Dority & Manning

Representative Practice Areas:

• Drafting and prosecuting U.S. and international patent applications.
• Managing all aspects of extensive patent portfolios for corporate clients and universities.
• Providing opinions on various patent issues, including patent validity, infringement, and right-to-practice issues.
• Preparing applications to register trademarks in the U.S. and in foreign countries, along with providing related counseling.

Experience:

• Alan has been with Dority & Manning since 2004 and is a shareholder of the firm.
• Alan concentrates his practice on drafting and prosecuting patent applications in the chemical, biochemical, electrochemical, and mechanical arts.
• He has drafted and prosecuted patent applications in the areas of polymer processing and synthesis, organic chemistry and nanotechnologies, pharmaceutical and genetic biochemistry, semiconductor technologies, thin film photovoltaic devices, thin film LED devices, diagnostic assays and biosensors, film fabrication, paper making, and textile woven and nonwoven processing.
• Alan has extensive experience managing global patent portfolios for a range of clients, including individuals, start-up companies, regional corporations, international corporate clients, and universities.
• Alan has prepared clearance opinions on a variety of proposed new products and prepared non-infringement and invalidity opinions for numerous patents.
• Alan is active in the local bar, currently serving as the President of the Carolina Patent, Trademark & Copyright Law Association where he has served on the board since 2006.  Alan also recently served as the Chairman of the Intellectual Property and Unfair Trade Practice Committee for the South Carolina Bar.
• While at the University of South Carolina, Alan was published four times in leading Chemical Journals for his undergraduate research on organic polymers, specifically, applications involving the use of poly(p-phenyleneethynylene) in light emitting diodes (LEDs).

Professional Background:

• Education: University of South Carolina (B.S., Chemistry, magna cum laude, with Honors from the South Carolina Honors College, 2001); University of South Carolina (J.D., cum laude, 2004).
• Admitted to Practice: South Carolina; U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; U.S. District Court of South Carolina; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal and Fourth Circuits.
• Member: President (2011-current), Vice-President (2009-2010), Board of Directors (2006-2009), Carolina Patent, Trademark & Copyright Law Association; American Intellectual Property Law Association; Chair (2008-2010) Intellectual Property and Unfair Trade Practice Committee for the South Carolina Bar.
• Honors: President (2003-2004), Treasurer (2002-2003) University of South Carolina Intellectual Property Law Society; Southeastern Environmental Law Journal; Phi Beta Kappa; Order of Omega.
• Publications: “Synthesis and Characterization of Poly[1,5-(3,7-ditert-butyl)naphtyleneethynylene] by Alkyne Metathesis”, Macromol.Rapid.Commun.,21 493 (2000); “Blue Solid-State Photoluminescence and Electroluminescence from Novel Poly(para-phenyleneethynylene) Copolymers”, Chem.Mater,13 2691-2696 (2001); “Alkyne-Bridged Polymers as Platform for Novel Macromolecular Materials: Catalytic Hydrogenation of Poly[(p-dialkylphenylene)ethynylene]s”, Macromolecules 34 (14) 4688-4690 (2001); “Rod vs Coil: Molecular Weight Comparison of a Poly(dialkyl-p-phenyleneethynylene) with Its Reduced Poly(2,5-dialkyl-p-xylylene)” , Macromolecules, 36 (5), 1424-1425 (2003).