Paul H. Belnap

Associate

  • Paul H. Belnap
  • Phone: +1 202 776 7879

    Import to Address Book

  • Duane Morris LLP
    901 New York Avenue N.W., Suite 700 East
    Washington, DC 20001-4795
    USA

Paul H. Belnap practices in the area of intellectual property law. Mr. Belnap prosecutes patent applications before the United State Patent and Trademark Office and assists clients in the acquisition of U.S. and foreign patent rights in diverse technologies such as telecommunications, cloud computing, distributed computing, financial transactions, software, medical devices, electric power converters, mechanical actuators and lighting. He assists with trademark applications, due diligence reviews of patents and trademarks, patent and trademark searches and the drafting and analyzing of intellectual property licenses. Additionally, Mr. Belnap assists attorneys in a variety of post-grant proceedings before the USPTO, including technical analysis of prior art in connection with inter partes reviews.

Mr. Belnap further assists attorneys with complex intellectual property litigation involving varied technologies such as telecommunications, computer networking, cloud computing, product packaging and medical devices. In support of patent litigation, Mr. Belnap draws on a diverse set of skills, including technical knowledge from his mechanical engineering and physics background and hands-on experience as a former naval nuclear engineer.

Mr. Belnap further assists in the prosecution of patent and trademark applications before the United State Patent and Trademark Office. Additionally, he assists in a variety of post-grant review proceedings before the USPTO. 

Prior to joining Duane Morris, Mr. Belnap served as a nuclear engineering officer onboard the submarine USS Georgia.  He later served as the Deputy Director of Nuclear Officer Recruiting for the U.S. Navy in Millington, TN.

Mr. Belnap is a 2018 graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center.  He graduated, with Distinction, from the United States Naval Academy (B.S., Mechanical Engineering).  He is also a graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School (M.S., Applied Physics).

Representative Matters

  • Represented petitioner Unified Patents in IPR challenging a patent directed to a dual-factor authentication technique that leveraged authentication via a cellular network such as by sending a one-time pin via short message service (SMS). The Patent Trial and Appeal Board found in favor of petitioner, holding all challenged claims unpatentable as obvious based on the two grounds of invalidity presented by petitioner. The Board also determined there was no reason to disturb Unified Patent’s designation of real-parties in interest. Unified Patents, LLC f/k/a Unified Patents Inc. v. Monarch Networking Solutions LLC, Inter Partes Review No. IPR2020-01708.

  • Obtained summary judgment of noninfringement in the District of Delaware for Defendants CenturyTel Broadband Services, LLC and Qwest Corporation (now Lumen Technologies, Inc. and formerly CenturyLink, Inc.) in a patent litigation related to Defendants’ ADSL systems.

  • Represented numerous networking clients in multiple patent litigations involving network security, wireless standards and telecommunications (e.g., 802.11, 3GPP, ADSL) leading to summary judgement of non-infringement and findings of unpatentability by the PTAB affirmed by the Federal Circuit.

  • Primary technical lead in successful IPRs challenging two patents concerning telephone call setup and transmission using a "callback" (i.e. a reverse direction phone call).

  • Represented client in multi-patent litigation regarding structural foundations for clean energy.

  • Secured multiple patents concerning speech recognition for pro bono client.

Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • Virginia
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
  • U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

Education

  • Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 2018
  • Naval Postgraduate School, M.S., Applied Physics, 2007
  • United States Naval Academy, B.S., Mechanical Engineering, 2006

Experience

  • Duane Morris LLP
    - Associate, 2018-present
    - Patent Agent, 2014-2018

  • United States Navy
    - Submarine Officer, 2006-2013

Honors and Awards

  • Named to Best Lawyers "Ones to Watch," 2023 and 2024

Selected Publications