Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that Gabrielle Pludo and Kyle A. Planck have joined the firm’s Intellectual Property & Technology group as an associate and patent agent, respectively. Their arrival continues the expansion of the firm’s Intellectual Property team, which in 2026 has also added partners Mark D. Passler and Ryan L. Harding, patent agent Edwin P. Glaser, and patent attorneys Lucas A. Peterson and Ryan M. Fitzpatrick.
Gabrielle focuses her practice on the clearance, prosecution, and enforcement of trademarks and copyrights. She advises brand-driven companies ranging from emerging businesses to established enterprises across a variety of industries, on the development and management of strong domestic and international brand portfolios. Gabrielle counsels clients on trademark strategy, including proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and provides guidance on brand protection, copyright matters, and intellectual property due diligence and agreements.
Gabrielle joins Blank Rome from Ballard Spahr LLP and is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania. She received her J.D. from Villanova University School of Law, and her B.S. from Emory University. During law school, Gabrielle was a founding student attorney in an intellectual property law clinic, providing pro bono counseling to entrepreneurs and early-stage companies on patent and trademark prosecution and strategy.
Kyle focuses his practice on drafting and prosecuting domestic and international patent applications across the biotechnology and life sciences sectors, including pharmaceuticals, formulations, diagnostics, immunology, cell and gene therapies, stem cell technologies, and small-molecule therapeutics. He advises clients at all stages of innovation and works closely with inventors, in-house counsel, and business leaders to manage intellectual property risk and strengthen patent portfolios through patentability and freedom-to-operate analyses, patent landscaping and competitive intelligence, and due diligence support for licensing transactions, collaborations, and acquisitions.
Kyle joins the firm from McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP and is admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”). He earned a Ph.D. from Weill Cornell Medical College, and a B.S., with honors, from the University of Notre Dame. Kyle holds his Ph.D. in Pharmacology, and conducted research centered on drug discovery, metabolism, and pharmacokinetics.