Alan White is a member of Ballard Spahr’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group, where his practice focuses on patent litigation, prosecution, and counseling for national and global clients in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, CSE, forestry, and wildlife management industries. Alan has represented plaintiffs and defendants in patent and trademark matters before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, United States District Courts, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and the International Trade Commission. He has drafted and prosecuted patent applications relating to viral gene therapies, cellular therapies, and biomanufacturing processes.
Alan also assists clients with advice and counseling on intellectual property licensing agreements, due diligence investigations, and freedom to operate questions. He has reviewed and drafted patent and trademark agreements, and provided opinions and advice pertaining to infringement and validity of molecular biology, pharmaceutical, and computer science patents.
Representative Experience
Representative Matters
Patent Prosecution and Counseling
- Drafts and prosecutes patent applications for gene and cellular therapy and biomanufacturing inventions
- Drafts and negotiates licenses for biotechnology clients, and advises clients on licensing negotiations and disputes
- Drafts opinions relating to biotechnology and cell therapy patents and inventions
- Conducts FTO analyses for clients in the biotechnology and biomanufacturing spaces
Professional Highlights
Pro Bono Experience
Alan has represented local clients in landlord-tenant disputes through the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, veterans in appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and was a member of a team of Ballard Spahr attorneys that, together with attorneys from the ACLU, successfully represented a Tennessee advocacy group in its first amendment challenge against discriminatory city ordinances.
Judicial Clerkship
Hon. Steve C. Jones, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, 2014-2015
Professional Activities
State Bar of Georgia, Intellectual Property Section, Former Communications Chair
Atlanta Intellectual Property Inn of Court, Pupilage Group Co-Chair
Recognition & Accomplishments
The Best Lawyers in America "Ones to Watch," – Intellectual Property Law, Litigation - Patent, Patent Law, Technology Law (Atlanta), 2021-2025
Publications
Co-author, "Expert Evidence in the Eleventh Circuit," 9 SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE REVIEW 393, ABA Section of Science & Technology Law (2013)
Author, "The Doctrine of Equivalents: Fairness and Uncertainty in an Era of Biologic Pharmaceuticals," 60 EMORY LAW JOURNAL 751 (2011)
Co-author, "Biphasic Photoreceptor Degeneration Induced by Light in a T17M Rhodopsin Mouse Model of Cone Bystander Damage," 50 INVESTIGATIVE OPHTHALMOLOGY & VISUAL SCIENCE 2956,(2009)
Lead co-author, "Increased Sensitivity to Light-Induced Damage in a Mouse Model of Autosomal Dominant Retinal Disease," 48 INVESTIGATIVE OPHTHALMOLOGY & VISUAL SCIENCE 1942 (2007)
Credentials
Education
Emory University School of Law (J.D., with honors, 2011)
Woodruff Scholar; Executive Notes and Comments Editor, Emory Law Journal
University of Florida (Ph.D., Medical Sciences–Genetics, 2005)
University of Georgia (B.S. 1996)
National Merit Scholarship
Admissions
Georgia
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
Supreme Court of Georgia
Superior Court of DeKalb County, Georgia