Salt Lake City, UTAH (Feb, 2017) – Durham Jones & Pinegar is pleased to announce the expansion of the firm’s Intellectual Property group with the addition of four experienced registered patent attorneys. Joining the firm are Randall B. Bateman, Christopher L. Wight, Sarah W. Matthews, and Tenley H. Schofield. They will practice in the D|J|P Salt Lake City office which as of February 21, 2017 will be located at the new 111 Main tower.
“Rand Bateman and his team’s extensive experience advising medical device, chemical and life science companies, and their deep understanding of both IP prosecution and litigation matters, will be extremely valuable," said Kevin Pinegar, Managing Partner of D|J|P. "Combined with our firm’s strong corporate, M&A and financing capabilities, adding depth to our intellectual property group strengthens our ability to offer comprehensive advice to business clients from formation to exit."
"D|J|P's exceptional corporate platform complements my team’s practice extremely well," said Mr. Bateman. "We look forward to working alongside such a talented and dedicated team of lawyers."
Randall B. Bateman joins the firm as Shareholder. He specializes in the protection of intellectual property for local, national, and international clients. His experience includes complex litigation and prosecution of patent, trademark, and copyright matters. A particular focus of Mr. Bateman’s practice involves patents on medical devices and shooting range/target technologies.
Mr. Bateman has obtained approximately 400 patents and administered the registration of more than 400 trademarks. He has also litigated numerous patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret matters ranging from architectural copyright cases to patent cases to trademark disputes both in Federal Court and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. His successful efforts have ranged from seven-figure settlements, to the invalidation of every claim of four patents on summary judgment.
Mr. Bateman is a frequent speaker on intellectual property issues and has published numerous articles regarding Intellectual Property and how it affects business. He is also the founder of the Utah Genius awards that honor the top patentees and trademark registrants in Utah.
Christopher L. Wight joins the firm as Of Counsel. His practice focuses on providing intellectual property legal services and strategic counseling for the life science and chemical industries, specifically in the chemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical diagnostic/personalized medicine and medical device fields.
Mr. Wight has previously been affiliated with several nationally and internationally recognized law firms specializing in intellectual property matters. Mr. Wight has also served as in-house counsel to two highly successful biopharmaceutical and molecular diagnostic companies - as Vice President and General Counsel of Myriad Genetics and as Director of Intellectual Property of Immunex Corporation prior to its acquisition by Amgen. At Immunex, Mr. Wight was personally responsible for developing and implementing Immunex’s corporate intellectual property strategy for various biopharmaceutical products, including LEUKINE and ENBREL. ENBREL is now one of the world’s highest grossing biologic drugs, with current world-wide annual revenues exceeding $8 billion. Immunex’s ENBREL product and the strength of its patent portfolio developed by Mr. Wight was the principal economic driving force behind Amgen’s $16 billion acquisition of Immunex in 2002, then the largest acquisition of a biopharmaceutical company in the history of the biotechnology industry.
As Vice President & General Counsel of Myriad Genetics, Mr. Wight was responsible for directing the development and enforcement of intellectual property relating to Myriad’s genetic testing business, including Myriad’s patents covering its BRACANALYSIS breast cancer predisposition test, which positioned Myriad to become the preeminent genetic testing company in the world.
Mr. Wight has also previously represented numerous major pharmaceutical companies around the world, including one of the world’s largest generic drug manufacturers, providing patent invalidity analyses and opinions relating to branded innovator drugs in support of Hatch-Waxman Act Paragraph IV Certifications.
Sarah W. Matthews also joins the firm as Of Counsel. She prepares and prosecutes patent applications, including those related to chemical arts and medical devices. Mrs. Matthews also prepares opinions for clients regarding the patentability, validity, and infringement of United States patents. She has worked on diverse intellectual property litigation issues, including patent infringement, trademark infringement, trade secrets, and copyrights. Mrs. Matthews has represented clients on both sides of patent infringement suits, including non-practicing entities enforcing patents and defendants accused of patent infringement.
Tenley H. Schofield, registered patent attorney, joins D|J|P as an Associate. She has extensive experience drafting, filing, and prosecuting patent and trademark applications and in copyright and trademark enforcement and patent litigation. She brings significant technology experience in the biochemistry and computer science fields, including over 6 years of hands-on laboratory work with cytochrome P450 and eosinophils in plant, healthcare, genetics, enzymology, and biomedical polymers labs. Tenley also previously worked at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a patent examiner extern, completing the Examiner Training Academy.
ABOUT DURHAM JONES & PINEGAR
Durham Jones & Pinegar is one of the largest law firms based in the State of Utah and has been rated #1 in business and transaction law in Utah by Super Lawyers. With five offices in Utah and Nevada, Durham Jones & Pinegar offers a variety of legal services in various practice areas including Business & Finance, Commercial Litigation, Intellectual Property, Real Estate, Bankruptcy, Employment Law, and Estate Planning.
For more information, visit: www.djplaw.com
