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Terry K. Tullis

With more than a decade of experience in domestic and international strategic intellectual property portfolio management, Terry Tullis advises on patent, trademark, and copyright prosecution, enforcement, and licensing. Terry truly thrives in the continuous cycle of the evolution of the law, business, and rapid technological innovation.

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Terry’s clients include individuals and large and small businesses involved in a wide range of technologies, including medical device, nanotechnology, and mechanical arts. Terry is known for his consistently good judgment and positive outcomes. Clients and colleagues alike appreciate Terry’s personal commitment to responsiveness and availability, which is reinforced by his proven skill in addressing both the simple and complicated problems of doing business today.

Fully invested in dispute resolution in the U.S. and abroad, Terry works tirelessly not only to ensure his clients obtain and leverage their valuable IP, but also protect their brand and innovated creativity around the world, particularly in Europe, China, and South Korea. He has provided both offensive and defensive advocacy in district court, before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), in interferences and inter partes review (IPRs), on appeal to the Federal Circuit, as well as in the prosecution, enforcement, and defense of client assets overseas.

Notably, Terry has worked extensively with orthopedic, spinal, cardiovascular, neurovascular, gynecological, and aesthetic technologies. He has been involved in the IP strategy, acquisitions, and investment rounds of Ulthera, Inc. (funding rounds and acquisition by Merz Pharmaceuticals), Sienna Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (funding rounds and IPO), Endius, Inc. (acquired by Zimmer Holdings, Inc.), ev3 Inc. and ev3 Neurovascular (acquired by Covidien). Other medical device clients have included Sonoma Orthopedic Products, Inc., TranS1, Inc., and NovaLign Orthopaedics, Inc.

Prior to joining the firm, Terry was employed by NASA, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Johnson & Johnson. He worked in engineering design involving cardiovascular and diagnostic ultrasound systems, a DNA synthesizer for a biotechnology start-up, and various medical device projects with hospitals and companies. He also served as a management consultant engaged in strategic business consulting and project management for Fortune 500 companies and government clients, and as a marketing manager for a medical device company.

Working as a business professional before the law made Terry a far more effective and credible lawyer to the businesses and entrepreneurs he represents today. Much of his advice involves strategic decisions that are grounded in business and supported by the law. Because Terry understands, from first-hand experience, what drives business development, he is able to apply the law in a far more practical manner when it comes to his client’s immediate and long-term commercial objectives.

University of California – Los Angeles – School of Law (UCLA), J.D.
University of California – Berkeley – Haas School of Business (CAL), M.B.A., Master of Business Administration
Stanford University, M.S., Biomechanical Engineering
Stanford University, B.S., Mechanical Engineering and Product Design, Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society
State Bar of California
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
U.S. District Court – Central District of California
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Biotech

Aesthetic & Cosmetic Biotechnology

Chemical, Industrial & Materials

Building Construction

Building Products & Materials

Construction & Home Improvement

Cosmetics & Personal Care Products

Machine Shops

Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Consumer Products & Services

Aesthetics & Personal Care Products

Electrical, Semiconductor & Computer Technology

Healthcare Information Technology

Medical Devices & Procedures

Ablation Technology

Aesthetics & Implants

Angioplasty

Annulus & Nucleus Repair

Balloons

Cardiac Rhythm Management

Cardiovascular

Catheters & Probes

Dermatology & Aesthetics

Drug Eluting & Drug Delivery Devices

Ear, Nose, & Throat

Embolic Coils

Embolic Protection & Clot Retrieving

Hypertension Management Devices

Imaging

Implants

Ischemic Stroke

Left Atrial Appendage (LAA) Occlusion

Neuromodulation

Orthopedics

Patent Foramen Ovale Closure

Prosthetics & Orthotics

Spinal Fusion

Spine

Surgical Equipment

Ultrasound

Assignments and Licenses
Brand Portfolio Management
Brand Search
Copyright
Design Patents
Due Diligence
Global Portfolio Management
Infringement Risk 
Inter Partes Review (IPR)
International Trademarks
IP Strategy
IP Transactions and Agreements
Licensing
Opinions Counseling
Patent Strategy & Prosecution
Patentability 
Post-Grant
Registration
Tech Transactions
Trademark & Brand Protection
Trademark and Brand Protection Litigation
Trademark Enforcement
Trademark Registration
Transactions
TTAB Proceedings
U.S. Patent Prosecution

Recognized by The Legal 500 “United States” for Patent Licensing (2019-2023) and Patent Prosecution (2022-2023)

Winner of the Benjamin Aaron Award for the best piece of published legal scholarship in any UCLA law journal for his published comment “Application of the Government License Defense to Federally Funded Nanotechnology Research: The Case for a Limited Patent Compulsory Licensing Regime,” 53 UCLA L. Rev. 279 (2005).

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