67 Ward and Smith Attorneys Recognized by Best Lawyers® in America for 2025
August 15, 2024
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Our registered patent attorneys routinely practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") and have experience in all areas of both domestic and international patent law. Our patent experience includes:
- Opinions and assessments with regard to patentability, freedom to operate, validity, and potential infringement
- Preparing and prosecuting patent applications before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- Preparing and negotiating patent licenses, development agreements, material transfer agreements, confidentiality agreements, and employment agreements
- Preparing international patent applications
- Coordinating the preparation and prosecution of patent applications in foreign jurisdictions
- Patent portfolio audits
- Strategic portfolio development, management, and assessment
- Due diligence in acquisitions involving patents
The technical expertise of our attorneys covers a broad spectrum of technological and scientific disciplines, including medical devices, geotechnical systems, microfluidic devices, textiles, boat manufacturing and systems, home appliances, mechanical, electronics, computer hardware and software, chemicals, material sciences, food sciences, marine biology, pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical formulations, drug screening, diagnostic and therapeutic methods, DNA, RNA and protein molecules, nucleic acid expression vectors, agricultural biotechnology including transgenic plants and plant products, yeast expression systems, anaerobic bacteria, antibodies, vaccine compositions, protein purification, cell culture systems and media, enzyme assays, and biomanufacturing processes including polysaccharide isolation and purification, optimization of polysaccharide yield and molecular weight profiles, and polysaccharide and carrier protein conjugation.
Several of our patent practitioners have industry experience and/or hold advanced degrees in scientific and engineering fields, including Ph.D.'s in biochemistry and biomedical science with a specialization in pharmacology.
Our IP litigation team provides a full-range of patent litigation services including:
- Prosecute and defend patent infringement claims in federal court
- Prosecute and defend patent reexaminations, reissues, and interference cases before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- Prosecute and defend patent licensing disputes in state and federal courts
- Coordinate multistate and international enforcement and defense actions
We are your established legal network with offices in Asheville, Greenville, New Bern, Raleigh, and Wilmington, NC.
