Paul M. Rivard

Paul's decades of experience handling complex patent issued, tied with his experience as a Chief Legal Officer at a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company and as a patent examiner, make him an expert in patent issues involving life sciences, pharmaceuticals, chemistry, agriculture, and more.

Paul is KellDann's resident biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and agricultural specialist: he has decades of experience with everything from pharmaceuticals to organic chemistry, small molecule therapeutics, agricultural sciences including tobacco and cannabis products and processing techniques, and more. Paul concentrates his practice on counseling companies of all sizes regarding intellectual property matters including domestic and foreign patent preparation and prosecution, risk assessment, post-grant proceedings such as Inter Partes Reviews before the USPTO's Patent Trial and Appeal Board ("PTAB"), and more.

Paul's experience includes prosecuting and maintaining an extensive patent portfolio for a drug development company and drafting technology transfer agreements for its robust licensing program. Paul is skilled in organic chemistry, with an emphasis on small molecule therapeutics, including cannabinoids, as well as peptides, drug formulations and drug delivery systems. In addition to Paul's considerable experience in medicinal chemistry, his patent prosecution experience also includes work in:

• Ink compositions
• Thermoplastic resins
• Hydrogels
• Packaging materials
• Carbon fiber composites
• Water purification
• Chemical manufacturing
• Molding technologies
• Consumer products

A former patent examiner with more than 25 years in private practice, Paul is a skilled IP strategist and is particularly skilled in navigating complex prosecution issues before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Paul also has successfully represented clients in proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, including IPRs and interference proceedings as well as numerous ex parte appeals.