Strategic advising relating to inventions, brands, product designs and artistic works

James Aquilina advises his clients on intellectual property (IP) procurement, strategic portfolio development and management, offensive and defensive dispute matters, licensing and anti-counterfeiting efforts. An internationally recognized IP strategist and leader in the field of U.S. design law, he counsels industry-leading and emerging clients in the areas of utility and design patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. His representative clients include global companies in the fields of:

Personal apparel, including footwear and clothing

Consumer packaged goods, including games and puzzles

Medical devices

Home furnishing

Software

James takes the time to understand his clients' businesses and ensure the legal solutions he and his team deliver align with business purposes. He is a true partner to the companies he represents and provides guidance that is clear, succinct and actionable.

James is the Washington office chair for the Intellectual Property Group and the co-founder and editor in chief of Quarles' Protecting the Product blog, which focuses on design-related legal rights.

Bar Admissions
District of Columbia New Jersey Pennsylvania U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Education
Rutgers University (B.S., cum laude, 2002)

Biomedical Engineering

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (J.D., 2005)

"Apple v. Samsung at the Supreme Court: A Roadmap to Understanding the Issues" "Advanced Design Patent Prosecution including Responding to Objections and Rejections" "Advanced Design Patent Prosecution" "Advanced Design Patent Prosecution" "Analysis of USPTO's 2014 Interim Guidance on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility: Impact on Hightech Biotech Industries" "Best Practices for Protecting Your Trade Secrets in Emerging Markets" "Color Marks the Spot: A Comparative Look at Trade Dress Law for Product Configuration Marks in the U.S. and E.U." "Design Patent Portfolio Development and Management for In-House Practitioners" "Protecting Designs in the Virtual World" "Protecting Designs Without Design Patents" "Protecting Emerging Technologies with Design Patents" "Protecting Emerging Technologies: The IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Wearables, and GUIs" "Separating Wheat from Chaff: Comparing Functionality Doctrines in U.S. Design Patent, Trade Dress, and Copyright Law" "The Intersection of Law and Design: An Intro. To Design Patents" "Trademarks: Identifiers of Source" "Using a U.S. Design Patent Filing as a "Worldwide" Priority Document" "USPTO "Examiner Day" Annual Case Law Update"Beyond the Product: Why Packaging May Be Your Most Valuable IP Asset A Trademark Guide to the Metaverse for Averse Brand Owners AI & IP: A Not-so-Perfect Pairing AI Search Tool Coming to Design Patent Examination Augusta National Blazes a Trail to Registration of its Iconic Green Jacket Brexit's Impact on European Design Registrations Design Patents are Heating Up at the Federal Circuit, Again Failure to Mark Patent Number on Products Results in Complete Loss of Pre-Suit Infringement Damages IP Attorneys Xheneta Ademi, Grace Stewart and James Aquilina Write About Trademark Protection in the Metaverse for Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal James Aquilina and Grace Stewart Author Article in The Trademark Lawyer About Trade Dress James Aquilina Writes About the Need to Include Patent Marking on Products for Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal Letter to USPTO regarding application of written description requirement to continuing and amended U.S. design patent applications Mason Baranczyk, Justin DeAngelis, James Aquilina and Nicholas Schmidbauer Author IP Watchdog Article on Divisive Design Patent Case and Design Definiteness New Revisions to Chinese Patent Law Increase Design Patent Harmonization New U.S. Senate Bill Seeks to Grant Authority to Enforce Design Patents at Customs New USPTO Design Patent "Bar" to be Created in 2024 Prince's Estate Makes it Rain Purple on the USPTO Protecting the Product: Beauty Products Protecting the Product™: Software Protecting the Product™: Typefaces and Fonts R.I.P. Mr. Rosen: Federal Circuit Upends Longstanding Design Patent Obviousness Test Recent Examination Manual Update Includes Guidance on Protection of Computer-Generated Designs Recent Trends in Article of Manufacture of Design Patent Claims: GUIs Remain King The Growing Role of Copyright in Product Design Protection The Importance of Design Patents USPTO Announces COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program for Small and Micro Entities When "Functionality" Swallows Design Rights: A Caution for Design Patent Applicants