John Calkins

Background

About John Calkins

As Chief Intellectual Property Counsel and Associate General Counsel for Pear Therapeutics, I handle IP strategy, patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, IP diligence, technology licensing, data privacy, information security, contract, employment, and other legal matters for Pear, a leading digital health company and pioneer in the Prescription Digital Therapeutics field. As Pear grows from a small private company to a publicly traded commercial enterprise, I am fortunate to work with pioneering teammates to build and protect a diverse, industry-leading IP portfolio. For 12 years before joining Pear, I served as Associate General Counsel at Northwestern University. As the lead IP counsel, I advised university officers, trustees, faculty, staff and students across multiple areas of subject matter expertise: intellectual property prosecution, licensing, monetization, enforcement, litigation, and strategic counseling; technology transfer; sponsored research; information technology; employee benefits; student affairs; privacy; and athletics. I also enjoyed mentoring students and guest lecturing on a variety of IP-related topics. Prior to my appointment at Northwestern, I was Counsel at Bingham McCutchen in San Francisco. I handled intellectual property clearance, prosecution, strategic counseling, enforcement, litigation, and transactional matters for a variety of clients, ranging from startups to Fortune 50 technology companies and from the National Football League to major research universities and other leading non-profits. I received my J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and a B.A. in Biology from Williams College. I am admitted to practice in California and Illinois and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. I am a frequent program chair and speaker on IP, digital health, and information technology topics. I live and work just north of Chicago with my family, our two beloved hounds, and an overmatched but resilient cat.