member of the British Patent Information Professionals (BPIP).
He delivers high-value patentability, invalidity, FTO, and landscape studies for clients in the energy, automotive, semiconductor, and consumer electronics sectors. He works with patent attorneys and corporate legal teams to support strategic IP decision-making.
Prior to joining RWS, Michael worked as a technical specialist at one of China’s leading boutique IP law firms.
Michael holds a PhD in Physics and an MPhil in Engineering from the University of Cambridge, and engineering degrees from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. His doctoral research advanced the understanding of interfacial structures between electrodes and electrolytes in organic and organometallic thin-film solar cells and resulted in first-author publications spotlighted by the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and featured in an American Chemical Society (ACS) Editors’ Choice article. He served as a visiting scholar at the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge and has been recognized with multiple academic scholarships. Michael also has a Postgraduate Certificate in IP Law. He is fluent in Chinese and English, and has intermediate-level proficiency in Japanese.
Senior Search Consultant
Stephen Ko
Stephen brings over a decade of experience in patent law and intellectual property research. His career spans roles as a U.S. Patent Examiner, U.S. Patent Agent, IP Manager, and Hong Kong-qualified IP lawyer, giving him a unique perspective on the legal, technical, and business dimensions of patent strategy.
Stephen’s expertise includes patentability assessments, freedom-to-operate analyses, and complex prior art searches across diverse technology domains. With a strong foundation in chemical engineering and a law degree, he combines technical depth with legal insight to deliver high-quality IP intelligence for global clients.
Before joining RWS, Stephen advised on IP protection, managed and commercialized patent portfolios, and provided advice on IP transactions. His experience also includes conducting IP due diligence, drafting and prosecuting patents, and advising clients on patent filing strategies.
Through his commitment to precision and process excellence, Stephen plays a key role in helping clients navigate the evolving IP landscape with confidence.
Senior Search Consultant
Thomas Berez
Thomas is based in London with over 10 years of experience in patent searching/analysis. He has extensively dealt with a wide range of technologies falling under the aegis of mechanical engineering, including but not limited to vehicle components and systems, power tools, automated warehouse systems, and medical devices.
Earlier in his career, Thomas was an examiner with the USPTO specialising in liquid and particulate sprayers, as well as fire suppression and extinguishing systems.
Holding a BS and MS in mechanical engineering and a PhD in the history of science and technology, Thomas possesses a unique blend of engineering knowledge and research skills which allows him to approach patent analysis in innovative ways. His recent experience in using a wide range of the latest AI patent searching tools has given him insight into how best to wed artificial intelligence with real, human intelligence to provide his customers with the most well-rounded patent search possible.
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