Womble Bond Dickinson

Firm overview:

Full-service IP firm Womble Bond Dickinson has a broad and active patent practice that spans prosecution, litigation, post-grant strategy and transactional counselling. Womble Bond Dickinson manages tens of thousands of active patent records and advises more than 2,000 clients worldwide, handling patent preparation, prosecution and enforcement across a wide array of technologies from life sciences and software to mechanical systems and materials science.

The firm is recognised in independent analytics reports for its patent prosecution output, including ranking in the top 20 for the number of successful US patents granted and recording more than 1,600 utility patents obtained in recent years. A peer says of WBD: “They are strategic, they do a lot of US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) work, a lot of patent prosecution”, noting that the firm has some “major” biotech clients.

Patent litigation forms an important component of Womble Bond Dickinson’s IP offering. Its litigation teams, located in key venues such as Delaware, Texas and California, handle infringement and enforcement matters in district courts, before the US International Trade Commission, and on appeal to the Federal Circuit. The practice also has extensive experience in USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) trials, and coordinates litigation strategies with parallel USPTO proceedings.

Womble Bond Dickinson also supports clients in strategic IP portfolio development, licensing, due diligence in mergers and acquisitions, and transactions.

Team overview:

The firm’s US IP group includes more than 120 attorneys, patent agents and technical advisors, with over 100 USPTO-registered practitioners and numerous professionals holding advanced scientific and engineering degrees, enabling the team to handle technically complex matters across electrical, mechanical, chemical, biotech and software domains.

Preston Heard leads the Patent Prosecution & Litigation practice, steering work that spans PTAB inter partes reviews, complex district court disputes and strategic portfolio counselling.

Described by a peer as an “amazing” attorney, Stephanie Seidma, a recommended partner, is experienced in providing strategic counsel on the development and commercialisation of patent portfolios for the biopharma industry. Siedma’s work is informed by her years of experience as a patent examiner for the USPTO and as a postdoctoral staff fellow at the National Institutes of Health.