About Us
The Native American Intellectual Property Enterprise Council (NAIPEC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit economic development organization. We work with Tribes and tribally owned enterprises to make intellectual property a cornerstone of business growth and economic sovereignty.
In our role as a strategic consulting partner, we help Native communities secure, manage, and monetize IP in ways that drive sustainable economic development and growth.
NAIPEC was founded by renowned, successful Native American Inventor T. David Petite. NAIPEC brings together some of the brightest minds in the world with a mission to assist in the field of educating, capturing, managing, developing, and manufacturing the ideas and intellectual property of Native American inventors.
Supported by its network of partners and international experts NAIPEC delivers world-class education, advanced interdisciplinary research and modern business development support.
For more about us and our Native American IP Project, please read our recent White Paper | Harmony
Leadership
T. David Petite – President & Founder. (Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa)
Kim Ribbans, Executive Director.
Advisors
Clarence O’Berry
Clarence O’Berry is the President/CEO of the Mandaree Enterprises family of companies and has over 35 years’ experience in business development and tribal enterprise management. His business expertise spans a host of disciplines, including strategic partnerships, acquisitions, organizational renewal, branding, trademarking, intellectual property investments and management, federal and commercial contract capture.
A lifelong entrepreneur himself, Clarence is committed to pursuing innovative strategies to promote Native ingenuity and commercial success. Among numerous other awards, he has been recognized by the Minority Business Alliance in 2008 as one of the 25 Most Powerful Minority Men in Business.
Clarence is an enrolled member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Sioux Tribe.
John Herman
John Herman is the Chairman and Founder of Herman Jones LLP, a high stakes litigation boutique. His practice focuses on complex civil litigation and licensing with a particular emphasis on high technology matters. His experience includes securities, patent, antitrust, data breach, whistleblower and class action litigation.
John also has significant first chair trial experience handling numerous cases through verdict in both federal and state courts.
Kodee Goseyun
Kodee J. Goseyun is the Economic Development Specialist of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, providing technical assistance to local small businesses.
Kodee has wide experience in procurement and fostering innovation, and has worked around the country helping small and growing businesses. She was previously with UIDA Business Services as a Procurement Consultant.
David Kennedy
David Kennedy is a recognized leader in intellectual property valuation and strategy, named one of the World’s Leading IP Strategists by Intellectual Asset Management for the past eleven years. With more than 35 years of experience as a CPA, auditor, and consultant, he has advised corporations, universities, inventors, and government agencies on intellectual property management, valuation, and monetization.
David has negotiated more than 200 IP transactions, including patent sales, licensing agreements, and cross-licensing deals. He has reviewed and analyzed thousands of patent licenses to establish royalty rates and provide comparables for both litigation and negotiation. His expertise extends to forensic consulting, where he has testified as an expert witness in U.S. federal courts and international arbitration on matters involving patents, copyrights, trade secrets, and royalty determinations for standard essential and implementation patents.