IPTL Attorneys

STEVEN J. HULTQUIST, Principal and Founder
Registration No. 28,021, Attorney at Law, BSChE, MSChE, JD

Steven J. Hultquist, the founder of IPTL, is licensed in New York , North Carolina , California , and Connecticut , and has been registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office since 1976. He holds Bachelor and Master of Science Degrees in Chemical Engineering from Washington University ( St. Louis ), and a Juris Doctor degree from Fordham University . Mr. Hultquist was an Adjunct Professor of Chemical Engineering at North Carolina State University from 1995 to 1997, and has been the Intellectual Property author for the North Carolina General Practice Deskbook since 1996. His chapter on Intellectual Property in the 1997 North Carolina General Practice Deskbook was recognized by a "Project of the Year" award by the American Bar Association, presented at the American Bar Association's 1999 Annual Meeting. He is listed in "Who's Who in American Law," and is a frequent speaker for Continuing Legal Education programs, as well as having published in the Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society, Genetic Engineering News, Nature Biotechnology, and other journals and publications. His recent publications include Patenting bioinformatics inventions: Emerging trends in the United States , Nature Biotechnology, Vol. 20 (July 2002), pp. 743-744, and Reach-Through Royalties: The Scope of Research Tool Patents, Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society, Vol. 86, No. 4, April 2004. Mr. Hultquist is a co-inventor on the following U.S. Patents: "Dopant Delivery System for Semiconductor Manufacture," U.S. Patent 4,936,877 issued June 26, 1990, "Amorphous Metal-Ceramic Composite Material," U.S. Patent 5,543,187 issued August 6, 1996, "Adsorbent-Based Storage and Dispensing System," U.S. Patent 6,070,576 issued June 6, 2000, Sorbent-Based Gas Storage And Delivery System for Dispensing High Purity Gas, U.S. Patent 6,132,492 issued October 17, 2000, Fluid Storage and Dispensing System, U.S. Patent 6,360,546 issued March 26, 2002, and Fluid Storage Storage and Dispensing System, U.S. Patent 6,474,076 issued November 5, 2002, and Channelized Sorbent Media, and Methods of Making Same, U.S. Patent 6,764,755 issued July 20, 2004.

In October, 2004, Mr. Hultquist was a principal speaker at Jumpstarting Business Relationships with the Western Bio-Pharmaceutical Industry, at the Shemyakin and Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Pushchino , Russia , where he presented eight hours of lectures on securing rights in intellectual property and licensing of patents and technology. This program, funded by the Nuclear Threat Initiative and coordinated by the Center for Strategic International Studies (Washington , DC), was presented to bioweapons scientists of the former Soviet Union , as part of ongoing efforts to redirect their expertise to commercial biotechnology and anti-terrorism applications.

Mr. Hultquist's reported cases include Guinn v. Kopf, 96 F.3d 1419 (CAFC 1996), in which he was counsel for Henry B. Kopf, successfully arguing a biotechnology patent interference case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC); the case was subsequently appealed by the opposing party to the U.S. Supreme Court, which let the CAFC decision stand.

Mr. Hultquist's patent practice is concentrated in biotechnology, chemistry, materials science and microelectronics, and includes technology assessment, technology transfer, and contested matters.

VINCENT GUSTAFSON, Principal
Registration No. 46,182, Attorney at Law, BSME, JD

Vincent Gustafson joined IPTL in May, 2005. Mr. Gustafson is licensed in California and North Carolina, and has been registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office since 2000.  His domestic and international patent prosecution experience spans a variety of technical areas, including:  semiconductor processing, wafer and microelectronic fabrication, storage and dispensation systems for high purity materials, bioprocessors, circuits, sensors, instrumentation, consumer electronic devices, optoelectronic devices, lighting systems, transistors, mixing systems, microfluidic devices, assay devices, chromatographs, mass spectrometers, medical devices, fuel cells, Internet infrastructure, digital media copy prevention, free space laser optical communications, insecticides, and food processing.  Mr. Gustafson further has substantial experience in domestic and international trademark prosecution and counseling.  He received his Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles in 1998, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1993.  Prior to joining IPTL, Mr. Gustafson was Director of Intellectual Property for Nanostream, Inc., a manufacturer of high-throughput microfluidic analytical systems including micro-parallel liquid chromatographs.  Prior to joining Nanostream, Mr. Gustafson was a full-time law clerk in his first year, and an associate attorney for the next three years, at Lyon & Lyon LLP, an intellectual property firm based in Los Angeles.  At Lyon & Lyon, he was engaged in patent and trademark litigation in Federal courts at both the trial and appellate levels, in patent prosecution, and in rendition of legal opinions concerning validity, enforceability, and infringement of patents.  Prior to joining Lyon & Lyon, Mr. Gustafson held various engineering positions in electric power plants during both his undergraduate and law school education, and earned his California registration as a Professional Engineer (Mechanical) in 1996.  Mr. Gustafson is a co-inventor on U.S. Patent No. 6,814,938 directed to microfluidic devices, and is a co-inventor on multiple pending patent applications.

DAVID S. BRADIN, Principal
Registration No. 37,783, Attorney at Law, BS Chem, MS OrgChem, JD

David Bradin joined IPTL in February, 2008. David is licensed in North Carolina and Georgia, and has been registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office since 1993. He received his Bachelor Degree in Chemistry from Wittenberg University in 1986, his Master of Science Degree in Organic Chemistry from the Ohio State University in 1989, and his law degree from Rutgers University School of Law-Camden in 1995. David’s practice is primarily in the areas of pharmaceuticals, petroleum chemistry, polymer chemistry, and biotechnology. He has assisted clients in developing world-wide patent strategies, drafted and procured patents in the U.S., and coordinated patent procurement world-wide. He has also coordinated European, Japanese and Australian oppositions, and conducted due diligence studies and IP audits. Before joining IPTL, David was a member at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, an associate at Burns Doane Swecker and Mathis, and an associate and a patent agent at Kilpatrick and Cody (now Kilpatrick Stockton). Before becoming a lawyer, he was a process development chemist with MTM Fine Chemicals, and an Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at Camden County Community College. David is currently the co-chair of the Biotech and Chemical Committee of the IP Section of the North Carolina State Bar Association, and is a long-standing member of the American Chemical Society. He also recently won an award from Innocentive for his improved synthesis of butane tetracarboxylic acid.

KELLY REYNOLDS, Associate Patent Attorney
Registration No. 51,154, Attorney at Law, BS, JD

Kelly K. Reynolds joined IPTL in July, 2006 as an associate of the firm. Mrs. Reynolds is licensed in California and North Carolina, and has been registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office since 2001. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1999, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry/Biochemistry from the University of California, San Diego in 1995.

Prior to joining IPTL, Mrs. Reynolds was an associate with the firm of Gray Cary Ware and Freidenrich (now DLA Piper Rudnick) in San Diego, California, where her focus was primarily in domestic and international patent preparation and prosecution in biotechnology. Prior to working at Gray Cary, Mrs. Reynolds worked at Lyon & Lyon LLP in La Jolla, California, where her work included both patent and trademark prosecution and litigation.

Ms. Reynolds’ work with IPTL includes domestic and international patent preparation and prosecution in biotechnology, advising clients through patent opinions, including validity, enforceability and freedom to operate opinions. Recent work includes technologies such as peptides, proteins, DNA, antisense molecules, antibodies, diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines, drug delivery systems, host-vector systems and self-assembly materials.

Ms. Reynolds’ practice also includes prosecution of trademarks before the USPTO.

RICHARD T. MATTHEWS, Litigation Counsel
Registration No. 53,284, B.S. Chem. (Biochem focus), J.D., LL.M. (Intellectual Property)

Richard T. Matthews (“Rick”) joined IPTL in September, 2009. Mr. Matthews is licensed in North Carolina, Virginia and the District of Columbia, in addition to being registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office since 2002. His practice involves various aspects of patent, trademark, trade dress and copyright related prosecution, litigation, opinion work, and licensing, along with inter partes and ex parte reexaminations. Mr. Matthews received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry with a focus in Biochemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Juris Doctor degree from Campbell University, and a Masters of Law degree in Intellectual Property from The George Washington University School of Law. Prior to joining IPTL, Mr. Matthews was a litigation associate with Oblon Spivak, an intellectual property firm based in the Washington, D.C. area. During that time, Mr. Matthews was counsel on a number of cases, including:

• Arcelor France v. Mittal Steel USA, Inc., District of Delaware (06-307); patent case involving aluminum coated boron steel products.
• CIF Licensing d/b/a GE Licensing v. Denso Corp., et al. (Valeo), Eastern District of Texas (Marshall Division) (2:06-cv-00345 DF); patent case involving charge pump voltage regulator.
• GPS Industries, Inc., et al. v. Altex Corp., Skyhawke Technologies, Inc., et al., Northern District of Texas (Dallas Division) (3:07cv0831-K); patent case involving global positioning systems.
• Mary Queen of The Third Millennium, Inc. v. The Foundation for Christian Civilization, Inc., Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Opposition No.: 91/157,073; opposition proceeding.
• National Products, Inc. v. Gamber Johnson, LLC, Western District of Washington (2:04-cv-02524); patent and trade dress case in mechanical art.
• Restoration Industry Association, Inc. v. Certified Restorers Consulting Group, LLC, et al., District of Idaho (CIV 07-0227); case of unfair competition and breach of fiduciary duty.
• Zambon Group S.p.A. v. Teva, District Court for the District of Columbia (1:04cv01157); patent case involving pharmaceutical compound.

Prior to Oblon, Mr. Matthews worked for over two years as a patent agent prosecuting patents in the mechanical, electrical and biotechnical fields. Mr. Matthews also clerked at the International Trade Commission Office of Unfair Import Investigation, where he was actively involved in a number of Section 337 cases. In addition, Mr. Matthews interned at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims for the Honorable Susan G. Braden, where he advised the Judge on technical issues and drafted portions of a patent claim construction opinion involving military night-vision technology - Honeywell Int’l v. United States, No. 02-1909, 66 Fed. Cl. 400 (Ct. Cl. 2005).

Mr. Matthews is a member of the American Bar Association’s Section of Intellectual Property Law, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the International Trade Commission Trial Lawyers Association, the Licensing Executive Society, the Federal Circuit Bar Association, and the Triangle Intellectual Property Law Association. He also is a member of the IPO Litigation Committee and the AIPLA Litigation Committee. Mr. Matthews regularly lectures on patent law at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering.

JASON NAVARI, Associate Patent Attorney
Registration No. 57,733, Attorney at Law, BS, JD

Jason R. Navari joined IPTL in August, 2007 as an associate of the firm. Mr. Navari is licensed in North Carolina and has been registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office since 2005. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2007, and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular Biology from Northeastern Illinois University in 2000. Prior to joining IPTL, Mr. Navari was employed as a Patent Agent at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (UMBI) where he filed Provisional Patent Applications and assisted in the management of UMBI’s patent portfolio. Prior to working at UMBI, Mr. Navari was employed as a cancer researcher at Northwestern University in Chicago. During that time he co-authored and contributed to the publication of several journal articles describing the etiology of endometrial cancer and the metastatic pathway of ovarian cancer.