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Barry Herman

Partner

Womble Bond Dickinson

Barry Herman is a Chambers ranked IP litigator with Womble Bond Dickinson who tries cases in district courts throughout the country, at the USPTO, and at the ITC. A chemical engineer by training, Barry litigates patent disputes in the chemical, mechanical, and electrical arts, and has significant experience with trade secret, trademark, and antitrust litigation. In addition, Barry has successfully argued appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Outside of the courtroom, Barry assists clients with due diligence, opinions, and patent portfolio development.

Real-world industry experience distinguishes Barry’s practice. Before becoming an attorney, he worked for several years as a chemical engineer, first in a hydrosulfuric acid manufacturing plant, and then in various oil refineries on the East Coast, where he specialized in anti-foulant and anti-corrosion chemical technologies. Before joining the firm, Barry was a partner at Oblon McClelland Maier & Neustadt, a large intellectual property boutique in Alexandria, Virginia, where he was co-chair of the patent litigation and ITC practice groups. He also spent three years as a patent litigation associate at Arnold & Porter in Washington, D.C.

Barry has been selected by his peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America for the past several years in the fields of Intellectual Property Litigation, Patent Litigation, and Patent Law. He was named by Best Lawyers as Baltimore’s “Lawyer of the Year” for Patent Litigation from 2017 to 2019 and for Intellectual Property Litigation in 2021. In 2018, he was named by the Maryland Daily Record as one its Leadership in Law honorees. He is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell.

Recent Articles by Barry Herman

Using Trade Secret and Patent Protection in Tandem for Comprehensive IP Coverage

Your company (or your client) creates an innovative idea that is going to blow the market away. While still safeguarding your invention as a trade secret, you file a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and get the product ready for launch. After product development, a key designer leaves the company for a competitor. Not long after you issue a press release on your innovative product, that competitor launches a copycat product. Do you have to wait for the patent to (hopefully) issue prior to filing suit against the competitor? Or can you take immediate action on trade secret misappropriation grounds? Ultimately, it depends on where you file suit.