Brion P. Heaney is a Director who focuses his practice in the areas of pharmaceutical and chemical patents. He primarily works in the area of patent prosecution, and he also frequently advises clients on the maintenance of their patent portfolios and patent strategies, as well as validity infringement opinions.
Mr. Heaney has been with the firm since 1986. Before joining the firm, he was an examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in the chemical reactor art from 1983 to 1986. He started working at the firm while a law student at the George Washington University Law School. Mr. Heaney graduated with high honors and qualified for Order of the Coif and joined the firm as an associate in 1989. He became a Director in 1992.
Mr. Heaney is one of the three Directors who serve as managing Director of the firm on a rotating basis. In this role, he makes decisions that help the firm grow and continue to maintain itself on a firm footing. He and the other managing Directors continue to move the firm in the direction of steady growth.
In addition to his work on patent prosecution, strategies, and opinions, Mr. Heaney has significant experience in the area of patent interferences. Mr. Heaney and the firm are prepared to serve their clients in the new area of derivation proceedings and other post grant procedures including Inter-Parties Review and Post-Grant Review before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Education
Tulane University (B.S.E. Chemical Engineering, Summa Cum Laude 1983)
George Washington University School of Law (J.D. with Honors 1989)
Honors and Awards
Tau Beta Pi
Order of the Coif
Membership and Affiliations
American Chemical Society
Intellectual Property Owners Association
American Intellectual Property Law Association
Admissions
Virginia State Bar 1989
District of Columbia Bar 1989
Admitted to practice before the United States Patent & Trademark Office 1987
Speaking Engagements and Publications
- Mr. Heaney is a co-author of the chapter on Patent Term Extension in the United States from the Book “Patent Term Extensions – Erganzende Schutzzertifikate,” a manual which comments on relevant PTE statutory provisions and the relevant case law in the U.S., Korea, Russia, Switzerland, Singapore, Taiwan, and Israel, for pharmaceutical patents.
- Virginia State Bar Lecturer in Patent Law and Trade Secret Law
- Intellectual Property Contributor to “The Virginia Lawyer”
- Intellectual Property lecturer, Encore Learning Center
Teaching Experience
Adjunct Professor, George Mason University School of Law 2005 – Present: Chemical and Biotech Patent Practice
