MEET THE TEAM
Mercedes V. O'Connor
U.S. Registered Patent Attorney | Partner
Ms. O'Connor is a registered patent attorney and partner with Rockman, Videbeck & O'Connor. Ms. O'Connor concentrates her practice on U.S. and foreign intellectual property matters, with an emphasis on patent prosecution in the areas of software, hardware, and the Internet and trademark prosecution.
Prior to attending law school, Ms. O'Connor received a B.S.E. in Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Her coursework included computer and electrical engineering classes, such as computer programming in several languages, database design and programming, web design, computer assembly, CAD design, and micro-electronic chip design. Ms. O'Connor worked for Intel Corporation as a computer engineer in both the Chandler, Arizona and Folsom, California locations.
Education
• The John Marshall Law School, Chicago, Illinois, J.D., 2012
o Dean's Scholar
• University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, B.S.E., Computer
Engineering, Cum Laude, 2001
o Intel GEM Fellowship Recipient
o Intel Scholar
o Dean's List
o Class Honors
o Scholar Recognition Award
o Michigan Marching Band
o Women in Science and Engineering
Admitted to Practice
• State of Illinois, 2013
• United States Patent and Trademark Office, 2013
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 2013
Language(s)
Fluent in Spanish
Howard B. Rockman
U.S. Registered Patent Attorney | Partner
Mr. Rockman is a registered patent attorney and partner with Rockman, Videbeck & O'Connor. Howard represents clients in litigation of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret cases in Federal and State Courts, as well as clients seeking to secure domestic and foreign intellectual property rights before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the U.S. Copyright Office, and similar intellectual property offices throughout the world.
Howard began his legal career as a Patent Examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office before moving on to his role as an Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice. He worked in the Antitrust Division and Patent Litigation Sections of the Justice Department.
Dzenita Suta
Intellectual Property Law Clerk
Ms. Suta received a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) concentrated in Molecular & Cellular Neuroscience from Loyola University Chicago in 2019. In addition to her undergraduate studies. Ms. Suta worked in the biochemical research lab of Emeritus Professor, Dr. Kenneth W. Olsen, in Loyola's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, facilitating various projects in multiple areas of protein science research. In particular, Ms. Suta assisted in the development and optimization of analytical methods for biotherapeutic characterization; and methods for bioconjugation via different forms of “click” chemistry as drug delivery systems. Ms. Suta was a two-time recipient of the Mulcahy Scholars Program Research Fellowship for her research projects "Modification of BSA with a Mal-PEG8 Backbone as a Drug Delivery System" and "Conjunction of BSA with an Azide 8-arm PEG Backbone as a Drug Delivery System".
Ms. Suta attended the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law where she earned her Juris Doctorate degree with a concentration in Intellectual Property Law, in 2024. Through UIC Law’s nationally ranked Intellectual Property Law program, Ms. Suta developed specialized expertise in Intellectual Property Law, with a specialized focus in Patent Law. Her specialized coursework included, for example: U.S. Patent Law; U.S. Trade Secret Law; U.S. Trademark Law; Video Game Law; Patent Law: Planning & Practice; Biotechnology Patent Law; Cyberspace Law; Entertainment Law; and Intellectual Property Licensing.
Her legal training encompasses a versatile range of technological areas such as software, telecommunications, signal processing systems, and wireless communications standards and systems in all aspects of intellectual property procurement and management including, trademark, copyright and patent procurement. However, Ms. Suta concentrates her practice on global patent portfolio procurement and management including patent prosecution, noninfringement, freedom-to-operate, and validity opinions, investment due diligence, and licensing in the chemical sciences, biomedical and life sciences technologies, and medical devices.
She also concentrates her practice on US trademark and/or copyright registration procurement, management, and disputes. In particular, she advises clients from various technological fields on brand enforcement matters in the nature of takedown notices, drafting and responding to pre-litigation cease and desist letters, and negotiating licenses and settlement agreements.