Polymers & Chemistry IP Consulting

How do Exponent's consultants support high-stakes IP disputes for polymers and chemicals?

Polymers — widely used in the production of plastics, rubbers, emulsifiers, foams, additives, and composite materials — are ubiquitous across industries, with innovation spurring their incorporation into consumer and personal care products, medical devices, cars, construction materials, and more. These products are typically the result of robust R&D and become valuable intellectual property. The same can be said for chemicals, which are incorporated into an overwhelming majority of industrial processes and products we rely on in our daily lives.

Exponent offers polymer and chemistry IP consulting services to support the key enterprise value of patents and trade secrets, mitigate risk, and help clients navigate disputes in the complex and highly competitive polymers and chemistry landscape.

We use our technical expertise to interpret patent claims and trade secret allegations across a variety of industries and venues, from district courts and the International Trade Commission (ITC) to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). We support claim construction; address claims related to patent infringement and validity, trade dress, trade secrets, and trademarks; and contribute to due diligence and filings for the chemical, construction, automotive, electrical, energy generation, agricultural, medical device, food, pharmaceutical, and consumer products industries.

Multidisciplinary consulting for polymer science and materials chemistry

Exponent's consultants bring a rigorous multidisciplinary approach to IP consulting for innovations that include polymers and chemicals, supported by extensive expertise in electrical engineering, computer science, mechanical engineering, thermal science, data analytics, materials science, chemical engineering, and human factors. Our interdisciplinary approach allows us to evaluate allegations of patent infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets holistically for products across sectors and to provide testifying experts capable of qualifying as a person of ordinary skill in the art (POSA) for a variety of issues that may arise as the case evolves.

Evaluating the validity of patent claims and trade secrets and applying custom test methods

Our expert knowledge of the polymers and chemicals industries is invaluable to assessing the validity of claims, which hinges on understanding the state of the art at the time of an effective patent filing date. Our industry knowledge allows our experts to assist in trade secret matters, where we analyze evidence and offer opinions on the differences between ubiquitous polymers and chemistry knowledge compared to novel and valuable trade secrets. Additionally, our IP consultants have the ability to develop custom or non-standard test methods specific to every stage of the IP lifecycle.