Gary J. Speier, Attorney

Gary J. Speier, Jr. is a registered patent attorney and shareholder with Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner.  His practice includes many facets of patent law, including patent preparation, prosecution, due diligence, opinion drafting, client counseling, clearance reviews and technology licensing and transfer agreements.  Gary also counsels clients on legal issues relating to chemical and pharmaceutical patents, including patent enforcement, validity and infringement, licensing, collaborations, due diligence and business development.  His experience in transactional matters for chemical and pharmaceutical clients includes IP due diligence.  Gary 's experience with clearance reviews and legal opinions has included a significant amount of work related to Paragraph IV certifications for Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDA) under the Hatch-Waxman Act.  

Gary represents clients in diverse areas of technology, and has obtained patents in the areas of chemistry and pharmaceuticals.  Specific areas of patent technology experience include small molecules, macrocycles, biologicals, polymers, peptides, peptidomimetics, oligonucleotides, carbohydrates, medical treatments, industrial chemicals, medical devices, cosmetics, drug delivery systems, nutraceuticals, natural products, agricultural products, process engineering, nanoparticles and food chemistry.  Additional specific areas of patent technology experience include the Green technologies such as fuel cells, batteries, biofuels, biomass conversions, water purification, plastics recycling, bio-friendly plastic alternatives, as well as solar, wind and geothermal energies.  Please see "Representative Patents."  

Gary has represented universities, non-profit research institutions, sole inventors, branded pharmaceutical companies as well as generic pharmaceutical companies.  He has lectured on various topics including pharmaceutical patent life cycle management (LCM), IP licensing issues, Green technologies, as well as legal opinions to support Paragraph IV certifications for Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDA) under the Hatch-Waxman Act.  

Gary received his undergraduate degree from Fordham University (B.S. Chemistry, 1988), where he received the Sigma Xi award for outstanding research on the undergraduate level.  He received a M.S. from Villanova University (organic chemistry, 1991), and a law degree from Temple University (J.D., 1996).  Gary worked as a medicinal chemist at Sterling Winthrop Pharmaceuticals (1991-1994).  During law school, Gary worked at SmithKline Beecham as a law clerk in the Intellectual Property Department.  Gary was an associate at Seed and Berry (1996-1998) where he worked in the chemical/biotechnology group.  Gary 's professional association memberships include the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), American Chemical Society (ACS), Licensing Executive Society (LES), and Minnesota Intellectual Property Law Association (MIPLA).  Gary is permitted to practice law in Minnesota, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  Gary practices in the firm's home office in Minneapolis, Minnesota.