Peter Weissman concentrates his practice in patent litigation in the federal courts and prosecution before patent offices in the U.S. and abroad, primarily in the areas of the Internet, software, biomedical, information technology, RFID technology, telecommunications, and the electrical and mechanical arts.  He counsels clients in a wide range of intellectual property matters including:

• patent procurement and strategies for start-up and established companies
• patent portfolio management
• prosecuting and defending patent infringement actions before U.S. district courts
• due diligence investigations to assess the strengths and weaknesses of company intellectual property during a transfer of ownership, funding, and other transitional phases
• university technology transfer, licensing, and due diligence investigating
• trademark procurement, licensing and portfolio management, and strategies for start-up and established companies
• recordal of insignia pursuant to the fastener quality act (FQA)
• trade secret protection
• copyright procurement

Prior to joining Blank Rome, Mr. Weissman served as a Patent Examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS AND PUBLICATIONS

• Speaker, Trademarks and Copyrights for Startup Companies, National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer (NCET2), Webinar, April 24, 2008.
• Speaker, Issues for Budding Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, The George Washington University, School of Business, Feb. 2008, March 2009, March 2010.
• Master of Ceremonies, The George Washington University Award for Distinguished Entrepreneurial Achievement, Oct. 2007 and Oct. 2008.
• Speaker, East Asia Symposium: Hong Kong – Gateway to Opportunity.  Philadelphia University School of Business Administration.  Mar 2007.
• Speaker, Patent Issues for Start-Ups, From Lab to IPO: The University Start-Up, The George Washington University, Feb. 2006; Patent and Trademark Issues for Companies Engaged in Foreign Business, Russian Science & Technology Opportunities for US Companies, Sponsored by Pennsylvania Russian Business Council, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, June 20, 2001 and Wilmington, DE, October 11, 2001; Intellectual Property Protection for Emerging Businesses, Fairfax, Virginia, June 23, 1999.
• Author, Computer Software as Patentable Subject Matter:  Contrasting United States, Japanese and European Laws, 23 AIPLA QJ 525, No. 3 (Summer 1995).
• Is Your FQA Insignia Still Active ???, Fastener World, Vol. 56, pp.188-191 (May/June 1999) Distributor’s Insignia No Longer Satisfies FQA!!!, Fastener World, Vol.  59, No.  6, pp.  230-33, (Nov./Dec. 1999).

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

• Prepared and prosecuted a software technology patent for an entrepreneurial client that was sold to a much larger company for approximately $500,000

• IP counsel to global manufacturer of electrical connectors for communications, industrial, medical, and military markets

• Complex patent infringement litigation involving telephone billing systems against major telephone and Fortune 500 companies
• Patent holder in patent infringement matter involving method for sterilizing alcohol which resulted in favorable verdict for client

COMMUNITY SERVICE & AFFILIATIONS

Actively involved in pro bono work, Mr. Weissman has represented foster parents in the adoption of special-needs children through contested trials at the DC Superior Court.  Mr. Weissman is a co-founder of The George Washington University Entrepreneurs RoundTable, which is an interdisciplinary organization that brings faculty and staff, students, alumni, and university administration together to advance entrepreneurship and showcases university technologies.  Mr. Weissman is also on the Board of Directors for The George Washington Alumni Association.