Zayd Alathari practices all aspects of intellectual property law, domestically and internationally.  He helps clients to patent, protect and commercialize inventions in numerous areas, including chemical and biotechnology products, medical and mechanical devices, pharmaceuticals, coatings and business methods.

For his clients, he manages patent portfolios, prepares and prosecutes patent applications and prepares validity, infringement, freedom-to-operate, and patentability opinions.  Mr. Alathari also prepares due diligence and intellectual property audits as well as intellectual property licensing and agreements.  He also coordinates and assists clients with trademark, copyright, trade secret and other intellectual property related matters.

His practice covers:

• managing and counseling clients on worldwide portfolio management;
• drafting, filing and prosecuting patent applications;
• conducting legal and technical research;
• counseling on strategic development, licensing and litigation; and
• assisting with patent litigation, including ANDA disputes.

Mr. Alathari has a valuable background in biology and biotechnology.  Moreover, prior to obtaining his law degree, he spent three years as a case manager for litigation matters, while also interning part-time at the Office of Technology Transfer for the National Institutes of Health, and five years as a patent agent prosecuting domestic and foreign patent applications.

He has been involved with preparing and prosecuting hundreds of domestic and international patent applications and has worked on more than 50 patent litigation/opinion-related matters.

Representative Clients

Mr. Alathari’s clients—small and large, domestic and foreign—span a range of technologies, including:

• molecular biology (genomics, proteomics and synthetic biology)
• pharmaceutical formulations
• chemicals and compounds (steroids, antibiotics, anesthetics, vaccines, neuroactive agents, industrial plastics, polymers and petrochemicals)
• agricultural products (genetically modified crops, natural products and dietary supplements)
• cosmetics
• medical devices (coated stents, needles and catheters)
• Internet systems
• electronic and mechanical devices

Some of Mr. Alathari's clients have included:

• Dairy Management, Inc.
• Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
• U.S. National Institutes of Health
• Taro Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd.
• United Soybean Board
• Fuzzmed, Inc.
• Cygnet Works, Inc.

Activities

Mr. Alathari is a member of the American Bar Association of Intellectual Property Law where he serves on the Committees for International Patent Treaties and Laws, Patent and Trademark Office Affairs and the Special Committee on Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacology. He is named Chair-Elect of the Patent, Trademark and Copyright Section of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia (BADC) for 2011-2012. In prior years, Zayd had served as Board Secretary, Vice-Chair of the Legislative Committee and Co-Chair of the Programs Committee.

Mr. Alathari serves on the Board of Directors for the Iraqi-American Academic and Professional Committee, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote all aspects of higher education and research in Iraq, to conduct research and educational activities in Iraq in conjunction with U.S. academic disciplines, and to sponsor forums with Iraqi academicians to promote broader understanding of science and technology. Mr. Alathari is also Chair of the Law Subcommittee.

Mr. Alathari is a volunteer at the DC Bar Public Service Activities Corporation, assisting participants with political asylum cases, and is involved with the Venable/Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia joint program for representing indigent defendants in misdemeanor cases before the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

Mr. Alathari is also involved with a number of other American-Middle East based nonprofit/charitable organizations as a volunteer and on a pro bono basis to assist with, non-profit and Intellectual Property related matters and fundraising and other non-legal assistance.