Yangmo "Harvey" Ahn

Profile

Yangmo (“Harvey”) Ahn is a member of the Intellectual Property and Patent Groups who assists clients with technology-related matters.

What does Harvey do for Clients?
With his born curiosity, Harvey enjoys understanding clients’ technology and devising strategies to protect their intellectual property rights. Also, as a native Korean speaker, Harvey can provide language facilitation.

Harvey assists clients with patent prosecution, patent litigation, and IP counseling and transactions. His practice encompasses his technical background of naval architecture and ocean engineering and expands into mechanical devices, medical devices, protective athletic and active gear, and consumer products.

Having been an engineer as well as a patent inventor, Harvey utilizes his experience in understanding clients’ technologies and inventions as well as protecting clients’ rights. Harvey, a former structural engineer at one of the “Big Three” shipbuilders of South Korea, is currently a member of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea (SNAK). He engaged in designing and engineering ultra-large containerships, LPG (liquified petroleum gas) carriers, LNG (liquified natural gas) carriers, and crude oil carriers, including the world’s largest containerships (then the largest in 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2020). In doing so, Harvey worked with various marine classification societies, responding to ever-evolving rules and regulations of IMO (International Maritime Organization), IACS (International Association of Classification Societies), ABS (American Bureau of Shipping), BV (Bureau Veritas), LR (Lloyd’s Register), DNV (Det Norske Veritas), GL (Germanischer Lloyd), and KR (Korean Register of Shipping).

He designed ships and conducted CAD (Computer-Aided Design) drawings of structures and calculations of various structural strengths, including yield strength, bucking strength, fatigue strength, and deformation of structures. Harvey also assessed the structural integrity of ships using finite element analysis, from modeling ships to evaluating the whole ship, cargo holds, and local portions using linear and non-linear analyses. In response to climate change and IMO regulations limiting ship emissions, Harvey participated in research and development of new systems complying with those regulations. He also engaged in preparing technical proposals for bidding, not only considering various aspects of projects but also the goals and needs of various clients across the world.

Harvey served as a KATUSA (Korean Augmentation To the United States Army) soldier, infantry 11B, under the Eighth U.S. Army. He earned the Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB) and a 2nd infantry division challenge coin, later serving as an EIB instructor. During his service, Harvey was a team leader in his unit after completing the Warrior Leadership Course and was awarded a Commendation from the Republic of Korea Army and the Army Achieved Medal and Army Recommendation Medal from the U.S. Department of the Army.

Prior to joining McNees as a full-time associate, Harvey was a CAMP 1L summer intern and a law clerk at the firm during his 2L and 3L years in law school, mainly working with the Intellectual Property Law and Energy and Environmental Law Groups.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Harvey worked as a law clerk and continued his legal education while supporting his wife, who also studied law, and preschool-aged daughter. He enjoyed the challenges life threw at him and actively participated in a multitude of activities. Harvey served as a member of the editorial board of Dickinson Law Review, an officer of the Dickinson Law Moot Court Board, and was an advocate in the Jeffrey G. Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition. He also served as president of the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association and vice president of the Dickinson Law Intellectual Property Law Society.

How does Harvey spend his free time?
Although Harvey used to play a variety of sports, including football, archery, basketball, and anything related to a ball, he is now exploring and interested in more family-oriented activities. As a weekend tinkerer, Harvey always does something at home — one of his closest friends suggested he add a “Domestic Engineer” section in his resume. With a dog (rescued), cat (rescued), gecko (not rescued), and daughter (not rescued), it is hard to find a moment of tranquility, but he values the time he spends sitting with his wife and moments filled with giggling sounds.