Don J. Pelto

Don Pelto is retired from the firm and is now Of Counsel.

Areas of Practice

Prior to his retirement, Don was a registered patent attorney and represented domestic and international clients in intellectual property litigation, counseling, technology transfer and procurement. Specifically, he had particular experience with technological developments in the fields of molecular biology, pharmaceuticals, bioinformatics, pharmaceutical small molecules, diagnostics, medical products and devices and surgical methods and devices.

Don's litigation experience includes interferences, Section 337 actions, district court infringement actions and Federal Circuit appeals. He has written opinions on freedom to operate, non-infringement and invalidity. He also has experience in the preparation and prosecution of patent applications and licensing and technology transfer. Don has successfully asserted and defended against patent, trademark and copyright infringement claims, both in the U.S. district courts and the International Trade Commission. In addition, he has successfully represented clients in appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Before entering law school, Don was a Research Biologist with the National Institutes of Health, National Institutes on Aging, where he performed original research in conjunction with the Laboratory of Neurosciences and the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Sciences.

Honors

Healthcare: Life Sciences, Legal 500, 2013 and 2014

Martindale-Hubbell Intellectual Property Washington, D.C. Top Rated Lawyer, 2014

Martindale-Hubbell AV-Rated

Litigation Star, Benchmark Litigation, 2009

Media Mentions