Practice Areas

Nanotechnology

When manufacturing pioneers began focusing on the manipulation of matter at the molecular level for product and packaging innovation, Shook, Hardy & Bacon lawyers skilled in corporate transactions, intellectual property, public policy, regulatory compliance, environmental law, supply-chain risk management, and litigation recognized that a rapidly changing business environment would require their expertise. The firm has kept pace and is already addressing the legal and regulatory aspects of this new industrial frontier—nanotechnology.

Shook, Hardy’s IP lawyers have experience drafting and prosecuting patent applications and counseling clients as to nanotechnology-enabled drug delivery systems, biomedical and biochemical applications, signal processing using nanotech, and carbon nanotube construction and manipulation, among other matters.

By monitoring regulatory, legal and scientific developments and anticipating the issues that could face clients using nanoscale materials in their product development, firm lawyers are prepared to assist when government regulators and private litigants turn their attention to the nanotechnology-based products that are proliferating in the marketplace. Those resistant to change and suspicious of new manufacturing processes have been viewing nanotech developments warily and can be expected to impose obstacles where they are unneeded.

Shook, Hardy’s nanotechnology lawyers have, in conjunction with an American Bar Association nanotechnology initiative, reviewed existing statutes and provided input to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about existing parameters for regulatory oversight of nanotechnology. Shook, Hardy lawyers are also providing similar input to the Food and Drug Administration, and have authored articles and made presentations on nanotechnology issues.