DeAnna Allen

DeAnna’s practice involves multiple aspects of intellectual property, including patent litigation, trade secrets litigation, computer technology and related counseling. She has litigated cases and counseled clients on matters involving patents for a variety of complex technologies, including software systems, virtual and augmented reality, semiconductors, improvised explosive device (IED)/mine detection technologies, consumer electronics, cancer treatment methods, nutraceuticals, advanced security camera networks, commercial automotive equipment, biological testing equipment, online auction and gaming technology, and multimedia digital equipment and communication networks. Her work includes representations in the federal district courts of numerous states and the US Court of Federal Claims.

DeAnna also is experienced in the transfer of rights in IP, including technology transfer agreements and due diligence, along with patent prosecution involving computer memory, computer networks, signal processing, digital imagers, and other areas of electrical and computer engineering. She often provides counseling to clients on matters relating to Big Data systems, imaging technology, machine learning, wireless and wired communication technologies, and other computer-based systems.

DeAnna has been recognized routinely for her professional accomplishments throughout her career – including being selected as a 2017 Benchmark Litigation Future Star. In 2012, she was selected as a Future Washington, DC, Star in Benchmark Litigation and as a national and Washington, DC, Litigation Star in Benchmark Plaintiff. The Legal 500 has referred to DeAnna as a “hi-tech specialist” and “recommended” her in 2011 in the Intellectual Property: Patent Prosecution category. She also was recognized in 2010 by the National Diversity Council as one of the Most Powerful and Influential Women in the DC-Maryland-Virginia region. In 2008, DeAnna was featured in Profiles in Diversity Journal’s 8th Annual Women Worth Watching issue, a profile that highlighted an elite group of women leaders from several industries who represent diversity within their spheres of influence and who are determined and compassionate mentors. Finally, in the December 2007 issue of Black Enterprise magazine, DeAnna was named to the publication’s Hot List, a biennial register of professional and entrepreneurial powerhouses under the age of 40 who shape our world.

DeAnna previously chaired and co-chaired Cooley’s diversity committee. She also is a former president and executive board member of the National Association of Women Lawyers.

DeAnna’s representative experience includes:

• Patent and trade secret defense in a combination intellectual property dispute
• Client counseling regarding Bayh-Dole Act implications and strategic risk assessments
• Patent defense on behalf of multiple Fortune 100 technology companies, resulting in early summary judgment on the merits
• Patent assertion on behalf of a large government contractor regarding augmented reality-based weapons systems
• Patent defense for a Fortune 100 company in an action involving a national communications platform
• Patent assertion on behalf of a small government subcontractor, resulting in one of the highest patent settlements negotiated by the Department of Justice and paid by the government in several decades
• Patent defense, resulting in a favorable resolution on behalf of multiple technology companies in connection with GPS technology in mobile communications platforms
• Patent defense for a Fortune 100 company in various actions involving electronics and other retail products
• Counseling for a variety of entities – including startups, universities and Fortune 500 companies – in connection with patent litigation and prosecution strategies