How HP’s Ceyda Maisami navigated a decade of constant change to become Chief IP Counsel

Ceyda Maisami is HP’s Chief IP Counsel, which in her words means she’s “a little bit of a business person, a little bit of a legal person, and a little bit of a leader.” This January will mark her 12th year at the company. Throughout her tenure, she’s held multiple roles and responsibilities and seen many more acquisitions, restructurings, and changes in company strategy — most notably “the split” between HP and HPE. In this post, Ceyda recounts how HP’s IP team has and continues to evolve with the business, and she’ll share her personal experience of turning change into growth. As Ceyda says, “The element of change is very dominant at HP. It’s part of how we do what we do.” Read on to learn what that means to Ceyda and HP.

HP: Defining the future of personal computing from its very beginning

Hewlett-Packard’s first product was an audio oscillator used to measure and test sound. Its big break came in 1938 when it won the contract to supply audio oscillators to Disney’s production of Fantasia. Over the remainder of the century, the company would grow into a multinational corporation and the world’s leading manufacturer of PCs from 2007 to 2013. In addition to personal computing devices, it also sold products ranging from servers, storage devices, and networking products to software and services. In 2015, “the split” happened: Hewlett-Packard became two companies. Today, Hewlett Packard Enterprise carries on Hewlett-Packard’s enterprise business while HP Inc. has a product and service portfolio of personal computing systems and printing solutions. According to Ceyda, HP’s current R&D priorities in the personal computing space include putting AI into its products, supporting hybrid office technology, gaming, 3D printing, and healthcare.

How HP’s IP team has kept its structure, strategy, and outside relationships current

Team structure When Ceyda started at Hewlett-Packard, her role was heavily focused on “patent prep and pros” work similar to the responsibilities an IP attorney would have in a law firm. Now, its IP roles have shifted in two key ways:

• Away from hands-on patent work to facilitating business conversations with different groups within HP’s engineering or technical communities; and
• Away from patents and transactions being separate niches toward a model of IP generalists who are responsible for all IP aspects of a client’s business. To stretch its IP team members, they’re even given the option to do rotations in different aspects of IP beyond patents, such as litigation or M&A.

The reason Ceyda left the law firm route to go in-house was because of her interest in business. HP’s business-based IP structure shows that she picked the right place, and reflects the understanding that an effective IP practice is a blend of both law and business.

Strategy Like many others in the industry, Ceyda reports that the building and maintenance of HP’s IP portfolio now relies on quality versus quantity: “We have very clear expectations, thresholds, and considerations for quality that we take into our conversations with the business, and we’re very open with them.” There’s no doubt that HP’s emphasis on the relationship between business and IP teams has made this transition possible, as bringing the business along is often the biggest hurdle to making the shift from quantity to quality. As for how Ceyda’s team defines quality, the goal is “to build a portfolio that allows us to use it whenever needed from a defensive perspective to ensure HP’s freedom to operate.”

Outside counsel Ceyda’s team works with significantly fewer firms than when she began, but has invested more into every remaining engagement. To make these partnerships successful, her team believes in getting outside counsel involved early on and giving them insight into company-level priorities. This approach helps influence the claims they prosecute and encourages strategic portfolio building and management. This way, says Ceyda, “When we’re unable to go for the breadth or depth of what we’re looking to achieve with a specific patent or claims, our outside counsel can easily tell us what needs to happen from a business alignment perspective.”

Ceyda’s team works very closely with outside counsel to keep them up to date on HP’s  business and strategy, but after that they’re very hands off: “We trust them on the  prosecution side enough that we don’t necessarily have to be in their everyday work. We’ve taken a step back from being part of drafts and approving all the documents that go between offices.” Ceyda’s team’s partnerships prove that quality over quantity applies to outside counsel as well, and that investing in relationships and strategy upfront can save work in the long run.

Thought leadership Recently, Ceyda’s team has sought to build its leadership and collaboration with industry players on topics that matter to the company. Instead of just attending conferences, members of her team have been speaking at them. They’ve also sought out board seats, committee leadership, and other opportunities for external thought leadership. One of the topics that HP has been more active in lately is in Standards Essential Patents (SEPs). As an SEP implementer, HP has met challenges in this area. As a result, HP has ramped up its response from only handling SEP litigation internally or doing limited outreach on the policymaking side. Instead, HP is publicly making counter arguments to governments and via speaking engagements to raise awareness, find partners who share HP’s interests, and craft balanced solutions.

How Ceyda has sustained her dozen-year tenure at an ever-changing company

Active growth Ceyda’s advice for growing within the field of IP is to resist the comfort of silos and expertise. “You have to make the conscious choice to get exposed to new experiences,” she explains, “even though it’s natural to stay within your specialty and grow there. But you’ll hit a wall in your growth if your perspective stays narrow. The concept of being an expert in one area, while rewarding in the moment, can be limiting.” For Ceyda, these aren’t just words, but lived experience: “It was challenging to continue to expand several years into my career. It required taking a step back and being the junior person again. It was humbling to be in that position and required intentional effort. It didn’t come naturally.”

Luckily for Ceyda, HP’s nurturing and growth-oriented environment supported her in engaging in projects outside her expertise. If you don’t enjoy such an environment, Ceyda recommends being conscious of the possibility that others might question your motives, and that you’ll need the flexibility to be able to balance your regular responsibilities with your new ones. Even though you may face obstacles, Ceyda believes it’s better to recognize earlier than later that “to grow in IP, you need to gain experience across all aspects of it, not just patents.”

Leading through team empowerment To help her team members reach their full potential, Ceyda takes a behind-the-scenes approach that focuses on giving them resources and opportunities to develop. To act as an enabler for her team, she sponsors them in conversations where they aren’t present to give them recognition for their leadership. When asked about how being a woman and a mother has influenced her leadership style, she says those experiences give her less judgment and agenda, more empathy, caring, and ways to connect. “Having multiple children teaches you that one approach doesn’t work for everyone,” says Ceyda. “You must understand each individual and tailor your approach and communications accordingly.” As a mother of three myself, I couldn’t agree more.

The evolution that HP’s IP team has undergone over Ceyda’s 12 years there is just as rich as the one the business has experienced. As HP has become its own company, Ceyda’s IP team has shifted toward a generalist team model, a quality over quantity portfolio, and deeper engagement with outside counsel and industry. Throughout this journey, Ceyda has sought intentional growth and multifaceted opportunities for her team. Ceyda’s story is a true example of the power of well-rounded, business-led IP leadership.

I loved my conversation with Ceyda and hope you enjoyed learning more about her and her career too. I met Ceyda at HP when she started and I knew even then that she was a rockstar. Like her, I made a conscious choice to get exposed to new roles, companies, and experiences in my career. Ceyda’s story of active growth really resonated with me. A diverse set of experiences broadens your perspective and makes you a better IP professional overall.