Frank J. Spanitz
Partner
Duane Morris LLP
30 South 17th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-4196
USA

Phone: +1 215 979 1554
Fax: +1 215 754 4962
Email: fjspanitz@duanemorris.com

Lehigh Valley Business Address
1086 Newgate Drive
Allentown, PA 18103-9262

Frank J. Spanitz practices in the area of intellectual property law, concentrating his practice in prosecuting and procuring domestic and foreign utility and design patents, patent portfolio development and strategies, licensing, freedom-to-operate, patentability and noninfringement investigations/opinions, patent searches, business transaction IP due diligence, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and counseling on various IP matters including litigation and cease and desist issues. Actively serving clients in the Lehigh Valley from his Allentown business location, he is also experienced in licensing agreement arbitration and patent litigation. Mr. Spanitz's patent experience has focused primarily on the mechanical, electro-mechanical, electronic, and computer/software arts, including technologies such as medical and oral care devices, consumer product/container packaging, firearms, solar cells, wind, and other green energy technologies, wastewater treatment, manufacturing equipment/processes, casting/molding, materials, power generation equipment/systems, fluid and piping systems/components, writing instruments, automotive, fasteners, tools, textiles, door and hinge systems, structural equipment, consumer electronics, computer-controlled devices/systems, telecommunication systems, semiconductor devices/fabrication, barcode scanners, radar systems, software and business methods. He represents individuals, startup businesses and corporate clients developing appropriate strategies to maximize protection within budget constraints.

Mr. Spanitz is a licensed professional engineer and acquired extensive industry and business experience as a senior engineer/project manager for Pennsylvania Power and Light Company for 20 years prior to entering the practice of law. In that capacity, he planned, designed and managed multimillion-dollar power generating plant projects involving equipment/systems related to combustion, material handling, process piping, heat transfer, computer-controlled systems, water and air pollution control, and new power generation technologies. Mr. Spanitz also has substantial experience in industrial construction technologies and equipment.

Admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New York and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Mr. Spanitz is a member of the American and New York State bar associations and the New York Intellectual Property Law Association. He is a licensed professional engineer and currently serves on the executive committee of the Technology and Society Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Mr. Spanitz is a 1999 cum laude graduate of Widener University School of Law, where he was research editor of The Delaware Journal of Corporate Law, and a graduate of Villanova University (B.S.M.E.). Mr. Spanitz is also an adjunct professor in the Graduate School of the College of Business and Finance at Lehigh University, where he teaches an entrepreneurial focused intellectual property and valuation course to M.B.A., corporate, and startup company students.

Areas of Practice

• Intellectual Property Law
• Patents (Opinions, Counseling and Prosecution)
• Trademarks
• Copyrights
• Trade Secret Protection

Professional Activities

• American Bar Association
• New York State Bar Association
• New York Intellectual Property Law Association
• American Society of Mechanical Engineers
  - Executive Committee (Technology and Society Division)
• Licensed Professional Engineer in Pennsylvania, 1985
• Pennsylvania Power & Light Company (now PPL, Inc.)
  - Senior Engineer/Project Manager, 1978-1999

Admissions

• Pennsylvania
• New York
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York

Education

• Widener University School of Law, J.D., cum laude
• Villanova University, B.S.M.E.

Experience

• Duane Morris LLP
  - Partner, 2008-present
  - Associate, 2006-2007
• Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (New York)
  - Associate, 2004-2006
• Pennie & Edmonds LLP (New York)
  - Associate, 1999-2004

Honors and Awards

• Widener Scholar

Selected Publications

• Comment, "Inter-Modal Rail: Will ERISA's Newly Defined Welfare Benefit Noninterference Clause Curb Outsourcing?" The Delaware Law Journal of Corporate Law, Volume 23-2.