Patent Counseling and Prosecution – Technology

Patent – Universities and Spin-outs

Cooley's international patent prosecution and counseling team consists of over 90 patent professionals across offices in the US and Europe, including 60+ patent practitioners with PhDs. Within that team, we have patent lawyers, agents and technical advisors who represent universities and research institutes in all aspects of intellectual property law, including patent prosecution, IP licensing, and strategic counseling.

Our attorneys administer and supervise extensive patenting programs and manage large scale patent portfolios for universities and other non-profits. We also leverage our experience litigating high-stakes patent cases to understand and mitigate patent vulnerabilities. While our university clients are not likely to litigate their patents, our experience in this area positions us to prepare and prosecute patent applications that can attract the interest of potential licensees without giving rise to infringement challenges.

We secure patent protection for complex, cutting-edge technologies. We also represent emerging companies, including university spin-outs, from angel investment through IPO, so we understand the transition from the lab to the market and how to create value in a patent portfolio. For university spin-out clients, we develop and execute comprehensive IP strategies based on product development and funding cycles, geared toward the company's long-term goals. We also negotiate IP license agreements with university and corporate partners and perform IP due diligence for both spin-outs and the venture capital firms that fund them.

As one of the top firms in the country for intellectual property law in the life sciences and technology space, we use our expertise to help our university and research institute clients translate their innovations into products that benefit the public directly, as well as generate economic support for future research and development.