Adjunct Professor Bruce Villard is currently an intellectual property (IP) manager with a national government contracting company where he focuses on ensuring that employee invention disclosures are adjudicated and tracked properly, as well as assisting with licensing opportunities of IP. Previously, he worked in the company's Global Supply Chain organization where he focused on the IP aspects of agreements with suppliers as well as leading a team of attorneys and legal professionals, who while not part of the company's law department, worked to negotiate, draft, and execute supplier agreements.
Prior to joining his current employer, he worked for the IBM Corporation in various roles, ranging from the development and testing of a high-transaction rate operating system, working on customer service engagements worldwide for this product, and providing legal project management services to an organization focused on mobile platform development.
While at IBM, Professor Villard attended Maryland Carey Law's evening program and graduated with a JD in 2012. He is licensed to practice law in the state of Maryland and in front of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). While attending Maryland Carey Law, he was co-president of the Maryland Intellectual Property Students Association (MIPSA), was a Maryland Law Service Corps trip leader, and was an Honor Board member. Shortly after graduation, he served as an intern for the Hon. Sally D. Adkins of the Maryland Court of Appeals.
Professor Villard remains active in his community and is currently the treasurer for the James C. Cawood, Jr. Inn of Court chapter in Annapolis and recently finished his tenure as chair of the Maryland State Bar Association's IP Section. He is a former member of the Maryland Carey Law Alumni Board where he was Alumni Awards Subcommittee chair in his final year.
He has been an adjunct professor at Maryland Carey Law since fall 2019. As well as his JD from Maryland Carey Law, he holds an MBA-Finance from Marist College and a BS in Computer Science from Syracuse University.