Experience

Matthew Bethards focuses his practice in patent related matters for life science and chemical technology companies. He assists his clients with strategic intellectual property counseling, U.S. and foreign patent procurement and portfolio management, and provides opinions regarding infringement, validity and product clearance.

Representative Work

Patent Procurement and Portfolio Management

• Represented large and small life science, renewable energy and chemical industry companies managing significant worldwide patent estates pertaining to marketed products, product candidates and related technologies at various stages of development. Experience includes preparation and prosecution of U.S. and international patents, patent portfolio management and strategic counseling.

Patent Opinion Practice

• Significant opinion practice providing noninfringement, freedom-to-operate and invalidity opinions addressing anticipation, obviousness, indefiniteness, enablement and inequitable conduct; product clearance analysis; due diligence investigations; and guidance regarding designing around patents.

Technology Areas

• Pharmaceuticals, including small molecule drug products, drug formulations and drug delivery technologies such as transdermal devices and drug eluting pumps; biocompatible materials such as anti-microbial and thromboresistant coatings and polymers; small molecule hematology dye reagents; renewable energy technologies; chemical processing; agricultural chemicals; analytical instrumentation; medical devices including catheters, implantable ports and other vascular access technologies, orthopedic implants, wound therapy systems, needle shielding systems, and percutaneous enteral feeding devices.

Professional Honors & Activities

• Mountain States Super Lawyers Magazine, Rising Stars (Intellectual Property), 2008-2010
• Utah Legal Elite – Intellectual Property, Utah Business Magazine, 2004-2006, 2009-2010
• Utah Life Science Symposium, Chair, 2009; Planning Committee 2008-2010
• Member, Chemical Practice Committee of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, 2004-present
• Giles Rich Moot Court Competition Liaison, Intellectual Property Section of the Utah State Bar, 2008-present
• Subcommittee Chair, Utah Innovation Awards, Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals; Chemicals & Materials Science, 2005-2009
• Intellectual Property Section of the Utah State Bar, 2003-present

Publications

• "Condemning a Patent: Taking Intellectual Property by Eminent Domain," 32 AIPLA Quarterly Journal 81, 2004
• "Can Moral Rights Be Used to Protect Immorality? Editing Motion Pictures to Remove Objectionable Content," 3 Virginia Sports & Entertainment Law Journal 1, 2003
• Primer on the Patent Process, Connect Magazine, Feb. 2006
• Blogging for Trouble, Utah Business Magazine, Jan. 2006

Presentations

• Guest Lecturer, Chemical & Biotechnology Law, University of Utah Law School, 2008
• Guest Lecturer, Technology Licensing, BYU Law School, 2009
• Presenter, University of Utah Biosciences Fair, Patent Law, 2008
• Presenter, Small Business Law Series, "Intellectual Property Protection," 2008

Education

• UCLA School of Law, J.D., 2003
  Order of the Coif
  Editor-in-chief, 2002-2003, managing editor, 2001-2002
  UCLA Journal of Law & Technology
• Brigham Young University, B.S., 2000, chemistry

Admissions

• Utah
• U.S. District Court, District of Utah
• U.S. Patent & Trademark Office

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