Employing his industry-relevant and special blend of prior experience drawn from an extensive in-house career as well as private practice, Ray is uniquely qualified to assist his clients with patent issues, including, patent prosecution, opinions, portfolio evaluation and management, inventorship dispute resolution, patent litigation, patent oppositions and interferences. Ray possesses substantial experience in formulating intellectual property policies, procedures and practices, and in devising patent procurement strategies to protect inventions in the U.S. and abroad. Additionally, Ray's experience in the life sciences area and intellectual property law field includes: licensing, due diligence, follow-on biologicals, Hatch-Waxman issues, IP valuation, product life-cycle management, and the rendering of strategic intellectual property advice.
A major focal point of Ray's intellectual property practice is counseling clients on freedom-to-operate issues as they relate to research and commercial activities. This includes the rendering of opinions on the validity and enforceability and/or infringement or non-infringement of intellectual property rights, as well as counseling clients on the steps they need to take to ensure freedom to practice. Another area in which Ray has considerable experience is in performing intellectual property audits, and in the licensing, acquisition and divestiture of intellectual property assets.
Ray has an extensive in-house career as chief patent counsel to a number of multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies. From 1999 to 2007 Ray served in various capacities at Biogen, Inc. and then Biogen Idec Inc., including as Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, Senior Vice President and Acting General Counsel, and Senior VP, Chief IP Counsel and Head of Litigation. Prior to that, Ray was in-house counsel and Chief Patent Counsel at Pharmacia & Upjohn Company, and also at The DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Company. He has extensive experience in developing patent strategies for inventions in the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmaceutics, drug formulations and delivery methods, small molecule design, antibody-based therapeutics, drug discovery and development, gene- and cell-based therapies, organic and inorganic chemistry, diagnostic products and technologies, medical devices and chemical and biochemical engineering. He evaluates the intellectual property content of research activities and assists his clients in developing patent strategies to maximize the extent and duration of their patent exclusivity. Ray possesses an uncommon degree of experience and expertise in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields in creating, managing, defending and enforcing global patent and trademark portfolios.
Ray has vast experience in IP transactions including mergers and acquisitions, licenses, asset purchases and sales, and various collaborations and joint ventures, as well as assisting venture capital groups in devising strategies to protect their investment and to expand and enhance intellectual property portfolios relating to their new venture funding. He frequently assesses third party intellectual property portfolios and conducts due diligence investigations in support of transactions involving intellectual property assets. His experience extends to drafting and negotiating all types of technology and intellectual property asset transfer, collaboration and license agreements.
Professional Activities
Member, American Bar Association Patent, Trademark and Copyright Committee
Member, Massachusetts Bar Association
Member, American Intellectual Property Law Association
Member, Boston Patent Law Association