Michael P. Dunnam
| Partner | |
| Philadelphia | |
| P. 215.564.8962 | |
| F. 215.568.3439 | |
| dunnam@woodcock.com | |
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Michael Dunnam has been involved with patent issues for since 1984. “I’ve seen a lot,” says Michael. “I have personally drafted several hundred patent applications and prosecuted a couple thousand.” As chair of the firm's Licensing and Business Transactions Committee, Michael also advises clients in intellectual property matters, including the preparation of opinions, licenses and technology agreements.
Before and during law school, Michael worked in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a patent examiner in the art of color television. “I’m very familiar with the patent office and how they get things done,” he says. Currently, he co-chairs the Patents Subcommittee of the Electronics and Computer Law Section of the American Intellectual Property Law Association. In that capacity, he facilitates twice-annual meetings between the U.S. PTO’s technology center directors and IP lawyers. “They tell us what’s going on at the Patent Office, and we tell them what’s going on in private practice. It’s helpful in improving communications,” says Michael. “I have a good relationship with the patent office, and a lot of experience working with it.”
With a degree in electrical engineering, Michael’s work primarily focuses on electronics, computer software, the Internet, business methods, telephony, video, lasers and medical electronics, such as magnetic resonance imaging technology. He has worked with many start-up companies, as well as with long-established corporations.
In 1998, Michael served on the board of directors of Golden Enterprises, a privately held telephone operator systems business. His father-in-law had been the company’s CEO, but when he died without a succession plan, Michael stepped in to guide the company until the directors could choose a successor for the business. “It gave me a lot of insight into business,” says Michael. It is an experience few IP lawyers have, because serving on boards of some companies may present a conflict of interest. “Since that time, I’ve represented a lot of start-up companies, and I was able to draw on my experience there.”