Virent names chief intellectual properties counsel

Virent Energy Systems Inc., which says it possesses superior technology for making cellulosic ethanol compared with high-temperature fermentation or thermochemical production methods, has named a chief intellectual properties counsel to procure and protect company patents. David Kettner, a Madison Wis., intellectual properties attorney, previously practiced with Quarles & Brady LLP. Virent has stated that its platform technology, the BioForming process, will change how biofuels and bioproducts are produced and distributed.