Karl Thomas Rees: Attorney, Developer, and Dad

About Me

Name: Karl Thomas Rees

Profile: Attorney and Developer

Location: Austin, Texas

Karl serves as General Counsel for the Quansight and OpenTeams family of companies and funds, which focus on data science and open-source software. His 15+ years of legal experience also include time as partner at two Silicon Valley Intellectual Property firms, representing Fortune 500 clients and companies of all other sizes in spaces such as AI/ML, databases, enterprise systems, networking, operating systems, compilers, and graphics.

Karl also worked for 5 years developing data visualization software and web applications, and continues to code for projects related to his legal practice and recreational interests. He is an active contributor to the open source community. His hobbies include astronomy, electronically-assisted astrophotography, cycling, camping, making, and Ultimate frisbee.

When not working, Karl enjoys spending time with his wife and four children, particularly in the outdoors, as well as pursuing hobbies such as writing, astronomy, electronically-assisted astrophotography, cycling, camping, making, and Ultimate frisbee.

Professional Experience

Combining 15+ years of legal experience with 5+ years of software development experience

OpenTeams Incubator, Inc. Austin, TX

2021-Present

OpenTeams Incubator, Inc.

Provide legal and strategic support for the Quansight and OpenTeams family of companies and funds, which focus on data science and open-source software. Areas of support include corporate formation and governance, securities, service agreements and other contracts, venture capital, open-source licensing, IP, and employment law.

Wong & Rees LLP Austin, TX / San Jose, CA

2014-2021

Founding Partner

Assisted start-ups, mid-size, and large companies build and streamline global IP portfolios. Prepare and prosecute patents in high-tech fields, including network chips and devices, databases, machine learning, artificial intelligence, cloud-based systems, user interfaces, search, compilers, multimedia devices, virtualization, graphics, Internet architecture, virtual reality, IoT, and enterprise systems. Trademark prosecution. Work with clients' engineers to evaluate competitive landscape, identify protectable IP, and prioritize portfolio development based on value to client. Supervise associate work. Coordinate foreign filing and prosecution. Review licensing agreements. Trade secret and copyright advice. Deployed and maintain docketing and IT systems for cloud-based work environment, with automated document management and generation.

Hickman Palermo Troung Becker Bingham Wong LLP San Jose, CA

2007-2014

Associate, Partner

Patent prosecution. Trademark advice. Supervised associate patent prosecution work. Infringement and invalidity opinions. Inter Partes Reexamination. Risk analyses of competitors’ patent portfolios. Developed automated reference tracking and document generation system using Access and Visual Basic. Promoted to partner in 2014.

Corda Technologies Lindon, UT

1999-2004

Software Engineer, Technical Writer, and Educational Consultant

Designed and wrote Java, JavaScript, PHP, Perl, ASP, Python, and other web application code for business intelligence dashboards and other data visualization tools. Wrote documentation. Developed training classes. On-site consulting. Managed technical writing interns. Wrote and reviewed technical marketing materials. Automated documentation building process using FrameMaker and WebWorks.

Adjunct Professor

Lincoln Law School 2015-2017 San Jose, CA

Taught patent bar examination preparation courses.

Intern

Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP 2006 Washington, D.C.

Interned for telecommunications firm, assisting in spectrum licensing, designated entity, and broadcast decency issues.

Consultant

Karl Rees Consulting 2004-2007 Orem, UT

Provided various technical services on a per-contract basis, including web development, batch/Perl scripting to automate documentation and data mining tasks, IT services, and technical writing.

Education

Degrees in Computer Science, English, and the Law

Brigham Young University Provo, UT

1995-2001

B.S. Computer Science; B.A. English

GPA 3.75
Graduated with University Honors.
President, Honors Student Advisory Council: Organized lectures, academic conferences.
Significant Coursework: Signal Processing, Artificial Intelligence, Poetry, Networking, Algorithms, Natural Language Processing, Technical Writing.

J. Reuben Clark Law School (BYU) Provo, UT

2004-2007

Juris Doctorate

LSAT: 98th Percentile
GPA: 3.38
Executive Editor, BYU Education and Law Journal
IP Moot Court
Significant Coursework: Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks, Intellectual Property, Antitrust, Telecommunications.

University of Texas Austin, TX

2021 - Present

Masters of Computer Science

Working towards Masters through online program.
Coursework: Deep Learning, Quantum Information Science.
GPA 4.0

Beyond the Office

Community Service, Activities, and Interests

Youth Soccer Coach, Commissioner, and Board Member

Dripping Springs Youth Soccer / 2017-Present
Santa Clara Youth Soccer League / 2012-2016

Robotics Team Mentor

FIRST Tech Challenge, Sycamore Springs Middle School / 2019-Present
Mentor youth robotics team, with focus on coding group.

BSA

Scout Committee Member / Merit Badge Counselor / Former Cub Scout Den Leader / 2015-Present
Eagle Scout

Open Source Software Development

Contributions to various projects through GitHub and other communities.

Astronomy and Space Exploration

Stargazing, electronically assisted astrophotography, and community outreach.

More...

Hiking, Cycling, and Backpacking
Home Automation and Security
Competitive Ultimate Frisbee
Concert Choir
Poetry

Karl Thomas Rees