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William B. Kezer, PhD

Member

[email protected]

+1.415.432.6111

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Bill advises both large pharma and startup companies with clinical stage assets in the development of global patent estates. He provides clients with strategic advice on patent portfolio development, conducts due diligence reviews of targeted companies and technology, and handles comparative evaluations of competitive patented technologies. His experience includes serving as in-house patent counselor for a life sciences company and working as a senior research scientist for two global chemical companies. Prior to pursing his law degree, Bill earned a PhD in organic chemistry from UC Berkeley.

More specifically, Bill's practice focuses on patent portfolio development to achieve optimum term for pharmaceutical products.  Bill’s clients recently obtained multiple drug product approvals with patent portfolio coverage under development at Mintz. For early stage companies, Bill has assisted in patent portfolio development leading to acquisitions and/or collaborations valued at from about $100M to about $4B. He leverages experience in the corporate setting to provide clients with a business-based, product-driven approach to all of his IP legal services, and includes approaches with potential litigation challenges in mind.  Bill also advises on product protection strategies involving formulations, drug delivery technologies, and dosing methods.

Prior to joining the IP team at Mintz, Bill was a partner in the Bay Area office of a large, international law firm. He also served as in-house patent counsel for Tularik Inc. (now part of Amgen, Inc.), a company involved in the discovery of compounds for the regulation of gene expression.

Earlier, Bill worked as a senior research scientist and project leader for FMC Corporation and Dow Chemical Company/DowElanco, where his research involved the design and synthesis of small molecule regulators of biological processes. Bill's doctoral thesis, conducted under the direction of Professor Paul A. Bartlett at UC Berkeley, concerned the design and synthesis of transition-state analogs as inhibitors of peptidases.

viewpoints

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) anticipates issuing the 10 millionth utility patent at some point during the summer 2018.
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The Federal Circuit reversed the invalidation of two patents directed to providing security for credit card purchases in an opinion released earlier today.  The patents at issue, U.S. Patent Nos. 7,840,486 and 8,036,988, disclose methods for effecting secure credit-card purchases by minimizing merchant access to credit card numbers.
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News & Press

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Mintz is pleased to announce that 120 firm attorneys have been recognized as leaders by Best Lawyers® in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©.
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BOSTON– Mintz’s award-winning Intellectual Property (IP) Practice again earned national recognition in the 2023 edition of IAM Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners. The guide recognized Mintz with three firm-wide rankings and 10 attorneys received a total of 11 individual recommendations.
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BOSTON –Mintz announced today that 39 of its practices and 81 of its attorneys earned recognition in the 2023 edition of Chambers USA, a guide to the country’s leading law firms.
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Mintz is pleased to share that two attorneys and the firm’s Patent practice have been shortlisted in the 2022 edition of Managing Intellectual Property’s (MIP) Americas Awards. The awards recognize the “remarkable achievements and developments” of firms, individuals and companies impacting the IP sector over the past year. 
This American Lawyer column noting moves among the AmLaw200 notes the arrivals of Bill Kezer, San Francisco-based Member, and Andre Cizmarik, Special Counsel in the New York office.
This Law360 feature article highlights Member Bill Kezer’s move to Mintz. Bill, an experienced intellectual property attorney, focuses on patent prosecution, with a particular emphasis on pharmaceutical products.
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Events & Speaking

Panelist
Mar
11
2018

BPIP 6th Annual Conference

Best Practices in Intellectual Property

Sheraton Tel Aviv Tel Aviv, Israel

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Bill advises both large pharma and startup companies with clinical stage assets in the development of global patent estates. He provides clients with strategic advice on patent portfolio development, conducts due diligence reviews of targeted companies and technology, and handles comparative evaluations of competitive patented technologies. His experience includes serving as in-house patent counselor for a life sciences company and working as a senior research scientist for two global chemical companies. Prior to pursing his law degree, Bill earned a PhD in organic chemistry from UC Berkeley.

Recognition & Awards

  • Recognized in Chambers USA: California – Intellectual Property: Patent Prosecution (2021 – 2023)
  • Recognized in Business Today's list of 10 Most Influential Intellectual Property Attorneys in California for Patent Prosecution (2023)
  • Included on Patexia's Most Active Attorneys in Biotech (2022 – 2023)
  • IAM Patent 1000 "World's Leading Patent Practitioners" (2013 – 2023)
  • Included on the Northern California Super Lawyers: Intellectual Property list (2013 – 2014)
  • Best Lawyers in America: Patent Law (2023 –2024)
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Bill advises both large pharma and startup companies with clinical stage assets in the development of global patent estates. He provides clients with strategic advice on patent portfolio development, conducts due diligence reviews of targeted companies and technology, and handles comparative evaluations of competitive patented technologies. His experience includes serving as in-house patent counselor for a life sciences company and working as a senior research scientist for two global chemical companies. Prior to pursing his law degree, Bill earned a PhD in organic chemistry from UC Berkeley.

Involvement

  • Chairman, AIPLA Chemical Practice Committee (2011 - 2013)
  • Vice-chair, AIPLA Chemical Practice Committee (2009 - 2011)
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