{"id":1352,"date":"2024-12-29T12:13:57","date_gmt":"2024-12-29T12:13:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipfray.com\/?p=1352"},"modified":"2024-12-29T12:46:13","modified_gmt":"2024-12-29T12:46:13","slug":"an-interview-with-johnson-johnsons-departing-vp-of-medtech-ip-strategy-paul-coletti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipfray.com\/staging1\/an-interview-with-johnson-johnsons-departing-vp-of-medtech-ip-strategy-paul-coletti\/","title":{"rendered":"An interview with Johnson & Johnson\u2019s departing VP of MedTech IP Strategy Paul Coletti"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This week, after 37 years of working at Johnson & Johnson<\/a>, VP of MedTech IP Strategy Paul Coletti announced he was stepping down from his role (December 27, 2024 LinkedIn post<\/a>). Thanks to the likes of Mr. Coletti, who now plans to remain in the IP field, U.S. pharma giant Johnson & Johnson has managed to grow its MedTech patent team from 14 to over 50 attorneys in the last four decades. ip fray<\/strong> requested an interview with Mr. Coletti to discuss his career at Johnson & Johnson (J&J), including impressive achievements such as the Stent Wars<\/em> and collaborating with other businesses to develop IP law. In this interview, he also reflects on his biggest career inspiration and how he believes successful leadership can be achieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How has your role and the role of your team at J&J changed since you first joined in the 1980s?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When folks interview at J&J, they look me up on LinkedIn and they ask me something along the lines of: how have you survived or why have you stayed this long?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I tell them is my title has only changed a couple of times but the job responsibility that I\u2019ve had has changed frequently. When I started, I was prosecuting patents, then I moved into deals, then litigations, then shaping the law, then supervision, and then growing the company. My job has always been changing and exciting and that\u2019s what has kept me here (until the time came for me to retire). I never had a desire to leave for somewhere else because I liked what I was doing here \u2013 J&J made my job exciting enough that there was no reason for me to leave. That has seemed to be a good recruiting tool: people like that idea when they hear it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I recognise that you don\u2019t find a lot of people who are at the same company for 30-something years anymore \u2013 my kids tell me that folks change jobs all the time now \u2013 but to be able to attract good people and to keep good people is a very valuable tool for a company. Hopefully, my colleagues at J&J will be able to continue to do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes your approach to IP stand out in the MedTech market?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I take a very basic approach:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most important thing with respect to patents is \u201cwhat\u2019s the invention?\u201d \u2013 what\u2019s new and, in the US, not obvious, or what\u2019s new and, in Europe, inventive? You need to be able to describe that. Once you are able to describe that, everything else follows from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In medical devices, it\u2019s sometimes hard to identify. But once you identify it and protect it, it can be very valuable. It can be something minor in your eyes, maybe a handle on a surgical instrument. However, if that handle makes the device easier to manipulate, it will be really important for a doctor or surgeon in an ER. If a suture needle takes a little bit less force to put into the body, it\u2019s less painful for the patient, if you are developing new material for an implant or a contact lens and the material is easier to manipulate or breathes better in someone\u2019s eyes so they don\u2019t get red eye, that\u2019s important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you can really bear down on what\u2019s different and why it is an important change, you are way more than 50% there. Now you have something you can tell people about. That\u2019s what I try to do \u2013 in prosecution, litigation, deals, and changing the laws. I try to direct people towards thinking: \u201cWhat\u2019s important here for the progression of IP law?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How would you describe your leadership style?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have been reflecting on this a lot recently because I am leaving. The two most important things in leadership are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Respect:<\/strong> don\u2019t treat anyone based on their title or age. But rather treat them as you would like to be treated. Some of the best ideas we see come from people who are not as experienced, or don\u2019t have a high title \u2013 but that\u2019s good. I would say respect is the most important thing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Professionalism:<\/strong> Of course, there is time for fun and games \u2013 for people to let off steam \u2013 but when you are sitting down to write an email or a brief, figure out the best way to do what you\u2019re doing professionally. My dad had this expression about professionalism: \u201cYou don\u2019t wear a bikini to go see the Pope.\u201d The point is that there is a time and place for everything. When you\u2019re about to meet somebody for the first time, make sure you are on time, addressing the person directly and not impolitely. All the things about professionalism you would expect. It doesn\u2019t matter how you dress anymore \u2013 but the underlying professionalism has always been required and I think continues to be required. Once you do both of those, you are going to succeed. You have to have underlying talent, yes, but we see a lot of people with underlying talent who don\u2019t succeed because they aren\u2019t respectful, for example.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Who would say has inspired you the most in your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There has been a boatload of people along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But the person with the single, most lasting, effect on me was Robert (Bob) Minier, the very first Chief IP Counsel I worked under. Bob happened to be born the day before my dad and while they led separate lives, professionally I felt as if I had someone very similar to my father looking out for me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    He had a substantial effect on my life because not only did he treat me how I felt my dad would treat me, but he also treated me with those two characteristics: he was very professional and very respectful. He would sit me down and he would ask me things like I was an equal \u2013 and I\u2019ve tried to emulate that during the course of my career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What are some highlights from your career in IP?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My most special accomplishments, I believe, include the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. I had a pretty large hand in growing our department \u2013 we now have over 100 IP attorneys but when I started, there were a total of 14 of us. I am proud of the fact that I have had a hand in hiring or acquiring the vast majority of them. It\u2019s been developed into a very good group representing all of our MedTech companies. That\u2019s one accomplishment that has done me well.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. For the longest time I was involved with a company that J&J doesn\u2019t own anymore \u2013 Cordis \u2013 it makes coronary stents. We were able to grow that industry from zero to a multiple-billion-dollar franchise off the back of our patents. We were then heavily involved in the Stent Wars<\/em> \u2013 very successfully. I was the lead in-house patent attorney on those cases and it did great things for the bottom line of J&J. Ultimately, it was a bit bittersweet. We wound up not innovating and ultimately losing the business because we didn\u2019t innovate. But the patent team did a great job protecting the franchise until everything moved on.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. In the last 10 years, I\u2019ve had more opportunities to work with like-minded companies to develop progress on IP law. I am not a lobbyist but we try to encourage companies and lawmakers to move the law in a positive direction. It\u2019s not necessarily on behalf of J&J, even though we like to see certain changes but to make the law a better thing. When I came on board at J&J, the concepts of the Unitary Patent and the UPC were a pipedream. People loved the idea but no one knew how to get there. It was things like that we encouraged over the years. And I think the UP is going to be a great thing for the EPO.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      What were your goals when you were first appointed VP of J&J\u2019s MedTech Strategy in January 2023 and how did they fare over the last two years?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      We have been able to get a good message to the public, wherein everyone understands the importance of discovery and invention as well as adequate protection of these inventions. Naturally, there is always work to be done, but we can be proud of what we have accomplished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Finally, where do you hope to see J&J\u2019s MedTech IP team in the next 5-10 years?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Naturally, it is impossible to know the future, but the team is well-equipped to meet any challenges, being in patent protection and litigation, licensing, or growth into new areas, such as AI. The management is in place for success. Now it will be up to the team and our partners in the MedTech businesses to meet any challenges along the way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      In this interview, Paul Coletti, (now former) VP of MedTech IP Strategy at Johnson & Johnson, shares the highlights of his 37 years in the company\u2019s IP department, and the basis of successful leadership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1354,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ipfray.com\/staging1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/PaulColetti-1-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipfray.com\/staging1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipfray.com\/staging1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipfray.com\/staging1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipfray.com\/staging1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipfray.com\/staging1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1352"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/ipfray.com\/staging1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1363,"href":"https:\/\/ipfray.com\/staging1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1352\/revisions\/1363"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipfray.com\/staging1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipfray.com\/staging1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipfray.com\/staging1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipfray.com\/staging1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}