Terry K. Tullis

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.