Jonathan M. Spenner, Ph.D.

Shareholder

Jonathan M. Spenner, Ph.D.

Overview

Dr. Spenner is a shareholder of the firm, based in the Chicago office.  Specializing in the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and chemistry, Dr. Spenner brings extensive legal experience and deep scientific understanding to his patent law practice.

Experience

Dr. Spenner has counseled and managed international patent portfolios for pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and academic institutions, with the size of clients ranging from large multinational corporations to start-ups.  Dr. Spenner has experience in the drafting and prosecution of U.S. and international patent applications and has performed freedom-to-operate, patentability, non-infringement, validity, inventorship, and transactional due diligence analyses.  Dr. Spenner also has experience with foreign patent oppositions, particularly in Australia.  Prior to becoming an attorney and while attending law school part-time, Dr. Spenner worked full-time for over five years as a scientific advisor and patent agent at prominent law firms in New York City and at Leydig.

Technologies with which Dr. Spenner has experience include biologics, small molecule pharmaceuticals, recombinant proteins and nucleic acids, chimeric antigen receptors, antibodies, engineered cells, gene therapy, molecular biology techniques, medical diagnostics, personalized medicine, cosmetics, and wallboard manufacturing.  His scientific background is multidisciplinary, exemplified by his doctoral dissertation research in biomacromolecular thermodynamics and structure, which culminated in a Ph.D. in molecular biophysics.

Dr. Spenner is on the Management Committee and oversees the Docketing Department of the firm.

Education

  • Fordham University School of Law, J.D., 2009
  • The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics, 2004
  • Northwestern University, B.A. in Biological Sciences, cum laude, 1999

Admissions

  • Illinois, 2009
  • Registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Courts

  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Professional Affiliations

  • American Bar Association (ABA)
  • American Chemical Society (ACS)
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
  • Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO)
  • American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
  • Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago (IPLAC)

Articles, Publications & Lectures

  • Spenner, J. and Berg, J. Exploring the Use of Cobalt(II) Dipolar Shifts in Refining the Structure of a Zinc Finger Peptide. J. Inorg. Biochem. (2022) 235: 111912
  • Featured panelist at the 2018 Beckman Symposium in a panel discussion focused on legal career trajectories – August 13, 2018 in Irvine, California.
  • Profiled in A Conversation with Dr. Jonathan M. Spenner: Celebrating 20 Years of Beckman Scholars, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, September 15, 2017
  • Jonathan M. Spenner, “On-sale bar to patentability may take another turn after Helsinn,” Chicago Daily Law Bulletin (October 20, 2016)
  • Paul J. Korniczky & Jonathan M. Spenner, “Time to study up on patent office’s new professional conduct rules,” Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, vol. 159, no. 247 (December 19, 2013)
  • Jonathan M. Spenner, “Obvious-to-Try Obviousness of Chemical Enantiomers in View of Pre- and Post-KSR Analysis,” 90 J. Pat. & Trademark Off. Soc’y 475 (July 2008)
  • Ph.D. Dissertation:  Thermodynamic and Structural Analysis of a Valine-Valine Hydrophobic Interaction across a Protein Beta-Sheet
  • Huang, S., Ratliff, K., Schwartz, M., Spenner, J., Matouschek, A. Mitochondria Unfold Precursor Proteins by Unraveling Them from Their N-termini. Nat. Struct. Biol. (1999) 6:1132 – 1138
  • Featured panelist at the 2015 Beckman Symposium in a panel discussion focused on legal career trajectories – August 7, 2015 in Irvine, California.
  • Amann, B.T., Spenner, J.M., and Berg, J.M. NMR Determined Structure of a Cobalt-Substituted Zinc Finger Peptide: Incorporation of Dipolar Chemical Shifts and Residual Dipolar Coupling. Poster presented at the Computational Aspects – Biomolecular NMR Gordon Research Conference, January 18-23, 2004.
  • Spenner, J.M., Amann, B.A., and Berg, J.M.  Thermodynamics of a Hydrophobic Interaction across a Protein Beta-Sheet. Invited speaker presentation at The Twelfth Annual Johns Hopkins University Institute for Biophysical Research Retreat, Baltimore, Maryland, October 18, 2003.
  • Spenner, J., Amann, B., and Berg, J.  Thermodynamics of Hydrophobic Interactions across a Protein Beta-Sheet. Poster presented at The Seventeenth Protein Society Symposium, Boston, Massachusetts, July 26-30, 2003.
  • Spenner, J.M., Amann, B.A., and Berg, J.M.  Thermodynamics of Hydrophobic Interactions across a Protein Beta-Sheet. Invited speaker presentation at The Fifth Annual Beckman Scholars Symposium, Irvine, California, July 24-26, 2003.
  • Spenner, J.M., Amann, B.A., and Berg, J.M.  Thermodynamics of Hydrophobic Interactions across a Protein Beta-Sheet. Poster presented at The Seventh Johns Hopkins Folding Meeting, Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, March 22-25, 2003.
  • Spenner, J., Matouschek, A. The effect of mitochondrial targeting sequences on the stability and folding kinetics of a precursor protein. Poster presented at the First Annual Beckman Scholars Symposium, Irvine, California, July 1999.

Education

  • Fordham University School of Law, J.D., 2009
  • The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics, 2004
  • Northwestern University, B.A. in Biological Sciences, cum laude, 1999

Admissions

  • Illinois, 2009
  • Registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Courts

  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois