Eric E. Williams, Pharm.D.

Inventors, entrepreneurs, and innovators consistently turn to Eric for advice on how to protect their ideas. Eric is skilled in preparing and prosecuting patent applications and has experience in managing extensive patent portfolios in the U.S. and abroad. Valued for his ability to quickly understand complex technologies, Eric has proven ability to guide clients through challenges and to devise novel, practical approaches to problem-solving that align with technological goals and business strategies.

Eric advises on IP portfolio development and management, as well as IP-related diligence initiatives in mergers, acquisitions, and securities offerings. He counsels clients on domestic and international patent preparation and prosecution before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and advises on patent landscape analyses as well as on legal opinions regarding patent invalidity and noninfringement.

Eric has experience with a diverse client base including:

• Providing counsel to companies for protecting their pharmaceutical, medical device, and chemical inventions. Eric prosecutes patent applications to focus on products of importance to the company and also to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
• Working with higher education clients, both U.S.-based and internationally, on protecting their inventions. In this role, Eric understands the importance of providing licensable IP rights to the university while simultaneously protecting desired products for potential licensees.
• Advising agriculture and food companies on IP involving animal health, ag biotech, and food products. Eric has a strong agricultural background and is the co-chair of the firm’s Ag and Food Practice Group.

While earning his Doctor of Pharmacy degree at Purdue University, Eric conducted research on the ErbB family of tyrosine kinase receptors, leading to authorship of multiple journal articles and several symposium abstracts. Prior to law school, Eric completed postdoctoral fellowship in clinical research at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and worked as a scientist at GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lilly.