Manny Schecter

Oversaw IBM’s patent dominance during a particularly competitive period of innovation.

As the long-serving Chief Patent Counsel of IBM – between 2009 and 2023 – Schecter presided over Big Blue’s IP function during a period in which it was consistently the top filer of US patents and earned billions of dollars from patent licensing. He also made an impact on the US patent system. The Peer to Patent project, which he organised, was ultimately incorporated into the America Invents Act of 2011 in the form of a provision for third-party submissions of prior art. President of the IPO Education Foundation board in the period 2018-2022, Schecter has also received the AIPLA President’s Outstanding Service Award and was a long-serving member of the IPO board of directors and the AIPLA board of directors.