Biography

Allen is a patent attorney and his practice is focused on strategic intellectual property counseling for emerging and large companies in the areas of pharmaceuticals, biochemistry and biotechnology. This most often entails patent portfolio building, licensing and infringement/validity studies. His representative clients are active in small molecule pharmaceuticals, peptides, combinatorial chemistry, bio-assays for drug discovery, medical devices, nuclear power technologies, polymers, and herbicides. Prior to and during law school, Allen worked as a pharmaceutical chemist for Dupont Merck Pharmaceuticals and SmithKline Beecham.

In developing intellectual asset strategies, Allen draws on his litigation background. He successfully represented MOVA Pharmaceuticals in lawsuits against Pharmacia and the FDA, Mitsubishi in action against Infineon, and Weck Closure Systems (TeleFlex) in a suit involving Vitalitec. The suits against Pharmacia and FDA broke open the market for generic micronized glyburide and made new law in the area of 180-day exclusivity. The suit against Infineon resulted in a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.

Allen is President-Elect for the Licensing Executives Society, an organization of 6,000 licensing professionals in the U.S. and Canada. He has also been the chair of the Chemical/Biotechnology committee of the North Carolina Bar Association. Allen is a member of the American Bar Association, American Intellectual Property Law Association and the Triangle Intellectual Property Law Association.

Allen is the President of the Licensing Executives Society (USA and Canada), Inc. He is also a frequent lecturer and teaches courses for the Licensing Executives Society’s Intellectual Asset Management professional development series. Prior to joining Hutchison Law Group, Allen was a Partner with one of the largest patent firms in the United States where he practiced for 12 years.

Allen graduated from Muhlenberg College in 1989 with a B.S.Ch. In 1992, he earned his J.D. from Widener University School of Law. He is admitted to practice law in North Carolina and also registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.