Longtime OCBA member and Past President Don Martens passed away on Wednesday, May 22, 2019, at the age of 85. Martens was a founding partner of Knobbe Martens, an Orange County intellectual property firm based in Santa Ana.
Martens helped grow Knobbe from a handful of lawyers in 1965 to more than 275 lawyers and scientists today. He was a partner at the firm for 40 years and spent another 10 mediating IP disputes before retiring in 2016. His leadership roles included president of the Orange County Bar Association, president of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, chairman of the American Bar Association’s IP section, and president of the Orange County Intellectual Property Lawyers Association. “Don was a giant in IP law circles for half a century,” Knobbe managing partner Steven Nataupsky said in an email sent to the firm. “He will always be a role model for the firm and all who knew him.”
Martens helped grow Knobbe from a handful of lawyers in 1965 to more than 275 lawyers and scientists today. He was a partner at the firm for 40 years and spent another 10 mediating IP disputes before retiring in 2016. His leadership roles included president of the Orange County Bar Association, president of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, chairman of the American Bar Association’s IP section, and president of the Orange County Intellectual Property Lawyers Association.
“Don was a giant in IP law circles for half a century,” Knobbe managing partner Steven Nataupsky said in an email sent to the firm. “He will always be a role model for the firm and all who knew him.”
Read more about Don Martens and his legacy in The Recorder.