DAVID FOSTER

David Foster is Principal Counsel for The Walt Disney Company, and is the in-house patent attorney for ESPN, Disney Streaming Services, and Marvel Entertainment. Based at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, CT, Mr. Foster manages the invention harvesting and patent application processes, patent litigation and licensing, and advises on the patent aspects of contracts and other corporate transactions.

Prior to joining Disney, Mr. Foster was Assistant General Counsel for Intellectual Property at Actel Corporation, a Silicon Valley semiconductor company. There, he managed all aspects of Actel's patent program, including prosecution, strategy, portfolio development and management, litigation, and licensing, as well as other intellectual property matters including copyright, trademark, and software issues. Prior to Actel, Mr. Foster held positions at Novalux, Inc., a semiconductor laser startup and Kenyon & Kenyon, a New York-based intellectual property law firm. Mr. Foster earned a BSE in Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1993 and a JD from the University of Chicago Law School in 1996.

Mr. Foster lives in Durham, CT with his wife and three children, where he enjoys cooking, bicycling, and doing odd projects around their late 18th century farmhouse.