Peter McFadden comprises and contemplates molecules. Driven by deep appreciation of science and enthusiasm for technological advancement, Peter enjoys counseling on the interplay between scientific innovation, business goals, and the law. A Ph.D. chemist, Peter is particularly interested in organic chemistry and intellectual property related to polymers, pharmaceuticals, and other applied chemistry. An experienced patent drafter, Peter distills complex inventions to their essence to develop tailored claim strategies. A passionate communicator, Peter advocates for his clients during prosecution of domestic and international patent portfolios and negotiation of the various agreements necessary for invention commercialization.

Peter leverages his background in organic chemistry and applied polymer science to counsel clients in all phases of the intellectual property life cycle. His practice encompasses US and international patent prosecution, post-grant proceedings, strategic portfolio counseling, due diligence for funding and acquisitions, licensing, and advising on litigation and dispute settlements. Peter advises innovators, entrepreneurs, academic researchers, industry leaders, and investors across a broad spectrum of industries, including life sciences, polymers and coatings, medical devices, diagnostics, and nanotechnology.

Peter has extensive experience preparing and prosecuting patents involving organic, inorganic, medicinal, small-molecule, and polymer chemistry and for a wide range of technical fields, such as pharmaceuticals, microfluidics, cell-sorting, microelectronic circuitry, telecommunications, antenna design, blockchain, cryptography, machine learning, material science, 3D printing, food harvesting and processing, mechanical devices, construction tools, structural reinforcement, optics, holography, and lasers. He also handles re-examinations, re-issues, and oppositions at the United States Patent and Trademark Office and conducts freedom-to-operate analyses resulting in non-infringement and invalidity opinions.

Peter previously worked for a full-service national law firm in Boston, where he managed large international portfolios for clients ranging from top pharmaceutical companies to chemistry and life science startups. Prior to that, Peter worked for an Arizona-based intellectual property law firm where he gained a comprehensive understanding of assisting universities, companies, and individual inventors with protection and leverage of their research investments. While earning his J.D., Peter served as a legal extern with Raytheon Missile Systems Company. In law school, Peter earned an Intellectual Property Certificate and volunteered with the school’s IP & Entrepreneurship Clinic.

During his Ph.D. studies, Peter served as a research chemist in a University of Arizona lab. In that role, he worked on projects involving the use of thermally reworkable Diels-Alder-linked epoxy resins for art conservation and fluorescent epoxy adhesives from covalent incorporation of coumarin dyes, both of which led to patent applications. He also studied the use of hybrid organic/inorganic polysilsesquioxane-silica particles as sunscreens and worked on a pending patent application for the resulting innovation. In addition, Peter worked as a research assistant in the school’s Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility and as a laboratory instructor in its chemistry department. Peter also spent a summer working as a research analyst for the University of Arizona’s commercialization office, Tech Launch Arizona.

Professional Affiliations

• Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO)
• Member, American Chemical Society
• Member, Boston Intellectual Property Law Association