Intellectual Property

Timothy J. Lockhart

Willcox Savage
Norfolk
 

Title: Member of firm and head of the Intellectual Property Group

Birthplace: Hartselle, Ala.

Education: Bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English, (both cum laude) Auburn University; law degree, cum laude, Georgetown University Law Center; United States Naval War College, diploma, with distinction

Military service: U.S. Navy intelligence officer, active duty, 1977-1981; reserve duty, 1981-2007; retired as captain

Spouse: Anne H. Lockhart, captain, U.S. Navy

Children: Margaret E.G. (“Meg”) Lockhart, 17

Hobbies: Writing novels. Stark House Press published first novel, “Smith,” in June 2017 and plans to publish the second, “Pirates” in April.

Fan of: Auburn football

Favorite vacation spot: Puerto Rico

Career mentor: Jon L. Roberts, now a retired patent lawyer

Has theft of intellectual property through computer hacking become a major problem?
Yes, “cyberhacking” is now a major problem worldwide, especially for countries such as the United States where intellectual property is a major business and government asset. As is often in the news today, we face serious cyberhacking threats from other countries that want to compete with us economically and militarily. We also face threats — less reported but still serious — from foreign companies that seek to gain financial and technological advantages by taking our IP.

Do U.S. companies face challenges in protecting their intellectual property in establishing overseas operations?
Yes, such challenges are a major issue for U.S. companies to consider when planning overseas operations. The situation is slowly improving, however, as more nations realize that U.S. companies are reluctant to expand to places that fail to protect IP rights. Another factor is that foreign businesses increasingly need to protect their own IP, so incentives to improve IP protection are both internal and external.