James T. Masters, Ph.D.

Jim’s experience includes drafting and prosecuting patent applications before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and in other jurisdictions; arguing ex parte appeals before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the USPTO; performing patentability, invalidity, and freedom-to-operate analyses; and representing clients in Hatch-Waxman patent litigation. He works closely with clients to develop global patent prosecution strategies and manage large patent portfolios.

Jim is well-versed in and regularly presents to legal audiences on patent inventorship, double patenting, Patent Term Adjustment (PTA), Patent Term Extension (PTE), as well as the interplay between PTA and PTE. He has prepared applications for PTE and is familiar with the specialized area of U.S. Orange Book listings.

Jim has considerable experience in a range of technological areas, including small molecule chemical compounds, polymorphs, antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates, polymer chemistry, medical devices, agrochemicals, and food and beverage products.

Prior to joining Finnegan, Jim was a senior scientist in the chemical development group of Boehringer Ingelheim, where he developed robust and scalable chemical processes to support deliveries of pharmaceutical candidates. Jim’s doctoral research at Stanford University concerned the development of new methods for the synthesis of small molecules, including biologically active natural products and pharmaceuticals. As an undergraduate, he researched the applications of titanium catalysis in organic synthesis. Jim also completed a research internship in medicinal chemistry at a research-based biopharmaceutical company, where he prepared novel small molecule compounds of therapeutic interest.