R. Andrew "Drew" Patty II

Drew Patty is a partner with Phelps Dunbar, LLP in the firm's Intellectual Property and Cybersecurity Groups. He also leads the firm's Artificial Intelligence Working Group. With 30 years of experience in a broad range of transactional intellectual property matters and related litigation, he also has a growing AI and data privacy practice.

His chemical patent experience includes patent preparation and prosecution in the fields of oilfield proppants and other downhole chemicals, refinery catalysts, organometallic chemistry, microbiocidal agents, catalyst reactions, pharmaceuticals and their intermediates, mercury sorbent technologies and bromine chemistry, among others. His mechanical and electro-mechanical experience includes patents in technical fields such as downhole tools for oil field applications, medical devices and procedures, pump systems and mechanical seals, marine engines and related systems and off-shore drilling equipment, among others. Drew's patent practice experience further extends to business method and software-based patent application preparation and prosecution in the areas of mortgage-based and futures contract investment products and related methods, insurance-based investment products and related methods, and software-based systems for e-payment processing and improving computer network security. His work experience also includes freedom of use and validity opinions on patents and trademarks, strategic IP portfolio enforcement counseling and international portfolio management. He also has experience representing clients on various matters before both the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board and its Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

Outside of the patent arena, Mr. Patty has prepared and prosecuted numerous U.S. and international trademark applications, conducted IP due diligence for lenders in secured loan transactions, filed U.S. copyright applications for a wide variety of works of art and authorship, negotiated and prepared patent, trademark and software licenses, joint development agreements, software development agreements and software-as-a-service subscription agreements.

In the area of litigation, he has represented clients, both plaintiff and defendant, in patent infringement, trademark infringement, trade secret misappropriation and copyright infringement. He has also represented clients in domain name disputes under the ICANN arbitration procedures and consulted as an expert witness in legal malpractice actions. While his experience in the chemical patent practice is his most extensive, his client industries have been diverse, ranging from chemical and oil field service companies, financial institutions, restaurant groups, music labels and architectural studios, to industrial equipment, wood product and marine engine manufacturers and software development companies.

Mr. Patty's AI, cybersecurity and data privacy practice centers around guidance to businesses in developing data and AI policies and procedures that comply with domestic and international regulatory requirements, manage vendor and other forms of data risk, insure against those risks which are unavoidable in e-commerce and cloud computing, and plan for responding to data breach incidents that may occur in the future.