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Email: plavanway@fredlaw.com
Office: 612.492.7387
Assistant: Tina Blissenbach, 612.492.7675
Intellectual Property Litigation
IP Due Diligence
Life Sciences
Corporate Sustainability & Social Responsibility
Working at the intersection of law and technology, Paul helps technology developers protect and defend their intellectual property assets and also guides technology users through the complex landscape of third-party intellectual property ownership.
With an emphasis on providing practical, actionable advice, he counsels clients on a wide range of strategic patent issues.
Paul’s value-added approach to patent acquisition and portfolio management focuses on securing commercially valuable patent rights that maximize protection for technology developers and limit the ability of competitors to compete within a technology space. He also advises product manufacturers and technology users on risk management regarding third-party owned patents. He regularly leads large clearance investigations and opines on competitor patents, enabling technology users to understand and manage the risks inherent to operating in a competitive environment of third-party patent ownership.
While Paul seeks to avoid costly and disruptive patent disputes for his clients, he is comfortable working on contested proceedings. He handles patent licensing and infringement demands by competitors companies and patent trolls. He also engages in post-grant proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, including representing both patent owners and defendants in contested inter partes proceedings and litigation reissue actions. Paul works closely with the firm’s intellectual property litigators when advising on disputes and provides strategic support on patent lawsuits.
Paul works on a wide range of technologies, including chemical compositions and processes, medical devices, software, and mechanical and electro-mechanical systems. Paul is particularly adept at handling chemical and process-based technologies, having worked as a Law Clerk in 3M’s Office of Intellectual Property Counsel prior to joining Fredrikson & Byron and having also worked as a process engineer for ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Co. prior to law school.
October 1, 2011
The most significant revamping of United States patent law in the last 50 years was enacted on September 16, 2011, with President Obama’s signature of the America Invents Act. The Act, which will be implemented over the next 18 months, changes the procedures for obtaining new patents and provides new tools for challenging existing patents.
