“Laura is a sophisticated and effective life sciences attorney with a keen appreciation of clients’ science, patent office procedure and the business and commercial context of life science inventions. She’s a marvelous collaborator, superbly managing and aligning interests among disparate stakeholders,” stated one client. Another client said, “Laura is exceptionally adept and professional in managing patent prosecution cases and dealing with clients and examiners. She has delivered on advancing ingenious solutions and clever arguments that align with client strategic objectives. Client satisfaction is extremely important to Laura as she will work to ensure high satisfaction with her work product and client interactions.”

For over 20 years, Dr. Laura Labeots has helped companies build and protect their intellectual property by drawing on her experience in patent law and her former research experience as a Ph.D. chemist in the industry. Her legal practice includes identifying patentable subject matter, preparing patent applications, prosecuting those applications worldwide and enforcing patent rights. Laura has extensive experience in freedom-to-operate, invalidity and patentability opinions, litigation, licensing and agreement work. She has represented clients in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings and ANDA/Hatch-Waxman litigation before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

With a distinctive combination of legal and scientific knowledge, Laura brings a collaborative, results-driven approach to help clients protect their innovations. Her experience includes the development of patent strategies in a wide range of matters in the chemical arts and biologics, including:

  • Antibodies
  • Antisense oligonucleotides
  • Biofuels
  • CRISPR gene editing
  • Diagnostics
  • Fuel cells and batteries
  • Genetic testing
  • Geotextiles
  • Nucleic acids
  • Nutrition and nutraceuticals
  • Peptides and proteins
  • Polymeric materials
  • Radiolabelled molecules
  • RNAi, siRNA, and miRNA
  • Small molecules
  • Vaccines
  • Veterinary medicine

Laura’s work with pharmaceutical agents includes:

  • Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors
  • Anticoagulants
  • Anticonvulsants
  • Antifungal antibiotics
  • Antipsychotics
  • Appetite stimulants
  • Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder modulators
  • Atypical antibiotics
  • Dopamine agonists
  • Estrogen receptor antagonists
  • Macrolides
  • Metastasis inhibitors
  • Proton pump inhibitors
  • Psychostimulants
  • Reverse transcriptase inhibitors
  • Rifamycin antibiotics
  • Topical analgesics

Alongside her legal background, Laura has over a decade of industrial experience as a Research Chemist. She helped develop diagnostic products at Abbott Laboratories and co-invented several patents on synthetic fat substitutes at Kraft Foods. She holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Northwestern University, where she worked with Professor Robert Letsinger. She completed postdoctoral studies at the University of Chicago and later became a Research Faculty Member.

When asked…

Why did you become a lawyer?

I was intrigued by the marriage of science and law in the patent law profession. My deep scientific knowledge in chemistry and biotech helps me understand the innovative and complex technology that we try to help companies safeguard and commercialize. I enjoy helping people by advocating for their rights and finding creative strategies to solve their legal challenges.

What do you do outside of work?

You can usually find me working out at the gym or enjoying the outdoors.

Areas of Focus

Services

Sectors

Experience

  • Acted as intellectual property counsel to a start-up company on patent prosecution, due diligence and licensing matters.
  • Advised generic drug manufacturers on patent invalidity and non-infringement issues as they pursued market entry.
  • Conducted intellectual property due diligence for companies assessing potential investments and asset acquisitions.
  • Drafted and negotiated agreements, including licensing, confidentiality, common interest and nondisclosure agreements.
  • Drafted and prosecuted hundreds of patents globally for a large chemical corporation, covering various chemical polymers, processes and related products.
  • Participated in numerous inter partes review (IPR) proceedings before the USPTO, representing Petitioners and Patent Owners.
  • Represented a preeminent research institution focusing on gene editing, resulting in a comprehensive, worldwide patent portfolio.
  • Secured an extensive family of patents for a prominent East Coast university related to amplifying synthetic nucleic acid sequences.
  • Successfully argued an oral and written appeal before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), achieving favorable results for a pharmaceutical company concerning an anti-cancer drug.

Credentials

Education

  • University of Illinois College of Law (J.D., 2003)
    • Staff Editor, Review of Intellectual Property Law
  • The University of Chicago (Postdoctoral Fellow, 1993)
  • Northwestern University (Ph.D., Bioorganic Chemistry, 1992)
  • Northwestern University (M.S., Organic Chemistry, 1989)
  • Indiana University (B.A., Chemistry, 1984)

Admissions

Bar Admissions

  • Illinois
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Court Admissions

  • The Supreme Court of Illinois

Recognitions

  • Crain's Chicago Business, "Notable Women in Law," 2020, 2022, 2024

Presentations

  • Presenter, "Evaluating Functional Claiming, Enablement and Sufficiency in Light of Amgen v. Sanofi," Texas Intellectual Property Law Association (TIPLA) Fall Conference 2023, November 10, 2023
  • Co-presenter, "Antivirals, Antibodies, and Anti-Inflammatories: COVID-19 Therapies in Clinical Trials and Related Biotech Patent Pitfalls," December 9, 2020
  • Speaker, "Building a Strong Patent Portfolio for Nucleic Acids-Based Inventions," Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago (IPLAC), July 22, 2019
  • Speaker, "Intellectual Property for Agriculture and Plants," Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago (IPLAC), March 14, 2019
  • Speaker, "Structuring Freedom to Operate Opinions-Reducing Risk of Patent Infringement," Strafford Webinar, July 31, 2018 (Encore Presentation)
  • Speaker, "Freedom to Operate Opinions-Reducing Risk of Patent Infringement," Strafford Webinar, July 30, 2017 (Encore Presentation)
  • Speaker, "Markush Claims in Pharma/Chemical Patent Prosecution and Litigation: Leveraging Federal Court Guidance," Strafford Webinar, April 6, 2017
  • Speaker, "Structuring Freedom to Operate Opinions-Reducing Risk of Patent Infringement," Strafford Webinar, September 21, 2016 (Encore Presentation)
  • Speaker, "Structuring Freedom to Operate Opinions-Reducing Risk of Patent Infringement," Strafford Webinar, July 21, 2016
  • Featured Speaker, "Personalized Medicine Patent Law Update," TIDES Oligonucleotide and Peptide Therapeutics Conference, Long Beach California, May 10, 2016
  • Speaker, "Personalized Medicine and Patent Law," St. Louis Institute of Nanoscience and Nanomedicine Symposium, December 12, 2015
  • Speaker, "The Written Description Requirement," Chicago Bar Association, November 1, 2014
  • Speaker, "Legal Opinions on Invalidity and Non-Infringement," American Conference Institute, Chicago, Illinois, October 3, 2013

Publications

  • Featured, Amicus Curiae Brief with IPLAC to the Supreme Court of the United States on Petition for Writ of Certiorari in Support of Petitioners in Athena v. Mayo, No. 19-430, October 31, 2019
  • Featured, IP Law Group Urges High Court to Fix Patent Eligibility, Law 360, October 31, 2019

Professional Activities

  • Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago, co-chair Biotech Committee
  • American Bar Association
  • American Chemical Society
  • Chicago Bar Association
  • Chicago Innovation Mentors
  • Illinois State Bar Association
  • Licensing Executives Society
  • PROPEL
  • Women in Bio