Trenam Law’s Business Transactions Group integrated the patent team of Smith & Hopen, a firm that secured more than 2,000 U.S. patents and thousands of federal trademarks. More than half of these patents were obtained for universities and institutional research entities. Our professionals have served as patent counsel for institutions such as the University of South Florida, University of Central Florida Research Foundation, Florida A&M University and the University of Colorado, securing over 1,069 patents for these clients. As part of Trenam, the patent team collaborates with corporate, tax, employment and litigation lawyers to provide holistic support.
A patent grants you the right to exclude others from making, using or selling your invention for a limited time. In the United States the patent system operates on a first‑inventor‑to‑file basis, making early filing critical. Lack of knowledge or funding often prevents innovators from securing patents even when their work has commercial potential. Trenam’s patent team helps inventors, companies and universities navigate this complex system so they can protect discoveries and maximize value.
Patents are more than just legal documents. They:
- Provide exclusive rights that attract investors and partners.
- Offer prestige and open doors to collaboration, funding and startup opportunities.
- Protect research investments and give inventors control over commercialization pathways.
- Encourage innovators to recognize and protect valuable ideas early.
Universities and research institutions know that a strong patent portfolio enhances reputation, attracts donors and fuels local economies.
Practice Areas Include
We guide clients through every stage of the patent life cycle:
- Invention disclosure and evaluation – Our attorneys meet with inventors to understand the technology, ensure confidentiality and assess patentability.
- Prior‑art search and strategic advice – We research existing patents and publications to gauge novelty and non‑obviousness.
- Drafting provisional and non‑provisional applications – Our team prepares robust specifications and claims designed to survive scrutiny and litigation. We manage U.S. and international filings and track deadlines across portfolios.
- Patent prosecution – We respond to USPTO office actions; about 86 % of U.S. applications require at least one response and 38 % need a second round, so expert advocacy is essential.
- Licensing and commercialization – Trenam’s corporate attorneys negotiate license agreements, sponsored research deals and spin‑off formations to turn ideas into revenue.
- Enforcement and defense – Our litigators enforce patents in federal court and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and defend clients accused of infringement.
AI and Emerging Technologies
A growing number of patent applications involve artificial intelligence. Trenam’s lawyers stay current with USPTO guidance on AI patentability and have prosecuted patents for AI‑powered diagnostics, autonomous vehicle perception, smart manufacturing and natural language processing. We protect innovations across key verticals:
| AI technology |
Focus of protection |
| Large language models (LLMs) |
Patenting model architectures, training data pipelines and applications |
| Semantic AI |
Protecting search engines, ontologies and knowledge graphs |
| AI training systems |
Securing data‑labeling methods and optimization strategies |
| Computer vision |
Patenting image recognition, object detection and medical imaging innovations |
