Jeffrey S. Sharp advances and protects clients’ innovations that develop complex products and methods in the areas of biotechnology, chemistry and chemical engineering.  He counsels his clients in their intellectual property matters and prosecutes patent portfolios on their behalf.  Their businesses profit from his in-depth knowledge and thoroughness derived from his educational training and more than twenty-five years experience in the fields of chemistry and biotechnology.  Mr. Sharp brings a committed advocacy on behalf of the firm’s clients, qualities recognized by his Martindale-Hubbell® AV Peer Review Rating™ and regularly demonstrated in his civic commitments and leadership of the firm as managing partner.

Recent Client Work

  • Provide counsel to create an important patent portfolio for a company with innovative chemical technologies useful for industrial and food uses.
  • Successfully prosecuted patents for improved drug discovery technologies as well as for important tissue transplantation screening technologies.

Detailed Biography

Representative Experience

Mr. Sharp has handled matters in a wide variety of biotechnology disciplines, such as: 

  • Pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and gene therapy.
  • Recombinant nucleic acid technologies, including plant biotechnology.
  • In-vivo and in-vitro diagnostic and gene-sequencing methods.

He has also gained successful outcomes in diverse chemical and chemical engineering technologies, including:

  • Organic, inorganic and metallurgical chemistry.
  • Chemical and metallurgical processing.
  • Food and beverage chemistry.

Background and Credentials

Beyond his extensive prosecution and opinion experience in these technologies and applications, Mr. Sharp has participated in numerous inter partes patent matters including patent infringement litigation before U.S. District Courts, patent interference proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and patent opposition work before foreign patent offices.

In addition to his Martindale-Hubbell® AV Peer Review Rating™, Mr. Sharp has been selected by the Chicago Law Bulletin’s Leading Lawyer Network as a "Leading Lawyer." In recognition of his outstanding patent work in life sciences, Mr. Sharp has been featured as a Life Sciences Star in Managing Intellectual Property’s LMG Life Sciences, 2012. He was also selected for inclusion in the 2013 Illinois Super Lawyers® list. Only five percent of the lawyers in the state were selected for this honor. In 2013, he was selected as a "Top Rated Lawyer in Intellectual Property" by American Lawyer Media (ALM) and Martindale-Hubbell and as an IP Star in Managing IP’s 2013 World IP Handbook and Survey.

Mr. Sharp received his J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1984.  He received his B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University in 1980.

Publications and Speeches

  • "Sharp Wants a Paperless Office," Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, Law Firm Leaders, April 17, 2012 (interview).
  • "Patent Law Sizzles Amid IP Boom," Crain’s Chicago Business, October 3, 2011 (featured quotes). 
  • Co-author, "Challenges of Intellectual Property and Branding on Regulatory Approvals," chapter for Nutraceutical and Functional Food Regulations in the United States and Around the World (Academic Press, July 2008). 

Community and Professional Involvement

  • Chair, Board of Directors of the PilotLegis RPG
  • Senior Trustee and former Chairman, Board of Trustees of The Latin School of Chicago
  • Mentor at the mentorship academy of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms
  • Executives' Club of Chicago
  • The Economic Club of Chicago
  • Co-Class Agent for his Princeton class
  • Previously: Chairman of the Committee to Nominate Alumni Trustees for Princeton University and President of The Princeton Club of Chicago

Representative Matters

Clients have benefited from Mr. Sharp’s representation in the following cases:

Accu-cut Diamond Tool Company, Inc.* v. Sunnen Products Company
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Case Type(s): Patent Infringement
Area(s) of practice: Mechanical Arts

Eicholz (Amersham)* v. Tyagi
U.S. Patent Office Board of Appeals and Interferences
Case Type(s): Patent Interference
Area(s) of practice: Biotechnology

Elsbach (Monsanto)* v. Scott
U.S. Patent Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
Case Type(s): Patent Interference, Appeal
Area(s) of practice: Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology

Fraley (Monsanto)* v. Zambryski v. Anderson
U.S. Patent Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
Case Type(s): Patent Interference
Area(s) of practice: Biotechnology

Hooykaas v. Shewmaker (Monsanto)*
U.S. Patent Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
Case Type(s): Patent Interference
Area(s) of practice: Biotechnology

Hybritech v. Abbott Laboratories*
U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
Case Type(s): Patent Infringement, Appeal
Area(s) of practice: Biotechnology

Kishore (Monsanto)* v. Burrell
U.S. Patent Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
Case Type(s): Patent Interference
Area(s) of practice: Biotechnology

McNeil-PPC, Inc. v. The Procter & Gamble Company*
U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
Case Type(s): Patent Infringement
Area(s) of practice: Chemistry/Chemical Engineering

Schilperoort v. Rogers (Monsanto)* v. Barton v. Zambryski
U.S. Patent Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
Case Type(s): Patent Interference
Area(s) of practice: Biotechnology

Shell Oil Company v. Union Carbide Company*
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana
Case Type(s): Patent Interference, Patent Infringement
Area(s) of practice: Chemistry/Chemical Engineering

Stalker v. Kishore (Monsanto)*
U.S. Patent Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
Case Type(s): Patent Interference
Area(s) of practice: Biotechnology

*Party Represented

Short Biography

Education

  • University of Georgia School of Law, J.D.
  • Princeton University, B.S.E., Chemical Engineering

Practices

Industries

Admissions

  • Illinois
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Memberships

  • Executives' Club of Chicago

  • The Economic Club of Chicago

News

Jeffrey S. Sharp

Partner

Jeffrey S. Sharp advances and protects clients’ innovations that develop complex products and methods in the areas of biotechnology, chemistry and chemical engineering.  He counsels his clients in their intellectual property matters and prosecutes patent portfolios on their behalf.  Their businesses profit from his in-depth knowledge and thoroughness derived from his educational training and more than twenty-five years experience in the fields of chemistry and biotechnology.  Mr. Sharp brings a committed advocacy on behalf of the firm’s clients, qualities recognized by his Martindale-Hubbell® AV Peer Review Rating™ and regularly demonstrated in his civic commitments and leadership of the firm as managing partner.

  • T.312.474.9578
  • F.312.474.0448

Jeffrey S. Sharp

Jeffrey S. Sharp

Recent Client Work

  • Provide counsel to create an important patent portfolio for a company with innovative chemical technologies useful for industrial and food uses.
  • Successfully prosecuted patents for improved drug discovery technologies as well as for important tissue transplantation screening technologies.

Detailed Biography

Representative Experience

Mr. Sharp has handled matters in a wide variety of biotechnology disciplines, such as: 

  • Pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and gene therapy.
  • Recombinant nucleic acid technologies, including plant biotechnology.
  • In-vivo and in-vitro diagnostic and gene-sequencing methods.

He has also gained successful outcomes in diverse chemical and chemical engineering technologies, including:

  • Organic, inorganic and metallurgical chemistry.
  • Chemical and metallurgical processing.
  • Food and beverage chemistry.

Background and Credentials

Beyond his extensive prosecution and opinion experience in these technologies and applications, Mr. Sharp has participated in numerous inter partes patent matters including patent infringement litigation before U.S. District Courts, patent interference proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and patent opposition work before foreign patent offices.

In addition to his Martindale-Hubbell® AV Peer Review Rating™, Mr. Sharp has been selected by the Chicago Law Bulletin’s Leading Lawyer Network as a "Leading Lawyer." In recognition of his outstanding patent work in life sciences, Mr. Sharp has been featured as a Life Sciences Star in Managing Intellectual Property’s LMG Life Sciences, 2012. He was also selected for inclusion in the 2013 Illinois Super Lawyers® list. Only five percent of the lawyers in the state were selected for this honor. In 2013, he was selected as a "Top Rated Lawyer in Intellectual Property" by American Lawyer Media (ALM) and Martindale-Hubbell and as an IP Star in Managing IP’s 2013 World IP Handbook and Survey.

Mr. Sharp received his J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1984.  He received his B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University in 1980.

Publications and Speeches

  • "Sharp Wants a Paperless Office," Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, Law Firm Leaders, April 17, 2012 (interview).
  • "Patent Law Sizzles Amid IP Boom," Crain’s Chicago Business, October 3, 2011 (featured quotes). 
  • Co-author, "Challenges of Intellectual Property and Branding on Regulatory Approvals," chapter for Nutraceutical and Functional Food Regulations in the United States and Around the World (Academic Press, July 2008). 

Community and Professional Involvement

  • Chair, Board of Directors of the PilotLegis RPG
  • Senior Trustee and former Chairman, Board of Trustees of The Latin School of Chicago
  • Mentor at the mentorship academy of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms
  • Executives' Club of Chicago
  • The Economic Club of Chicago
  • Co-Class Agent for his Princeton class
  • Previously: Chairman of the Committee to Nominate Alumni Trustees for Princeton University and President of The Princeton Club of Chicago

Representative Matters

Clients have benefited from Mr. Sharp’s representation in the following cases:

Accu-cut Diamond Tool Company, Inc.* v. Sunnen Products Company
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Case Type(s): Patent Infringement
Area(s) of practice: Mechanical Arts

Eicholz (Amersham)* v. Tyagi
U.S. Patent Office Board of Appeals and Interferences
Case Type(s): Patent Interference
Area(s) of practice: Biotechnology

Elsbach (Monsanto)* v. Scott
U.S. Patent Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
Case Type(s): Patent Interference, Appeal
Area(s) of practice: Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology

Fraley (Monsanto)* v. Zambryski v. Anderson
U.S. Patent Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
Case Type(s): Patent Interference
Area(s) of practice: Biotechnology

Hooykaas v. Shewmaker (Monsanto)*
U.S. Patent Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
Case Type(s): Patent Interference
Area(s) of practice: Biotechnology

Hybritech v. Abbott Laboratories*
U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
Case Type(s): Patent Infringement, Appeal
Area(s) of practice: Biotechnology

Kishore (Monsanto)* v. Burrell
U.S. Patent Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
Case Type(s): Patent Interference
Area(s) of practice: Biotechnology

McNeil-PPC, Inc. v. The Procter & Gamble Company*
U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
Case Type(s): Patent Infringement
Area(s) of practice: Chemistry/Chemical Engineering

Schilperoort v. Rogers (Monsanto)* v. Barton v. Zambryski
U.S. Patent Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
Case Type(s): Patent Interference
Area(s) of practice: Biotechnology

Shell Oil Company v. Union Carbide Company*
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana
Case Type(s): Patent Interference, Patent Infringement
Area(s) of practice: Chemistry/Chemical Engineering

Stalker v. Kishore (Monsanto)*
U.S. Patent Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
Case Type(s): Patent Interference
Area(s) of practice: Biotechnology

*Party Represented

Short Biography

Jeffrey S. Sharp

Education

  • University of Georgia School of Law, J.D.
  • Princeton University, B.S.E., Chemical Engineering

Practices

Industries

Admissions

  • Illinois
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Memberships

  • Executives' Club of Chicago

  • The Economic Club of Chicago

News

©2013 Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP