Elizabeth A. Doherty Ph.D.

Associate

Liz Doherty assists clients in the biotechnology and chemical arts in conducting a variety of activities related to their United States patent portfolios, from prosecution to litigation.

Dr. Doherty conducts business in both French and English and frequently travels to Europe to assist European-based clients. She was based in the firm’s Brussels office from 2005 to 2009.

Her work includes prosecuting applications before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, providing validity and infringement opinions, performing and organizing due diligence reviews, and preparing clients for U.S. litigation. She has also assisted in several United States patent litigations, including three Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) litigations and an inventorship dispute over technology critical to the human genome project. In addition, she has helped several pharmaceutical clients list their patents in the USFDA’s “Orange Book” (Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations).

Dr. Doherty gained experience in both patent prosecution and strategic counseling at the firm while in law school, first as a technical specialist and then as a student associate.

Highlights

• Joined Finnegan in 2000 after a nine year career in basic research at the University of California and Yale University.
• Ph.D. research focused on X-ray crystallography and the biochemistry of nucleic acids, including large RNA catalysts.
• Frequent speaker on United States patent law issues.

Professional Recognition

• E.A. Doherty et al. “A Universal Mode of Helix Packing in RNA,” Nature Structural Biology, 2001.
• E.A. Doherty & J.A. Doudna. “Ribozyme Structures and Mechanisms,” Annual Review of Biochemistry, 2000.