Gerrit C. Winkel

As an intellectual property lawyer handling preparation and prosecution of patent applications, Gerrit Winkel advises clients in industries including biochemistry, biotechnology, and material sciences. His work for clients includes drafting and prosecuting through all phases of domestic and international patent prosecution, including restriction practice, office action responses, appeal practice, interview practices, and petitions.

Areas of specific experience include:

• Completion of third-party submissions, invalidity and infringement analyses, and preparation of corresponding opinions.
• Creation, protection, and management of client portfolios through strategic planning, international filings, continuation applications, and freedom-to-operate, patentability, and landscape searches.
• Working closely with inventors and in-house counsel to identify viable intellectual property and guiding inventor disclosures.
• Coordination of work and building relationships with foreign agents.
• Performing intellectual property audits to inform business decisions on acquisitions, asset purchase, and joint development agreements.
• Providing training on a range of intellectual property issues and procedures to clients, staff, clerks, and attorneys.
• Cooperating with litigation counsel in enforcement and defense of clients’ patents.
• Managing cost-estimates, billing, and invoicing.

With a science-based background in materials science, engineering, economics and chemistry, Gerrit understands his clients’ businesses. His education allowed him to concentrate on research focused on transition-metal catalysis and catalyst design, as well as small molecule bond activation reactions and organic transformations. He collaborated with the Center for Catalytic Hydrocarbon Functionalization. Gerrit also assisted his undergraduate research group with developing and utilizing quantum-chemistry methods. These methods were used to discover mechanisms, reactivity principles, and selectivity for experimentally important chemical reactions related to catalysis, energy, and organic synthesis.

While attending George Washington University Law School, Gerrit completed a legal internship with the American Petroleum Institute, where he developed familiarity with the oil and gas industry, as well as U.S. administrative and regulatory law.