Maeve O’Flynn

Partner
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP

Maeve O’Flynn is a European and UK patent attorney with more than a decade of in-house experience, having worked at some of the world’s largest multinational corporations in the oil and chemical industries. She has worked for a range of clients, from startups to multinationals, covering diverse technologies such as cosmetics, sustainable chemistry, and catalysis.
Maeve has helped clients develop commercially relevant intellectual property strategies. This includes developing and managing global patent portfolios, provisioning advice regarding trade secrets and defensive publications, and negotiating collaboration and licensing agreements.
Maeve has extensive experience preparing and prosecuting patent applications, from the initial invention harvesting sessions through to achieving allowance. She works with clients to assess and value their patent portfolios, and to develop filing strategies that support their commercial aims. She also represents clients at oral proceedings before the European Patent Office, representing both patentee and opponent. 
Maeve has a first-class degree in chemistry from the University of Oxford, where she conducted surface chemistry research using scanning tunneling microscopy.
 Et Cetera
Author. “The Importance of IP in the Chemical Industry,” Chemical Industry Journal, 2018.
Co-author. “Direct Observation of behavior of Au nanoclusters on TiO2 (110) at elevated temperatures,” Surface Science, 2001.

Speech title & Synopsis

Navigating your Life Sciences Post-Grant Challenges:  Tips for best practice when you are challenging or being challenged in the EPO or USPTO
 
The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) and the Changing Landscape for Biologics and Biosimilars
 
Panel Discussion:  The Impact of Clinical Trials on Patentability—novelty, non-obviousness, and inherency

Obtaining global protection for your innovation can be challenging, particularly when considering the different rules and legal systems in the USA and Europe.  In this seminar we will explain the post-grant challenges to patents that can be launched in the USA and in Europe, highlighting the opportunities and potential pitfalls within the two legal systems.  We will also discuss the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) in the USA and the litigation that has followed.  Finally, we will have a panel discussion on the impact of clinical trials on patentability of inventions, addressing the relevance of publication of clinical trial data to assessment of novelty and inventive step in both the USA and in Europe.