David L. Suter

Mr. Suter is a principal with the firm, and has over 30 years of experience in intellectual property law. His practice focuses on developing and executing intellectual property legal strategies, on a corporate as well as individual project basis, as well as transactional matters. His areas of specialization include global patent preparation and prosecution, patent portfolio management, development of risk avoidance strategies (including rendering infringement and invalidity opinions), and trade secret matters. He also counsels clients on the intellectual property aspects of mergers and acquisitions and the negotiation and drafting of complex agreements. He has, in particular, led the intellectual property due diligence investigations for complex and high-value acquisitions in the automotive, telecommunications, material handling, resource recovery, energy, consumer products, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries.
 

He has extensive experience in the chemical, molecular biological, and mechanical fields; and in the pharmaceutical, consumer products, and medical device industries. Specific technologies in which Mr. Suter has significant experience include organic chemistry (including pharmaceutical new chemical entities), pharmaceutical formulations, disease treatment regimens (including second indications), biologics (including vaccines, and blood-derived and other tissue based compositions), plants (including hybrid and GMO agricultural crops); polymer chemistry (including novel olefin and biodegradable and bio-sourced industrial polymers and polymers used in medical devices), electrochemistry (including fuel cell, battery and photo chemical technologies, such as novel lithium electrode materials, electrolytes, battery and fuel cell architecture, and control systems), hydrocarbon reformation, diagnostic and analytical systems (including PCR analytics), optical materials, ceramics (including ceramics used in medical devices), oral care products (including novel oral care actives, formulations, diagnostics and toothbrushes), personal care products (including hair and skin care formulations and cosmetics); food technologies (including food product formulations and production methods), and nutritionals and functional foods (including formulations, production methods, and nutraceutical compositions and methods).
 

Mr. Suter has also been an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Michigan State University College of Law, teaching a course in licensing. Prior to joining the firm, he was Associate General Counsel - Patents for The Procter & Gamble Company. While there, he was responsible for all intellectual property matters for the health care (pharmaceutical and over-the-counter products), beauty care (including hair care, skin care, and cosmetics) and corporate new ventures business unit. A highlight of Mr. Suter’s career is his work with Dr. Barry Marshall, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2005 for his discovery of the role of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease. Mr. Suter drafted and prosecuted patents for Dr. Marshall regarding the use of bismuth salts for the treatment of H. pylori disorders.
 

Education

J.D., with honors, Ohio State University, 1981
B.S. in Chemistry and Physics, magna cum laude, Bowling Green State University, 1978