Experience

Chemical

About

Chemical is part of our work in Chemicals, Industrials, and Materials, and Energy.

Chemical innovations improve lives

From basic elements to highly specialized goods, chemicals are the foundation for products that change the way we live. The chemical industry plays a fundamental role in everything–from the raw materials used in manufacturing to the high-tech products that allow us to communicate, travel, eat, and save lives. Innovative companies and organizations are meeting the demand for greener, faster, and more flexible and efficient products. Beginning with the groundbreaking discoveries of Ziegler and Natta, and continuing with today’s nanotechnology advancements, Finnegan represents innovators that span the full breadth of the chemical industry.

Understanding the law, science, and technology

Our team includes lawyers and professionals also trained as chemists, biological chemists, chemical engineers, polymer scientists, metallurgists, and material scientists. Some worked for major chemical companies, serving as corporate counsel or scientists. Whether it is a new chemical compound, a new combination of chemicals, or a special formulation behind the innovation, we work to protect the IP rights associated with the resulting compositions and products. The various segments of the chemical industry and their customers have their own rules, techniques, and subtleties that can significantly affect the technical and legal analyses and methods of protection. Clients rely on us to analyze their patent portfolios and provide comprehensive, accurate assessments of their IP assets, determining their value, identifying where they need protection, and uncovering potential challenges.

We help by:

Litigating high-value chemical products in district and appellate courts
Providing counsel on business-related issues, including landscape analyses of the competitive marketplace and strategies for generating value from IP assets
Developing and executing prosecution strategies
Advocating for, and defending clients’ interests in, post-grant review and reexamination proceedings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Writing opinions and providing ongoing counseling for new and existing technologies
Conducting due diligence for mergers, acquisitions, licensing, and partnering opportunities
Structuring, drafting, and negotiating IP license agreements
Providing trademark prosecution and counseling services

From lab discoveries through commercial application, we work with clients in many areas of manufacturing and processing, including:

Agrichemical/agrochemical and pesticides
Consumer products
Food and beverage
Glass manufacturing
Oil and gas exploration and refining
Paper and pulp
Packaging
Plastics, resins, and polymers
Rubber manufacturing

Everyone in this industry

Experience

Secured a decisive victory for client US Synthetic Corp. (USS) at the ITC. After a full hearing, the ALJ found that respondents infringed multiple claims of USS’s patent and that the claims were valid and supported by a domestic industry, but an initial Commission ruling under § 101 temporarily prevented a finding of violation of Section 337. The Federal Circuit reversed the § 101 ruling, and on remand the ITC found a violation and issued a limited exclusion order barring infringing polycrystalline diamond products from entry into the United States, securing final relief for USS.

337-TA-1236, ITC, Judge Elliot

Finnegan represented Eastman Chemical Company, an independent global specialty materials company, and several of its subsidiaries in a UK dispute concerning copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and breach of contract before the UK High Court. The dispute centered on a proprietary database of patterns used in automotive paint protection film. The parties reached a confidential settlement and the Defendants agreed not to infringe Eastman intellectual property rights in the future.

IL-2024-000026, UK High Court

Secured a significant victory for client US Synthetic Corporation (USS) with a precedential decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) overturning an unfavorable 35 U.S.C. § 101 eligibility ruling from the International Trade Commission (ITC).

23-1217, Fed. Cir., Judges Chen, Dyk, Stoll

Represented REC before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and in parallel IPR filings regarding TOPCon solar cells.

2:24-cv-00260, E.D. Tex., Judge Gilstrap
IPR2025-00592, -00593, -00594, -00595, PTAB

Represented Corbion N.V. in litigations against WTI, Inc. involving dry vinegar products.

1:23-cv-00144, S.D. Ga., Judge Epps
1:23-cv-08624, S.D. Ga., Judge Broderick

Representing plaintiff Corteva Agriscience in a district court patent infringement litigation involving transgenic plants and plant cells that produce enzymes conferring herbicide resistance.

1:22-cv-01046, D. Del., Judge Williams