A member of M&R’s Intellectual Property Practice, Joseph J. Mellema focuses on the protection and enforcement of all intellectual property rights including patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, unfair business practices, and antitrust litigation in both state and federal courts. He is well-versed in patent and trademark enforcement, preparation and prosecution, as well as trademark enforcement and opposition proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent & Trademark Office.
Mr. Mellema has considerable experience litigating patents in a variety of technical fields, including optical devices and components, computer networks and databases, semiconductor devices and processes, computer hardware and software, and pharmaceuticals, among others.
A key member of M&R’s Pharmaceutical Patents team, Mr. Mellema regularly represents generic pharmaceutical companies in matters such as disputes under the False Claims Act, trademark portfolio management, and Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDA). He has successfully litigated multi-billion dollar complex pharmaceutical cases, including Hatch-Waxman/ANDA litigation.
Mr. Mellema devotes a portion of his practice to consulting with companies regarding their intellectual property portfolios. To that end, he routinely advises companies as to their freedom to operate in a new or existing business sector, conducts due diligence, advises in financial transactions relating to intellectual property ownership and licensing, and assists in planning for procurement of new intellectual property rights
