New Partner Adds Strength to Crowell & Moring's Intellectual Property Group

John Ryan Adds In-house Experience to Bench of Seasoned IP Attorneys

Washington, D.C. – June 29, 2005: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce the addition of partner John W. Ryan to the firm's Intellectual Property Group. Ryan's legal practice is complemented by his 20 years of industry and business experience practicing intellectual property law, most recently as co-chair of an intellectual property practice at a major international law firm and formerly as vice president and chief patent counsel of biotechnology company IGEN, Inc. The addition of Ryan comes as part of an aggressive growth initiative within the firm's Intellectual Property Group, which has added 37 attorneys since 2001.

“In addition to his significant experience in private practice, John brings clients the unique insight that comes from seven years of working in-house,” said Crowell & Moring Chairman John Macleod. “He understands the challenges faced by in-house counsel who must manage IP litigation, patent portfolios and other concerns while keeping the big picture in mind,” Macleod said.

Ryan's expertise encompasses a wide range of IP areas including technology licensing, drafting opinions, counseling, due diligence investigations, portfolio analysis, litigation and patent preparation and prosecution. Ryan's experience includes managing the patent portfolio of companies such as Hewlett Packard; representing the Den-Mat Corporation in the sale of its Rembrandt toothpaste product portfolio to The Gillette Company; representing a European pharmaceutical company in licensing negotiations with Fortune 500 companies; and work in high-profile patent infringement cases in the medical device, chemical, diagnostic, and pharmaceutical industries. He has also taught intellectual property licensing as an adjunct professor at Albany Law School and has lectured on a variety of intellectual property issues.

"Crowell & Moring's Intellectual Property Group has grown significantly in the past few years as a result of client needs, which require attorneys who understand how the technology, the science, the business, and the law must fit together for solid decision-making. It is a privilege that we could attract John and others like him, who are excited about their practices and about helping to build a premier group within the firm," said Jeffrey D. Sanok, chair of Crowell & Moring's Intellectual Property Group.

Ryan, who will practice in the Washington, D.C. office, received his J.D. from Syracuse University Law School, his LL.M. from George Washington University and completed graduate work in biochemistry at Albany Medical College.

Crowell & Moring LLP's Intellectual Property Group offers the full array of intellectual property legal services, from patent to trademark to unfair competition to litigation to copyright to trade secret matters in a variety of technological and commercial fields. The group offers a full range of services in patent prosecution and procurement that puts them among the top 20 United States firms, measured by volume of patents procured.