Don J. Pelto

Don Pelto is a partner practicing intellectual property and patent litigation in the firm's Washington, D.C. office.

Mr. Pelto represents domestic and international clients in intellectual property litigation, counseling and procurement. Specifically, he has particular experience with technological developments in the fields of molecular biology, pharmaceuticals, bioinformatics, pharmaceutical small molecules, diagnostics, chemi–informatics and software, medical products and devices, including surgical devices, medical product manufacturing processes and fluid handling devices and related methodologies.

Mr. Pelto's litigation experience includes interferences, Section 337 actions, District Court infringement actions and Federal Circuit appeals. He has written opinions on freedom to operate, noninfringement and invalidity. In addition, Don has experience in the preparation and prosecution of patent applications and licensing and technology transfers. Mr. Pelto has successfully asserted and defended against patent infringement claims, both in the U.S. District Courts and the United States International Trade Commission. He has also successfully represented clients in appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Before entering law school, Mr. Pelto was a Research Biologist with the National Institutes of Health, National Institutes on Aging where he performed original research in conjunction with the Laboratory of Neurosciences and the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Sciences.

Education

• J.D., University of Baltimore School of Law, 1985
• B.S., University of Maryland, 1982

Admissions

• California
• District of Columbia
• Maryland
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Representative Matters

Armanno v. Puricle Incorporated, No. 1:05-2904 (D. Md.)

CatchCurve v. Comodo Group, Inc., No. 1:07-00489 (N.D. Ga.)

CatchCurve v. GoDaddy.com, Inc., No. 1:06-2201 (N.D. Ga.)

C. B. Fleet Co., Inc. v. Unico Holdings, Inc. No. 9:07-80291 (S.D. Fla.)

Everett Laboratories, Inc. v. Vertical Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No. 05-5926 (D.N.J.)

Everett Laboratories, Inc. v. Vertical Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No. 06-1661 (3d Cir.)

Fitness Quest Inc. v. Wonderfulbuys.com, No. 5:06-2204 (N.D. Ohio)

Markwins Beauty Products v. Mirage Cosmetics, No. 2:05-4917 (C.D. Cal.)

SecurityPoint Media, LLC v. The Adason Group, No. 8:07-444 (M.D. Fla.)

Teleshuttle Technologies, LLC v. Microsoft Corp., Nos. 5:04-2927-JW, 5:04-2928-JW (N.D. Ca.)