Dr. Marcelo Pomeranz

Marcelo focuses his practice on the development and execution of world-wide intellectual property strategies for biotech and pharmaceutical companies. He has extensive experience in securing, defending, and challenging patents to provide clients with the necessary protection and freedom to operate to monetize their inventions. He has extensive technical experience in plant biology, RNA silencing, CRISPR gene editing, strain engineering, plant-derived medicines, molecular biology and systems biology. He holds a PhD in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology.

Marcelo is also an expert in cannabinoid biology and chemistry, representing clients in all areas of cannabinoid research, including cannabis and hemp breeding and genetics, cannabinoid and terpene biosynthesis, synthetic cannabinoid chemistry, cannabinoid and terpene extraction and detection, and cannabinoid formulation and pharmacology. He successfully secured the first patents to THC-containing plants in the US, Canada, and Europe. In 2021, Marcelo was recognized by Law360 as a Rising Star in the cannabis category. He is one of a handful of lawyers named as leaders in this area. 

Marcelo's doctoral research focused on elucidating mechanisms for AU-rich mediated RNA degradation and the formation of RNA processing bodies and stress granules in plants. After his graduate work, he undertook a postdoctoral fellowship at The Ohio State University Center for Applied Sciences and the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center. His postdoctoral work focused on the discovery of gene regulatory networks and developmental expression programs using next-generation sequencing and mathematical modeling.

Marcelo was awarded the American Bar Association's Award for Excellence in intellectual property law. He has authored and co-authored numerous publications appearing in Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, The Plant Journal, Plant Physiology and Plant Signal Behavior.

Publications

• Co-author, “Illegality Doctrine Rejected in Legal Cannabis Patent Case, Confirming Patent Enforceability,” Cooley Alert, February 2023
• Co-author, “IP Protection for Vegetatively Reproduced Plants: New Paths Forward,” 101 J. PAT. & TRADEMARK OFF. SOC’Y 374, June 2021
• Co-author, “EPO: Plants and Plant Materials Not Patentable if Exclusively Obtained by Essentially Biological Process,” Cooley Alert, May 2020
• Co-author, "Protecting Plant Innovation," Landslide (ABA publication), July/August 2019
• Co-author, “USDA Announces Acceptance of PVP Applications for Hemp,” Cooley Alert, April 2019
• Co-author, “Shoots, Leaves and Money Trees,” Intellectual Property Magazine, December 2018
• Co-author, “Linking Genotype to Phenotype: The Effect of a Mutation in Gibberellic Acid Production on Plant Germination” CourseSource. 4. 10.24918/cs.2017.18. (2017)
• Lead author, “High resolution computational imaging of leaf hair patterning using polarizing light microscopy.” The Plant Journal 73(4) November 2012
• Co-author, “From plant regulatory grids to network dynamics” Biochim Biophys Acta. 1819(5):454-6 (2012)
• Lead author, “Putative molecular mechanisms underlying tandem CCCH zinc finger protein mediated plant growth, stress, and gene expression responses.” Plant Signal Behav. (2011)
• Lead author, “Can AtTZF1 act as a transcriptional activator or repressor in plants?” Plant Signal Behav. (2011)
• Co-author, “The Arabidopsis tandem zinc finger protein AtTZF1 affects ABA- and GA-mediated growth, stress and gene expression responses.” Plant J 65: 253-268. (2011)
• Lead author, “The Arabidopsis Tandem Zinc Finger Protein AtTZF1 Traffics between the Nucleus and Cytoplasmic Foci and Binds Both DNA and RNA.” Plant Physiology 152: 151-165. (2010)
• Lead author, “AtTZF gene family localizes to cytoplasmic foci.” Plant Signal Behav 5: 190-192. (2010)

Presentations

• Presenter, “Expand Your Toolbox: Creative Approaches to IP Licensing, Protection and Exclusivity,” INCBA Global IP Symposium, September 28, 2023
• Presenter, “Tech Transfers & M&As: Optimizing IP, Tech Transfers & More, Before, During & After Mergers & Acquisitions,” Lift Cannabis Business Conference, January 12, 2023
• Presenter, "Leveraging Patents and Technology to Grow Your Client’s Cannabis Business," 46th Annual IP Institute: Beyond the Surf: Deep Dives into Intellectual Property, November 5, 2022
• Presenter, "Strategies for Building a Robust Patent Portfolio," International Cannabinoid-Derived Pharmaceuticals Summit, 2021
• Presenter, "Fireside Chat: Meet the Cannabinoid IP Specialists," International Cannabinoid-Derived Pharmaceuticals Summit, 2021
• Presenter, "Cannabinoid-Related IP: Novelty Amidst a Treasure Trove (Strategies for Patenting Cannabinoid-Based Inventions), International Cannabinoid-Derived Pharmaceuticals Summit, 2020
• Presenter, "Genetics and Bioscience IP Panel," 2020 Cannabis Law Institute, October 29, 2020
• Presenter, “Enforceability of Cannabis Patents,” 2019 Cannabis Law Institute in New York Law School, October 4, 2019