Sean D. Detweiler

Member

Direct 781-697-2257
Fax 781-622-9533
Waltham, MA

Boston, MA

A Registered Patent Attorney, Engineer, Author, and a former In-house Patent Counsel and Adjunct Law Professor, Sean is a member of the Firm’s Intellectual Property practice, leader of the low-tech/high-tech Patent practice, and the Head of its Trademark practice.

  • Known as being a highly responsive, trusted advisor – a real team player
  • Over 27 years of experience practicing intellectual property (IP) law, including:
    • Patents (Responsible for obtaining 500-plus patents protecting inventions & designs)
    • Trademarks (Responsible for 1,000-plus trademark registrations and enforcements)
    • Product Design (design-around counseling incorporating patent landscape searches)
    • Audits/Assessments of IP (Is it good quality? Is it well-protected? Etc.)
    • Licensing of valuable IP (Agreements with companies to pay royalties for patents)
    • Governance of IP (Managing invention harvesting, protection, enforcement)
    • Opinions (Will I infringe someone’s patent? Do they infringe my patent? Etc.)
    • Due-Diligence reviews (e.g., for M&A, Investment, etc.)
    • IP Strategy (Advise on how best to implement all of the above taking into consideration the needs of the business)
  • Flexible in approach, Sean collaborates with all forms of clients:
    • Individual inventor
    • Startups
    • Emerging growth companies
    • Mid-size and larger US and international companies with substantial IP patent and trademark portfolios
  • Diverse technology experience in areas including:
    • Medical devices
    • Consumer products
    • Industrial equipment
    • Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning (HVAC)
    • Energy, cleantech, biomass, etc.
    • Apparel, Footwear, Sporting Goods, etc.
    • Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronics, and combination technologies
    • Internet-of-Things (IoT)
    • Robotics
    • Software, Artificial Intelligence (AI), NFTs, peer-to-peer, blockchain, etc.
    • Telecommunications
    • Aerospace, Electric Vertical Takeoff & Landing Vehicles (eVTOL), Electric boats, etc.
    • Autonomous vehicles, drones, etc.
    • Educational products

In Sean’s book, The Best Way to Secure Your Intellectual Property, he reveals how to protect your IP rights, and elevate your level of knowledge in all aspects of IP, as well as how best to work with an IP professional to secure your IP in a manner that is both high quality and cost-effective.

If you would like to inquire about patents or trademarks, send an email to sdetweiler@morse.law to arrange a FREE initial consult.

Learn more about Patent & Trademark Attorney Sean Detweiler on LinkedIn® here.

Speaking Engagements

Panelist, Intellectual Property: The Ins and Outs, TechSandBox

Office Hours, Topic: Patent, TechSandBox

Speaker, Accelerate Program Bootcamp, Wentworth Institute of Technology

Speaker, Legal Basics for Game Companies, Morse Seminar

Speaker, Morse Patent Law Discussion Series, Morse Seminar

Speaker, Conducting Business in the U.S., swissnex Boston – Consulate of Switzerland

Speaker, Intellectual Property Overview, Massachusetts Society of Plastic Surgeons

Publications

Is Fireball Confusable with Fireball?

Top Ten Useful Trademark Tips

Intellectual Property Considerations of NFTs

A Tom Brady Trademark Tome: Brady Brand Clothing Illuminates Common Obstacles in the Trademark Registration Process

Gruyère and Tequila® – Are they Generic, Registerable Trademarks, and/or Just Good Together?

Trademark Searching and Clearance: To Search, or Not to Search? A Discussion of Common Issues Stemming from Trademark Searching and Clearance

Alice – Dumber Than A Doorstop: Re-Framing the Patent-Eligible Subject Matter Analysis

File Your Trademark Applications Sooner Rather Than Later

Cancelling a Trademark: What’s Peloton’s Spin?

Trademark Modernization Act of 2020

Holiday-Inspired Inventing

USPTO Issues New Exam Guide for Generic Top-Level Domain Marks

The Best Way to Secure Your Intellectual Property

10 Steps to Creating a Valuable Trademark

How to Prepare for Counterfeiters, Whether You Sell on Amazon.com or Not

The Trademark Company, LegalZoom and Other Online Services

Trademarks – Use Them (Properly) or Lose Them: How a trademark is used must be managed carefully to protect its value and avoid losing rights and registrations

Federal Registration of Trademarks to Protect Intellectual Property: Advantages over common law trademark rights include instant nationwide protection, effective notice to competitors, and ease of assigning, licensing, and defending

Informational Perhaps, But Not a Trademark!: Recent Wal-Mart case before Trademark Trial and Appeal Board shows registering informational slogans remains a difficult endeavor

Creating a Strong Trademark: Key Considerations

Multicolored Leaves More Inherently Distinctive than Multicolored Trademarks: TTAB Rules Multicolored Trademarks on Product Packaging Are Never Inherently Distinctive

As the Trade Show Season Ramps Up, Don’t Forget to Harvest Your Patentable Inventions Before Heading to the Show

Matal v. Tam: The Supreme Court Rejects the Prohibition on Disparaging Trademarks

Why You Should Spend Dollars on Patent, Trademark Protection

Trademark Owners Thinking Twice About Using Low-Cost Registration Services

Global Medical Device Regulatory Strategy

IP Due Diligence: Patentability vs. Patent Infringement

Star Wars And Technology: May The Patent Office Be With You…

Robotics: Musings of a Patent Attorney

Duck Dynasty or Patent Dynasty?

Do You Deserve Better from Your Patent Attorney?

Outside the office

Founding Member – Town Sustainable Energy Planning Committee

Founding Member – Sustainable Energy Committee

Master – Arthur J. Gajarsa Inn of Court (past)

Board Member – Education Charitable Fund (past)

Outside of the office, Sean enjoys spending time with family, brewing beer, hanging out with friends, reading to learn new things, sampling fine cheeses and red wines, skiing, photography, drawing, reflecting on over 14 years as a youth soccer coach, running, finding any opportunity to get on a boat, and above-all cheering on his amazing kids and wife in any way he can.

Representative Matters

  • Helped countless individual inventors to patent novel inventions as a foundational springboard to building companies around their IP.
  • Managed, built, and grew an international patent portfolio for a cutting-edge platform technology of a US company leading up to its acquisition for almost $700 million.
  • Assisted numerous clients in navigating the intellectual property due diligence investigations for successful multi-million dollar mergers, acquisitions, and financings.
  • Successfully implemented long-term patent strategies for startups to protect vital intellectual property with limited resources by protecting key aspects of their technology with minimal patent application filings that keep competitors at bay while companies grow.
  • Drafted and successfully prosecuted hundreds of patent applications in crowded technology spaces to obtain valuable patent protection.
  • Worked closely with numerous engineering teams to analyze prior art patents and design new and innovative products while avoiding infringement of competitor patents.
  • Authored/drafted U.S. Patent No. 8,945,235, a 2017 BPLA Invented Here! Honoree
  • Responsible for acquiring and managing over 1,000 U.S. and International Trademarks
  • Manage U.S. and International Patent & Trademark Portfolios
  • Many instances of clients and individuals from former clients returning and becoming repeat clients in new ventures.
Education
  • University of New Hampshire – Franklin Pierce School of Law, J.D.
  • Bucknell University, B.S.
Admissions
  • Massachusetts Bar
  • U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
  • Master – American Inns of Court
  • Engineer In Training – NCEES
Practice Areas
Industries
Recognition
  • MA Rising Stars
    2005, 2007 – 2011