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Polsinelli Shughart PC protects creativity and encourages the growth of knowledge in the science and technology industries. The Science and Technology Law group brings considerable resources and experience to entrepreneurial work by focusing on the special needs of clean technology, biotechnology, chemical, food science, pharmaceutical, bioinformatic, medical device, computer hardware, software, electronic commerce and new media companies, as well as universities and government laboratories. Staffed with experienced lawyers and scientists with advanced degrees in engineering, biology, microbiology, and chemistry, to name a few, our attorneys handle the most complex and cutting edge issues facing technology, high-tech, bioscience, consumer food products, animal science, medical device, agriculture and clean technology industries.

The Science and Technology Law group provides legal counsel on issues that today’s science and technology companies encounter, from the obvious to the oblique. Our attorneys have partnered with many of our clients from their first day of business and helped them grow and prosper into successful and innovative enterprises.

We assist our clients in developing intellectual property strategies, launching websites, raising capital, acquiring and selling technologies and companies, and developing strategic partnerships. In addition, we prepare and review a wide range of technologies, vendor and licensing agreements. We also protect our clients’ intellectual property assets through trademarks, copyrights, patents, licensing agreements, employment agreements, privacy policies, litigation, technology development agreements, trade secret protection and research and development issues.

At Polsinelli Shughart we believe that it is our role to not only monitor the changing landscape in both industry and law, but to deliver innovative solutions that meet your quality standards and deadline challenges.

Our goal is to be a partner with our clients and to understand their technology and business. This understanding enables us to better anticipate the needs of our clients, provide strategic planning and advise on the acquisition, development and protection of their IP assets. By working with our clients we are able to provide a high-quality work product at a reasonable rate.

Our attorneys counsel Fortune 500 companies, midsize public and private companies, start-ups, universities and nonprofit research institutes on the challenges many clients face.

The group has significant experience filing U.S. and foreign patent and trademark applications. Currently, the group manages over 7,629 active cases and 2,618 total trademarks.

Finally, as mentioned, we represent a variety of clients including:

Start-ups that, in particular, need services related to patents, corporate formation, financing, licensing, and acquisition
Mid size companies that need services related to strategic advice, patents, securities or private equity, corporate advice, litigation, and advisement of the board
Fortune 500 companies that require specialized licensing, advice, opinion work, foreign prosecution, patent drafting and portfolio management
Universities, not-for-profits and government laboratories that require patent services and licensing

For more information on related services, see our sections on:

Copyrights
Intellectual Property and Technology Litigation
Internet and Intellectual Business Assets
Life Sciences
Patents
Trademarks

In what has been called the most significant reform to U.S. patent law in over 50 years, President Obama signed into law a sweeping overhaul of the patent system known as the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. The Act includes a number of provisions and important changes that will affect every facet of your interaction with the patent system.

In June 2011, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved a new generic top-level domain name registration program. Generic top-level domains (gTLDs) are the letter strings following the “dot” in an Internet address (e.g., the “com” in .COM) and have been limited to 21 specific sequences, including .COM, .ORG, and .INFO. These will expand beginning in 2012. ICANN’s approval of the program opens gTLDs to allow registration of almost any combination of letters, including trademarks, trade names, brands and other terms.

Earlier this year, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved the new .XXX top-level domain registry targeted at the adult entertainment industry. Many trademark owners do not want their marks associated in any way with the adult entertainment industry, and, as such, need to prepare for the upcoming pre-launch Sunrise Program.

April 20, 2012	Polsinelli Shughart Attorneys to Present at New York Pharmaceutical Conference
February 16, 2012	Ingram's Features Polsinelli Shughart in its Biotechnology Industry Outlook Report
December 7, 2011	Fox4 Interviews Attorney Greg Kratofil About Gigabit Challenge
December 2, 2011	Polsinelli Shughart Adds Science and Technology Partner Spencer Wood
March 1, 2011	Polsinelli Shughart Expands Science and Technology Focus With New Shareholder
January 25, 2011	Polsinelli Shughart Helps Sponsor Science Event for Adults and Children
January 24, 2011	Chicago Patent Attorney and Ph.D. Joins Polsinelli Shughart to Help Serve Biotech Clients
July 14, 2010	Polsinelli Shughart Builds Intellectual Property and Science and Technology Practice in Phoenix
June 22, 2010	Polsinelli Shughart Attorney Gregory Kratofil Jr. Explains Angel Investing in 2010 on KCTE Radio
May 19, 2010	Polsinelli Shughart Expands Science and Technology Practice With Patent Attorney
April 14, 2010	Polsinelli Shughart Attorneys Highlight Important Health Care Reform Provisions For KansasBio Organization
April 7, 2010	Polsinelli Shughart Attorneys Take Lead in Major Life Sciences Symposia in Missouri and Arizona

September 19, 2011	The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act In what has been called the most significant reform to U.S. patent law in over 50 years, President Obama signed into law a sweeping overhaul of the patent system known as the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. The Act includes a number of provisions and important changes that will affect every facet of your interaction with the patent system.
August 31, 2011	New Generic Top-Level Domain Name Registries: Protecting Your Rights In June 2011, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved a new generic top-level domain name registration program. Generic top-level domains (gTLDs) are the letter strings following the “dot” in an Internet address (e.g., the “com” in .COM) and have been limited to 21 specific sequences, including .COM, .ORG, and .INFO. These will expand beginning in 2012. ICANN’s approval of the program opens gTLDs to allow registration of almost any combination of letters, including trademarks, trade names, brands and other terms.
August 8, 2011	Protecting Your Trademarks from Association with Adult Entertainment Websites: Only One Month Left to Prepare Earlier this year, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved the new .XXX top-level domain registry targeted at the adult entertainment industry. Many trademark owners do not want their marks associated in any way with the adult entertainment industry, and, as such, need to prepare for the upcoming pre-launch Sunrise Program.
January 25, 2011	What You Need to Know About Social Media to Protect Your Business Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, blogs, chat rooms and text messaging. Many businesses are increasing their use of these social media and other “wired” sources of communication as marketing or publicity tools, while others still fear the issues that may arise from this new form of media. Regardless of whether a business chooses to participate actively in this “wired” world, it is imperative that organizations understand their use and abuse—and what can and cannot be controlled.
July 20, 2010	Final Meaningful Use Regulations Released The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have released the Final Rule for the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program (the Meaningful Use Final Rule). Simultaneously, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) released its Final Rule addressing certification criteria for EHRs (the Certification Criteria Final Rule). These two Final Rules establish what criteria and technical standards constitute the meaningful use of EHR technology and establish eligibility for incentive payments.
June 28, 2010	A Closer Look: Bilski v. Kappos Decision The U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Bilski v. Kappos and eliminated some of the uncertainty that had been caused by the Federal Circuit's bright-line machine-or-transformation test for patentable subject matter of method patents. As a result, there will be continuing patent protection for computer software, computer-based business methods and medical diagnostics.
June 7, 2010	Is Your Copier A Data Breach Waiting To Happen? Prompted by a recent CBS News report on inadvertent disclosures of personal information stored on copy machine hard drives, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has begun contacting copier manufacturers and resellers to determine whether they are warning customers of potential data security vulnerabilities and providing options for secure copying. While the FTC may be investigating copier manufacturers and resellers, companies that own, lease or use copiers or similar multifunction printers need to be aware of the relevant data security issues in order to take proper steps to avoid an inadvertent security breach.
June 1, 2010	A Practical Guide for the Medical Device Community on Health Care Reform Steven K. Stranne and Alan K. Parver, Shareholders with Polsinelli Shughart PC, will provide a framework for understanding the new law and the ongoing trends in reimbursement, coverage, coding and funding for medical devices during a complimentary webinar event June 9.
May 24, 2010	Breaking News: Treasury Issues Rules For Qualified Therapeutic Discovery Tax Credit Program The Treasury Department has issued Notice 2010-45, which established the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Tax Credit Program pursuant to the provisions of the Affordable Care Act of 2010. The Notice establishes the rules, definitions, forms and procedures for applying for the $1 billion of tax credits or grants (for taxpayers that are in a loss position) for up to 50 percent of "Qualified Investments" made or expected to be made during the 2009 and 2010 tax years in Qualified Therapeutic Discovery Projects (each, a "Project").
April 30, 2010	Update: Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Tax Credit Program A Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project is one that involves most drug development and therapeutic medical devices or diagnostics and that has a reasonable potential to result in new therapies for unmet medical needs, chronic or acute diseases, reducing long-term health care costs or curing cancer. The attorneys in Polsinelli Shughart's Life Sciences group are working with our clients now to ensure they are prepared to move quickly once details of the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Tax Credit Program are announced on (or about) May 21.
March 2, 2010	New Trend in Patent Litigation: False Marking Lawsuits A recent trend in patent litigation is the so-called "false marking" lawsuit. In fact, lawsuits are being filed daily accusing well-known retailers of violating the false marking statute. Exposure for defendants in these lawsuits goes beyond the cost of defense. If a company violates the false marking statute, courts are authorized to assess significant monetary penalties.
February 25, 2010	Certification Criteria for Achieving "Meaningful Use" of Electronic Health Record Technology As part of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT) released on December 30, 2009, an Interim Final Rule (IFR) that was published in the Federal Register on January 13. That IFR detailed the initial set of standards, implementation specifications and certifications criteria that must be achieved in order to demonstrate the first stage of the "meaningful use" of electronic health record (EHR) technology and, by doing so, establish eligibility for various incentive programs.

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