Mikhail Khmara

Managing Partner

Head of patent practice

Registered Russian and Eurasian patent attorney

Education

Mr. Mikhail Khmara graduated from the St. Petersburg State Technical University in 1994, earning and M.Sc. with distinction in Physics. He is a registered patent attorney before the Russian Patent and Trademark Office. In 2001, Mr. Khmara was certified as a Patent & Trademark Attorney, with a specialization in “Trademarks”. In 2003, Mr. Khmara obtained certification to be able to practice in “Inventions, Utility Models, and Industrial Designs”.

Practice

Prior to entering the Intellectual Property Law practice, Mr. Khmara was a scientific researcher at Ioffe Physical Technical Institute in Saint-Petersburg. At the Ioffe Institute, Mr. Khmara conducted programs on the development and examination of superconductors and semiconductors, and was responsible for testing and analyzing alloy elements and alloyed junctions, as well as issues concerning the durability and fatigue of metals.

As the Director of ARS-Patent’s Saint Petersburg office, Mr. Khmara’s focus in his patent practice is drafting and prosecuting patent applications and conducting patent search examinations for patent inventions in Russia and foreign jurisdictions relating to metallurgy, new materials and coatings, electronics, optical communications, and semiconductor devices. Mr. Khmara’s other responsibilities include licensing and cession agreements, transfer of technology, and handling patent oppositions from filing through to presenting cases in hearings before the Russian PTO. In addition to patent work, Mr. Khmara has a substantial amount of practice in complex trademark registration matters, including negotiating, drafting and recording trademarks, license and co-existence agreements, and counseling in connection to unfair competition.

Mr. Khmara participates in Russian as well as international conferences and symposiums for patent specialists.