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.
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, 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
Cardiac Rhythm Management
Cardiovascular
Catheters & Probes
Dermatology
Diagnostics
Drug-Eluting Devices
Ear, Nose, & Throat
Embolic Protection
Hypertension Management Devices
Imaging
Minimally Invasive & Endoscopic Procedures
Neurology
Orthopedics
Prosthetics & Orthotics
Spine
Surgical Equipment
Advertising, Media & Entertainment Practice
Assignments & Licenses
Brand Portfolio Management
Brand Search
Copyright
Design Patents
Due Diligence
Global Portfolio Management
Inter Partes Review (IPR)
International Trademarks
IP Strategy
IP Transactions, Agreements & Venture Capital
Litigation
Patent Strategy & Prosecution
Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB) Trials (Post Grant)
Patentability
Registration
Trademark & Brand Protection
Trademark Enforcement
Trademark Litigation & Unfair Competition
Trademark Litigation & Unfair Competition
Trademark Registration
Trademark Trial & Appeal Board (TTAB) Disputes
Transactions
TTAB Proceedings
U.S. Patent Prosecution
Unfair Competition Litigation
- Recognized for outstanding work in patent law in the 2024 edition of the Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) “Patent 1000 Guide” for Prosecution (2024)
- Recognized by The Legal 500 “United States” for Patent Prosecution (2024)
- 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).
