Dr. Keith Haddaway, a registered patent attorney and Co-Chair of Venable’s Life Sciences Practice Group, focuses on assisting clients in patenting, protecting and commercializing inventions in a broad range of technical areas, primarily in the chemical arts. His practice encompasses life sciences, including pharmaceutical compounds, formulations, diagnostic methods and medical devices; industrial chemistry, including commercial compounds, coatings, catalysts, chemical processes and petroleum additives; and consumer products such as dietary supplements, nutraceuticals and cosmetics. He has also obtained numerous design patents for clients.

Dr. Haddaway regularly counsels clients regarding worldwide portfolio management and strategic development, licensing and litigation. He advises clients in structuring, drafting and negotiating licenses, partnering agreements and joint development arrangements, and assists with the acquisition and sale of intellectual property. He prepares patentability opinions, patent infringement analyses and freedom to operate opinions.

Dr. Haddaway frequently lends his technical and intellectual property knowledge to other practices within the firm. He regularly interacts with Venable’s environmental, FDA, FTC, export control and corporate attorneys. He provides technical and legal understanding for regulatory and business practices necessary for interacting with government agencies, financing, internal due diligence and mergers and acquisitions. He understands the use of technology and intellectual property to advance clients’ business goals.

Prior to practicing law, Dr. Haddaway spent more than 10 years conducting basic and applied research in diverse areas of organic photochemistry, color additive technology chemical defense, and chemical analysis and methods development. He reviewed chemicals for the EPA under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and also has several years of experience teaching at the college level. He understands and assists clients with the complex legal and scientific issues that arise at the intersection of science and law.

Representative Clients
Dr. Haddaway’s clients include research institutions and small start-ups to large companies and organizations. He provides intellectual property counsel to a drug research and development company and a worldwide pharmaceutical company, managing worldwide patent portfolio strategies and assisting with licensing. Dr. Haddaway drafts and prosecutes patent applications and provides patent counsel for an international cosmetic company. He also works with foreign companies and law firms in a broad range of chemical and life science technologies.

Significant Matters

Dr. Haddaway has obtained patents for flame retardant products and assisted a client in licensing the technology to virtually all its competitors.
He prosecuted patents in the cosmetic arts related to a technology that revolutionized the cosmetic space, creating an entire new market.
Dr. Haddaway has assisted in due diligence associated with a multi-million dollar public offering.
Together with Venable’s IP litigation team, Dr. Haddaway has obtained a number of favorable settlements for clients’ key product lines in nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and industrial compounds and compositions. He provided not only strategic intellectual property analysis, but also worked with experts to develop technical positions to support the strategies.