FICPI // Focus 45 // Golf IP v2

Michael J. Kline, Roger Cleveland Golf Company, Inc.

Mr. Kline is the Senior Corporate Counsel, Director of Intellectual Property, and Corporate Secretary for Roger Cleveland Golf Company, Inc., a leading manufacturer and seller of Srixon,® Cleveland,® and XXIO®-branded golf clubs, Srixon® golf balls, Dunlop® racket sports products, and distributor of ASICS® golf footwear. Based at the company’s U.S. headquarters in Huntington Beach, California, Mr. Kline manages a team of legal professionals engaged primarily in patent and trademark clearance and prosecution. He also leads litigation and licensing matters, and works closely with the company’s parent company, Sumitomo Rubber Industries, based in Kobe, Japan. 

In his role as Senior Corporate Counsel, Mr. Kline performs contract drafting, counseling, and negotiations for product development, licensing, distributorships, and sponsorships, and counsels the company regarding advertising, privacy, and regulatory issues. As the company’s Corporate Secretary, Mr. Kline advises its Board of Directors on corporate and other legal matters.

Mr. Kline graduated cum laude with a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he was Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Law and Commerce. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University.

Mr. Kline’s hobbies and interests include running, golf, writing, inventing, and the Japanese art of torturing little trees, otherwise known as “bonsai.” He is the author of “The Baltimore Plot: The First Conspiracy to Assassinate Abraham Lincoln,” published by Westholme Publishing. He is also an inventor on several issued and pending patents in the aerospace, sporting goods, mobile app, and consumer products categories. As co-owner of TransparenSee LLC, Mr. Kline provides trademark services to entrepreneurs and startups. Formerly Senior Litigation Counsel for The Coca-Cola Company, he appeared in a nationally televised commercial for Coca-Cola Zero, viewable here.

Dr. Roberto Pistolesi, FICPI President

Roberto Pistolesi is Partner & CEO at Dragotti & Associati in Italy and President of FICPI.

Roberto has background in organic chemistry. He frequently advises clients on patent strategies and provides infringement and validity opinions and has an extensive experience both in prosecution and opposition procedures before the EPO, where he has been involved in more than 100 cases before the Opposition Divisions or the Boards of Appeal.

Louis-Pierre Gravelle, FICPI webinar host

Louis-Pierre Gravelle is Partner at Bereskin & Parr in Canada and Vice President of FICPI's Practice Management Committee.

He specialises in the drafting and prosecution of patent applications and providing patentability, validity, infringement and right to manufacture opinions in the fields of electricity, telecommunications, mechanical and information technology. He is a registered patent agent in Canada and in the United States (1998).

Louis-Pierre is involved in due diligence matters and managing patent portfolios. He is also involved in strategic counselling for start-ups, small, medium and large-sized businesses.

A member of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC) and the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), Louis-Pierre was called to the Québec Bar in 1995. He is also a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ). Louis-Pierre Gravelle is past-chair of the Intellectual Property Section of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) and past co-president of the Joint Liaison Committee – Patents between the Patent office and IPIC. He is a Councillor for FICPI Canada.

He is listed in the IAM Patents 1000, and has been since 2012. Louis-Pierre is often called upon to speak on a variety of IP-related topics, at local and international conferences and events.