Associate, Life Sciences & Consumer Products
Susanne Somersalo, Esq.

Patent Drafting and Prosecution, Opinions,
Agreements, Due Diligence, & Trademarks

Susanne's specialty area is life sciences technologies. Susanne has a Ph.D. in Biology (1991) from the University of Turku in Finland, and a Master's Degree in Intellectual Property Law from Franklin Pierce Law Center in New Hampshire (2002). She became a US patent agent in 2004, and is now a patent attorney.

Susanne worked as a biologist at several universities in Finland and Germany. She also worked at the technology transfer office at the University of Helsinki before coming to the US in 2001 on a Fulbright Scholarship to study for her master's degree. She was most recently at Dodds and Associates in Washington, DC, for eight years where she managed IP portfolios for her clients, both in life sciences technologies and mechanical technologies.

Susanne's practice includes researchers at universities as well as start-up companies located in Europe and the United States. She speaks and reads several languages, including English, Finnish, Swedish, German and basic Russian. She currently has clients located in the US, Finland, Estonia, Russia, Poland and Italy.

Patent Agent 
Elizabeth Gearhart, Ph.D.

scientific exploration, patent research, & technical writing

Elizabeth Gearhart (née McNamara) studied Chemistry at Western Washington University, where she earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in 1983. She studied Analytical/Environmental chemistry at The University of Colorado in Boulder, where she earned a Ph.D. in 1989.

Elizabeth is the Lead Technical Expert at Gearhart Law in which she focuses on Green technologies as well as scientific exploration, research, and technical writing. Prior to Gearhart Law she worked at The Dow Chemical Co. (1989-1996) and The Dow Corning Co. (1996-1999).

Consumer Products
Roy Rosser, Ph.D.

Prior Art Searching, Patent Drafting & Prosecution

Roy Rosser studied Physics at Imperial College, London, where he earned a Bachelor's of Science degree in 1975 and a Ph.D. in Optical Design in 1982. Prior to joining Gearhart Law, Roy spent eight years at law firms preparing and prosecuting patent applications, initially at Woodbridge and Associates, and then, through merger and acquistion, at Synnestvedt Lechner, LLP and Fox Rothschild, LLP.

Roy is also an entreprenur, having invented the method used to produce the Football "Yellow Down Line" in TV broadcasts and co-founded Princeton Video Image, the company that perfected the technology. Roy's experience includes working at the Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory in Oxford, England, the Brookhaven National Laboratory, the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and the Molecular Biology Laboratory at Princeton University.

As a research scientist and patent agent, Roy has acquired an extensive knowledge of a range of technologies, including 3D displays, image seach methods, data compresion, software algorithms, sonar and radar systems, spectrometry, laser produced X-ray sources, pattern recognition, DNA chips and business methods. Roy is registered to practise at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Technical Expert
David A. Stern

David has a BA degree in physics from Case Western Reserve University, an MS degree in Computer Science from Stevens Institute of Technology and a paralegal certificate from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

He has worked with Gearhart Law for more than two years with a focus on patent searching. Prior to Gearhart Law, his experience includes more then twenty years in information technology, involving; application development, rate making, operating system support, desktop support, and data communications support.

Associate, Life Sciences & Consumer Products
Y. Harry Du

Patent Drafting and Prosecution, Opinions, Agreements, Due Diligence, & Trademarks

Harry’s specialty area is life sciences technologies and he also has experience drafting consumer product patents. Harry got his Ph.D. in Neurobiology (2004) from Rutgers University/UMDNJ, and worked as a research scientist for four years. During his Ph.D. studies and post-graduate work, Harry received a research fellowship from the American Heart Association. He has also published extensively on his work.

Harry graduated from Seton Hall Law School in May, 2011, and received his J.D., magna cum laude. He is an inductee to the Order of The Coif, a high honor society for law school graduates. During his law school studies, Harry interned for the Chief Judge of the United States District Court of New Jersey, the Hon. Garrett Brown. In addition, Harry became a patent agent in 2009 and gained experience by working as a summer law clerk in a patent law firm.

Harry is proficient in both English and Mandarin Chinese. He took the New York and New Jersey Bar Exams in July, 2011.