DETROIT (29 March 2004) – The law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C. is pleased to announce that Jonathan P. O’Brien, Ph.D., has joined the firm as senior patent agent in its Kalamazoo office, expanding the firm’s intellectual property services.
Dr. O’Brien brings a strong scientific background and extensive patent experience in developing strategic patent portfolios for a wide range of technologies and clientele.
Prior to joining Miller Canfield, he served as patent counsel to Pfizer Corporation, where he prosecuted pharmaceutical and biotechnology patent applications on technologies including new chemical entities, methods of use, methods of synthesis and protein crystallography. He also assisted in preparing freedom to operate, due diligence, invalidity and non-infringement opinions, and in drafting and negotiating material transfer, licensing, confidentiality disclosure, collaboration and service agreements.
“Jonathan O’Brien is a remarkable scholar who will bring tremendous experience to the firm’s intellectual property area, especially with regard to preparing and prosecuting patent applications and providing patentability, infringement and validity studies and opinions in the areas of pharmaceutical and chemical patents,” said Thomas W. Linn, CEO of Miller Canfield. “We are pleased to offer his counsel to clients.”
Previously, Dr. O’Brien was a technology consultant at Fish & Richardson in Boston, where he prosecuted patent applications in the areas of pharmaceutical chemistry, polymer chemistry, inorganic chemistry, biotechnology, physics, nanotechnology and mechanical inventions. Prior to his service with Fish & Richardson, he served as a research and teaching assistant at MIT, Department of Chemistry, where he developed novel theoretical and experimental techniques for studying molecular dynamics, and planned and taught recitation sections for several undergraduate chemistry courses. He also was a research chemist at Merck, Inc.
A native of Detroit, he earned his B.S. in chemistry, cum laude, from Hope College in Holland, Michigan, and his Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is a full merit scholar at Michigan State University-DCL College of Law, where he will receive his J.D. later this year.
Dr. O’Brien has co-authored several scientific articles on inorganic and physical chemistry and has received numerous awards including the Jurisprudence Award for Outstanding Performance in Intellectual Property, Michigan State University-DCL College of Law, Fall 2002; RAO Prize: One of 3 Most Outstanding Student Talks at the 49th Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy at Ohio State University, 1994; and MIT Chemistry Department Teaching Award for Recitation Instruction in Principles of General Chemistry, Fall 1991.
The 300-attorney law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C. was established in Detroit in 1852 and has offices in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Howell, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Monroe, and Troy, Michigan. Other offices are located in New York City, Pensacola, Florida, Washington, D.C., Windsor, Ontario, and in Gdynia, Katowice, and Warsaw, Poland. Visit www.millercanfield.com.
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