Beni Surpin

Beni Surpin is a partner in Sheppard Mullin's Intellectual Property and Corporate Practice Groups, and heads the Intellectual Property, Technology and Commercial Transactions Group in the firm's Del Mar Heights office.

Areas of Practice

Beni's practice is focused on counseling international and domestic companies in the telecom, medical devices, life sciences and high-tech industries on legal and business issues relating to intellectual property, technology and commercial transactions. He works closely with his clients in creating and setting strategic direction, and then structuring and negotiating arrangements to implement these goals.

Beni assists private and public companies in protecting, exploiting and transferring their intellectual property portfolios in a way that allows them to optimize their technology and other assets, advising them on a variety of related legal and business issues. His specific expertise in domestic and international intellectual property transactions include licenses, collaborations, research, development, clinical, services, outsourcing, manufacturing, supply and distribution agreements, technology acquisitions and the formation of joint ventures and other types of strategic partnerships and alliances.

With additional experience in the areas of private equity, leveraged debt financing, real estate transactions, corporate governance, and business, Beni also guides emerging growth entities, middle market companies and multinational corporations, ranging in industries from high-tech and biotech, to real estate investments and funds, in their development and growth, and strategic planning and execution.

Beni's representative clients include Amgen, BAE Systems, BBG Communications, Beckman Coulter, Broadcom, CB Fleet, Clean Energy Fuels, Conexant Systems, Digital Orchid, Edge BioSystems, Entropic Communications, Equus Realty, FirmGreen, Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, Gen-Probe, Grupo Sadasi, IndyMac Bank, InfoSonics Corporation, InfoVista, International Rectifier, Jenny Craig, MicroIslet, Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Paragon Management Company, Peerless Systems, Plansee, SecurityPoint Media, Springs Global, State Compensation Insurance Fund, Taylor Made Golf, Tec Toy, Therapeutics, Inc., Verus Pharmaceuticals, Vanity Fair Corporation, and Zeebo, Inc.

Prior to joining Sheppard Mullin, Beni was associated with the San Diego office of Luce Forward and the London office of Norton Rose, one of England's prestigious "Magic Circle" law firms, and previously resided in both Brazil and Israel.

Beni was recently voted as one of the Best Lawyers in San Diego by LegalForce and by the Daily Transcript.

Education

• LL.M. (International Law), Cambridge University (Jesus College), honors, 1997
• B.A. (Jurisprudence), Oxford University (St. Edmund Hall), honors, 1995

Admissions

• California

Languages

• French
• Hebrew
• Portuguese

Memberships

• Member, American Bar Association
• Member, San Diego County Bar Association
• Member, Law Society of England and Wales
• Member, San Diego BIOCOM
• Member, San Diego Telecom Council
• Member, San Diego Venture Group
• Member, San Diego World Trade Center
• Member, UCSD Connect
• Member, Southern California-Israel Chamber of Commerce
• Member, Brazil-California Chamber of Commerce
• Member, British-American Business Council
• Member, Lawyers Club of San Diego

Articles

• Limiting Liability in Clinical Trials: Non-Lawyers, Lawyers Beware, San Diego Daily Transcript, March 26, 2009
• Just One Good Idea, April 5, 2007

• Senate Bill 3325 - The Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Enfoque Latino, Fall 2008 Edition.
• Moving Technology Across the Border: The Future of Biotech for the U.S. and Mexico, Enfoque Latino, Fall 2007 Edition.
• Assessing the Dollar Value of IP, San Diego Daily Transcript, August 7, 2003.
• The Status of Venture Capital and Biotech: Who's Getting Funding and Why, Business E-Update, July 14, 2003.
• What's Happening with Venture Capital, Biotech Funding, San Diego Business Journal, July 7, 2003.
• Incentives to Investing in Europe under the US Foreign Sales Corporation Repeal and Extraterritorial Income Exclusion Act, The Times Business, Malta, April 25, 2002.

Intellectual Property Blog

• "Limiting Liability in Clinical Trials: Non-Lawyers, Lawyers Beware", May 13, 2009
• "Patent Prosecution Highway Program: European Expansion", November 14, 2008 
• YouTube Acquisition May Give New Life to Copyright Claims, Intellectual Property Law Blog, November 7, 2006.
• SmileyWorld v. Wal-Mart: Who Will Remain With the Happy Face?, Intellectual Property Law Blog, May 16, 2006.
   

Hispanic/Latino Newsletter

• Enfoque Latino - Fall 2008
• Enfoque Latino - Fall 2007

Speeches

• "Business and Investment Opportunities between the US and the UK," San Diego World Trade Center, Panelist, July 23, 2008.
• "6th Annual Mexico Economic Outlook: The China Connection in Trilateral Opportunities for Mexico, the United States and Asia," Mexico Business Center/San Diego Dialogue, Panelist, June 13, 2007.
• "Israel's Tech Miracle: Venture Investing in the Promised Land," AIPAC/American Technion Society, Moderator, November 8, 2005.
• "IP Strategies", RTA@CONNECT, Speaker, September 7, 2005.
• "Europe in the Age of Globalization, Opportunities for San Diego Companies in Europe," San Diego World Trade Center, Panelist, October 13, 2004.
• "Should Wintriss Spin Off or License the Intellectual Property for Certain Aspects of their Technology? - Wintriss Case Study," San Diego MIT Enterprise Forum, Panelist, May 19, 2004.