Dr. Bill Christiansen

Bill advises pharmaceutical, biotechnology, clean energy and medical device companies, as well as universities, non-profit research institutions and investors, with respect to complex intellectual property matters and market exclusivity strategies.

Bill specializes in patent matters, with particular emphasis on worldwide patent procurement, strategic management of patent portfolios, investment due diligence, early stage company counseling, competitive patent position analysis, and intellectual property value creation. He also advises litigation teams on technical and patent specific issues.

In addition to emphasizing a cost-effective yet dynamic intellectual property portfolio approach for his clients, Bill provides counseling to assist clients in leveraging their patent estates as true business assets consistent with their business goals. He regularly counsels both national and international clients with regard to freedom to operate opinions, invalidity and non-infringement opinions, due diligence transactions, oppositions, and re-examination proceedings. Bill has extensive experience in a variety of technologies, including biology-based clean energy, small molecule therapeutics, immunology, gene therapy, stem cell therapeutics, formulations, re-formulations, drug delivery, RNAi, miRNA, antisense, gene regulation, epigenetics, diagnostics, diagnostic and therapeutic polypeptides, polynucleotides, and antibodies, vaccines, genomics, and bioinformatics.

Bill has published many legal and scientific articles, has extensive teaching and research experience, and has presented regularly at both legal and scientific conferences. He is recognized as a leading patent lawyer by several prominent legal directories, including Best Lawyers, Chambers, IAM Patent 1000, LMG Life Sciences and Super Lawyers. In the latest edition of Chambers, clients state that "Bill offers excellent strategic advice and great client communication." "In addition to being a seasoned attorney, Bill is an accomplished scientist, which enables a very high level of sophistication in his analyses and strategic guidance."

Prior to joining Cooley, Bill was a partner in the biotechnology and chemistry practice group at Seed Intellectual Property Law Group PLLC. He obtained a PhD in biochemistry/biophysics/molecular biology from the University of Notre Dame, where he studied the structure/function of various coagulation factors, including human Protein C. He was named an American Heart Association Fellow for his final two years of graduate study and won the Graduate School Award in Science and the Rohm and Haas Outstanding Graduate Student Award.