Kara K. Fairbairn

Kara is an experienced patent attorney working with life science, medical device and biotechnology companies.

Kara helps life science, medical device, biotechnology and food science companies by creating global patent protection strategies that include obtaining global patent protection for their products, performing freedom-to-operate analyses on their products, attacking and designing around competitor patents, and enforcing their patents against competitors. She also has a specialty in working with genetic tests and medical diagnostic tests (in particular cancer diagnostic and genetic susceptibility tests using DNA identification methods).

• Representative medical diagnostic patent technologies include genetic tests (including tests using next generation sequencing methods), cancer diagnostic and genetic susceptibility tests, cancer treatment methods, blood control diagnostics, autoimmune diagnostics, gastric emptying and celiac disease breath test diagnostics and pulmonary disease diagnostics.
• Representative medical device technologies include drug delivery devices, surgical blankets, guidewires, hearing implants, delivery catheters, heart valves, intravascular ultrasound systems, vessel occluders, vascular probes, anastomic blood vessel couplers, intravascular blood flow detection devices, blood vessel clamps, dermatology treatment devices, ear suction devices, cross-linked animal tissue for suture buttressing applications
• Representative biotech technologies include human and animal bacterial vaccines, stem cell and blood cord technology, immunoassays, dietary supplements, cancer drug pharmaceuticals.

Education

• University of Nebraska College of Law, J.D., 2001
• University of New Hampshire School of Law, Franklin Pierce Center for IP, IP Summer Institute, 2000
• Pepperdine University, Biology, 1999

Admissions

• Minnesota, 2002
• U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, 2001

Professional Activities

• 3-Time Attendee of USPTO Design Day in Washington D.C.
• Women in Intellectual Property Law Association Committee, Co-Chair, 2013
• LifeScience Alley Organization Women’s Roundtable, Member, 2012-2014
• American Intellectual Property Law Association
• Minnesota Intellectual Property Law Association

Community

• School Auction, St. Thomas More Catholic School, Co-Chair, 2015-present
• Can Do Canines, Former Board Member, 2006-2009