Pete Thurlow counsels inventors, growth-stage companies and multinational corporations on protecting, managing and monetizing intellectual property and patent portfolios. His practice spans the full spectrum of patent law: evaluating new inventions, developing strategic filing programs, prosecuting applications before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and negotiating and drafting licensing agreements to commercialize technology. He also provides freedom-to-operate, invalidity and patentability opinions and represents clients in post-grant proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and in federal litigation. Pete helps clients implement proactive monitoring programs to track competitor filings and assess risk before it escalates.

Focused on innovative companies seeking capital, Pete has built a versatile practice that connects entrepreneurs with family-office and institutional investors. He organizes and hosts family-office investor meetings and events, fostering relationships between businesses and family-owned investment portfolios. These efforts have produced partnerships with respected investment advisors and firms, including IvyFon and 361 Firm, among others active in the global family-investor niche.

A recognized leader in the IP community, Pete served as President of the New York Intellectual Property Law Association (NYIPLA) in 2018–2019, an organization of more than 1,000 members. From 2012 to 2018 he served on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC) by appointment of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. The PPAC advises the Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the USPTO on patent policy and procedure and provides annual reports to the White House, U.S. Commerce Department and Congressional Judiciary Committees.

A graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Pete served for a decade in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He leverages his military and technical background in advisory work with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), assisting with IP and patent matters, identifying commercialization pathways for emerging technologies and introducing DARPA to strategic partners.

Education

  • Brooklyn Law School (J.D., 1996)
    • Pace University (MBA, 1992)
      • U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (B.S., 1988)

        Bar Admission

        • New York, 1997
        • Admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office

        Court Admissions

        • U.S. District Court, District of New York, 1997

        Professional Affiliations

        • Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C)
          • Executive Committee Member
        • New York Intellectual Property Law Association
        • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
          • Patent Public Advisory Committee, 2012-2018

        Recognition

        • Law360 Intellectual Property Editorial Advisory Board, 2018
        • Volunteer Judge for the USPTO’s National Patent Application Drafting Competition for the Eastern Region, 2021
        Publications
        All Publications
        APEX – An Alternative Patent Resolution Procedure on Amazon
        APEX – Amazon’s Solution to Patent Dispute Resolution With the traffic Amazon generates, the e-commerce giant has become an essential, and perhaps even mandatory, marketplace for many companies to sell their products. Yet, companies selling on the platform can face several challenges, including dealing with third-party sellers who provide knockoff and copycat products. Even when a company is selling a product backed with patent protection, third-party sellers providing unlawful knockoff, copycat, or otherwise infringing products can persist and cut into a company’s profits. Patent protection can be a useful tool for guarding against such unlawful products on Amazon. However, traditional ways of enforcing this protection can be difficult and costly to implement. One traditional way can involve sending a cease-and-desist letter to
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        USPTO’s New Electronic Grant System Shortens the Time to File Continuing Applications
        On April 18, 2023, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) updated the patent grant system to an electronic patent grant (“eGrant”) system. Previously, the USPTO issued patent grants to patent applicants via mail. In the mail system, applicants would typically receive their grant about two to four weeks after paying the issue fee for the patent. Soon, applicants will only have about a week from payment of the issue fee to file a continuing application. Under the eGrant system, patents now issue electronically through the USPTO’s electronic patent application filing and management system (“Patent Center”). The eGrant system was put into place to reduce paper waste, permit issued patents to be viewable and printable by applicants and the public
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