Sharon A. Lai is a licensed patent attorney with a focus on intellectual property and commercial litigation. Sharon has experience in litigating intellectual property rights in the biotechnology, rechargeable battery, and information technology fields. Prior to joining the firm, Sharon worked at Bingham McCutchen, defending a telecom component manufacturer against allegations of unfair licensing practices and improper conduct with standards setting organizations. She also worked for a year at Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder LLP as part of the trial team that defended the validity of recombinant protein patents for a major pharmaceutical company.

Sharon obtained her Bachelors degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1999, majoring in English Literature as well as Molecular and Cell Biology. Before graduate school, she worked as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Niger, West Africa where she taught HIV prevention to villagers, initiated the first microcredit sheep loan, and formed the first women's credit union in her Tuareg village.

Sharon earned a JD and MBA from Syracuse University in 2006, graduating cum laude. While at Syracuse, Sharon served as a senior research associate in the NY State Science and Technology Law Center, where she provided intellectual asset management consultation to inventors. She also worked as an extern at the Onondaga County Attorney's Office and was the Articles Editor for the Labor Lawyer. Sharon received the Marcus Award for ambition and love of learning from the College of Law and received the Entrepreneurial Leadership Award for her work with the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship's community outreach program.

Notable Engagements

Specific cases, client references, and names are available upon request.

• Presently representing battery manufacturer in a patent litigation action involving cathode materials for rechargeable (lithium-ion) batteries
  
• Presently representing biotechnology company in a patent litigation action involving molecular beacon and probe technology used in nucleotide amplification


• Presently representing components manufacturer in a patent litigation action involving magnet technology utilized in bicycle trainers


• Presently representing manufacturer in a patent litigation action involving conveyor belt technology


• Represented a major pharmaceutical company in a patent litigation action involving erythropoietin in the U.S. District Court Massachusetts. Case was tried to a verdict in a four-week jury and bench trial in client's favor.


• Represented a major chipset manufacturer in patent litigation action in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of California involving disclosure of essential intellectual property rights to standard setting organizations, and anti-trust allegations.

Education

• Syracuse University College of Law, J.D., cum laude (2006)
• Whitman School of Management, MBA, concentrations in Finance and Marketing (2006)
• University of California, Berkeley, B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology (Immunology) and English Literature (1999)

Admitted to Practice

• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (Reg. No. 62236)
• California Federal District Courts
• California State Courts

Professional Affiliations and Activities

• State Bar of California
• American Bar Association