Chad E. Ziegler

Chad E. Ziegler is a shareholder in the Intellectual Property Department and Patent Practice Group. 

Chad plays a key role in handling many of the firm’s life sciences matters, advising both university and private industry clients on patent procurement, global patent portfolio management, and patent licensing in the areas of therapeutics, genetics, and computational biology.

Notably, Chad represents a major university/research institution client in connection with the preparation and prosecution of US and foreign patent applications in the life sciences field, including genetic/epigenetic, transcriptomic, and proteomic domains. He has developed a trusted relationship with the director of IP for life sciences and the entire team in the university’s patent group, working directly with university researchers in preparing provisional and PCT applications, managing a significant portion of the university’s national and regional phase docket, and handling high-profile matters involving NIH or private industry partnerships.

Chad supports over a dozen lab groups working on cutting edge cancer research and, to that end, has prepared and prosecuted applications to discoveries involving various therapeutic strategies, including  non-coding RNA targeted therapies; therapeutic large molecule nucleic acids; small-molecule protein:protein inhibitors; small-molecule checkpoint inhibitors; cancer vaccines; co-administered immunotherapies; PROTAC-directed  downregulation; molecular glues; ubiquitinase-induced downregulation; agonist-induced upregulation; ligand-targeted therapeutics; druggable genome; adenovirus-directed immunotherapy; nanoparticle delivery systems; RNAi-based therapies and modeling, including siRNA and shRNA knockdown.

Chad also represents a large, multinational biotechnology corporation in connection with the preparation and prosecution of technologies implemented in DNA sequencing, de novo genome assembly, and bioinformatics systems for structural variant discovery and validation, which generally includes end-to-end, multi-disciplined workflows involving library preparation, solid support chemistries, microscopy, on instrument and back-end server signal processing, AI/ML leveraging, and computational biology for secondary and tertiary analyses.

Representatives subject matter includes: sequencing-by-synthesis and other sequencing techniques, including whole-genome sequencing (WGS);  clustering/amplification techniques; genotyping, including Snip/Indel screening; solid support platforms, including microbead arrays nanoantennae arrays; microscopy, including structured illumination microscopy for diffraction-limited sequencing; diploid genome assembly, including haplotype aware read-based and de novo assembly techniques; structural variant (SV) calling and discovery; SV benchmarking pipelines and SV scoring; short tandem repeat detection; copy number variant detection; and tertiary analysis applications including comprehensive genomic profiling, Genome-wide Association Studies (GWAS), Variant to Function (V2F), QTL mapping, missense studies, loss of function analysis, gain of function analysis, conservation, depletion, and deletion analyses.

Chad also has experience litigating complex IP disputes arising under U.S patent laws, the Landham Act, the Copyright Act and DMCA, the Defend Trade Secrets Act, and state law. He has served as lead counsel in federal district court litigation, inter partes proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and appellate argument before the Federal Circuit.

Chad has represented clients in cases involving complex scientific technology in various fields including genetics (RNA interference), electrical engineering (power systems for Hadron Collider at CERN), pharmacokinetics (drug metabolites) and computer science (CDMA and codecs). He has also represented clients in connection with trademark, trade dress and related litigation in Federal district court as well as disputes before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy service providers.

In addition, Chad has in-depth knowledge in negotiating and drafting intellectual property agreements and commercial agreements involving IP.

• Member of trial team that secured a $38 million jury verdict on behalf of plaintiff Steuben Foods in an action for patent infringement brought against multiple competitors accused of infringing claimed aseptic beverage packaging technology. Steuben Foods, Inc. v. Shibuya Hoppmann Corp., et al., NO. 1:19-cv-02181-CFC (D. Del.).
  
  
• Counsel for plaintiff Throughputer in patent infringement action and related IPR proceedings centered on configurable hardware logic infrastructure technology for use in accelerating cloud-based recurrent neural networks in connection with machine learning applications. ThroughPuter, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., No. 22-cv-00344-BJR (W.D. Wash.).
  
  
• Lead counsel for Petitioner in SGA v. Scratch Golf Company, Cancellation No. 92075795 (TTAB), seeking partial cancellation remedy to limit description of Registrant’s services consistent with actual usage.
  
  
• Inline Packaging, LLC v. Graphic Packaging Int’l, IPR2015-01609 (PTAB)/Graphic Packaging Int’l v. Inline Packaging, LLC, Case No. 17-1776 (Fed. Cir.), on behalf of Petitioner Inline Packaging; successfully invalidated patent to Nestlé “Hot Pockets” product sleeve packaging at PTAB trial and defended decision on appeal before the Federal Circuit.
  
  
• Lagree Technologies, Inc. et al. v. Spartacus 20th L.P., No. 3:17-cv-00795-JST (N.D. Cal.), on behalf of celebrity fitness trainer and entrepreneur, Sebastien Lagree; reached favorable court-mediated settlement of action for patent infringement, trademark infringement under the Lanham Act, Copyright Act violations, and misappropriation of name and likeness under California law. 

• Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory v. Ropes & Gray et al., No. 13-1032-RGS (D. Mass.), on behalf of plaintiff Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; malpractice action concerning prosecution of patent applications directed to breakthrough methods and vectors for stable expression of short hairpin RNA in mammalian cells for use in RNAi.

• Modular Devices Inc. v. Brookhaven Science Associates, LLC et al., Case No. 2:08-cv- 3267-LDW (E.D.N.Y.), on behalf of plaintiff Modular Devices Inc.; trade secret misappropriation action concerning low voltage power supplies for use in the Liquid Argon Calorimeter in the Hadron Collider at CERN.

• 160^th Legislative District Seat, Campaign Committee Treasurer (2018-present)
• HAIS Pennsylvania Pro Bono/Asylum Seekers (2021-present)