Tena Z. Herlihy

Tena Z. Herlihy is an experienced in-house counsel specializing in intellectual property, with a significant focus on patent litigation management. As Counsel at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) since 2006, her primary responsibilities include technology licensing, trademark prosecution and enforcement, open-source software licensing, patent litigation management, and copyright. Earlier in her career, she served as Assistant General Counsel at PAREXEL International Corporation, where she advised on intellectual property litigation and negotiated agreements with major pharmaceutical companies, indicating exposure to the life sciences and pharmaceutical sectors. She also gained private practice experience at Boston law firms Goulston & Storrs PC, Holland & Knight LLP, and Bromberg & Sunstein LLP. She is also listed as Clerk and General Counsel for Axim Collaborative (formerly edX).

Ms. Herlihy's patent litigation practice primarily involves managing patent disputes for a patent-holding institution. In this capacity, she represents the interests of a patent owner, aligning with a plaintiff-side orientation in asserting intellectual property rights. Her case experience includes matters related to mechanical and automotive technologies, particularly internal combustion engine systems.

A notable matter in her portfolio is Ethanol Boosting Systems, LLC et al. v. Ford Motor Company. In this litigation, MIT, as the patent owner, and its exclusive licensee, Ethanol Boosting Systems, LLC, sued Ford Motor Company for patent infringement. Ford subsequently filed inter partes review (IPR) petitions challenging the validity of MIT's patents. The Federal Circuit ultimately affirmed decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) holding MIT's patents (U.S. Patent Nos. 10,619,580, 10,781,760, and 9,708,965), directed to fuel management systems for spark-ignition engines, unpatentable as obvious. Her role at MIT, which explicitly includes patent litigation management, encompassed oversight of these IPR proceedings and related Federal Circuit appeals.

Ms. Herlihy earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from Boston College Law School in 1996 and her B.A. from Vanderbilt University in 1986. She is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and Florida.