Duane A. Stewart III is a shareholder in the firm’s Intellectual Property Section and co-chair of its Chemical Practice Group. Duane focuses his practice on patent prosecution, portfolio management and litigation; trademark procurement and portfolio management; and analysis and due diligence for transactions including significant intellectual property. In 2011, he was one of 318 attorneys nationwide named a Client Service All-Star by research and consulting firm BTI, based on unsolicited client recommendations in interviews conducted with corporate counsel at large and Fortune 1000 companies.
Duane’s patent practice includes preparation and prosecution of domestic and foreign utility and design patents in the fragrance, hair products, home products and biotechnology fields. He has also obtained multiple foreign and domestic patents in the field of industrial water purification. Duane also has significant experience managing international patent portfolios.
Duane’s trademark practice includes all phases of procurement and enforcement, including knock-out searches, clearance opinions, watches, filings and oppositions. He has supervised foreign trademark filing both directly and through the Madrid Protocol, and he has filed foreign-origin applications in the United States.
Recently, Duane has:
- Prepared and prosecuted provisional, utility and PCT patent applications in the bioproducts, energy, water purification, building supplies, aroma and beauty fields for universities and for businesses ranging in size from startup companies to Fortune 500 companies.
- Obtained transfer of venue in multiple actions for alleged false patent marking.
- Prepared freedom to operate opinions for corporations in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, fragrance and beauty industries.
- Participated in patent litigation and interference proceedings in the medical, personal care and consumer products industries.
- Prepared and evaluated confidentiality and licensing agreement.
- Managed trademark portfolios in the bath, bedding, fashion and energy industries.
- Procured and managed the trademark portfolio of an Internet social networking and e-commerce website ranked in the top 1000 websites worldwide by traffic.
- Policed unauthorized use of client intellectual property through DMCA takedown requests, cease and desist letters and UDRP actions.
- Resolved trademark oppositions and threatened oppositions through coexistence agreements and sale-and-license-back agreements.
- Coordinated trademark filing and prosecution worldwide, including in Canada, Mexico, India, Israel, Europe, Australia and South America.
- Reviewed and evaluated intellectual property estates prior to acquisition of those estates, followed by management of the international assignment process after acquisition.
- Prior to joining Buchanan, Duane served for two years as a judicial law clerk with the Honorable David A. Katz of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in Toledo, Ohio.
In the Spring 2008 and 2009 semesters, Duane was an adjunct lecturer at the West Virginia University College of Law. He has also provided CLE programs as a lecturer for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute.