Keith D. Parr is a partner in Locke Lord’s litigation department and leads the Firm’s IP Pharmaceutical group. Keith focuses his practice principally in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, life sciences, agribusiness and energy areas. He counsels clients in the areas of regulatory compliance, intellectual property, and antitrust and utilizes his substantial trial experience to provide his clients with solutions for their business needs.
He advances his client’s interests not only before regulatory agencies and the courts but also works to provide effective legislative solutions at both the state and federal level.
Keith has over 30 years of trial experience. He has been recognized by Chambers USA as one of the notable patent litigation attorneys in Chicago and is one of the few patent attorneys in Chicago who has been named a “Local Litigation Star” by Benchmark Litigation 2012. He has been described in Chambers USA as being “remarkably effective regarding both the litigious and business aspects of a case.”
Keith was lead trial counsel in SmithKline Beecham v. TorPharm, Inc., one of the largest Paragraph IV Hatch-Waxman Act patent infringement cases tried, and guided TorPharm to one of the most successful at-risk generic drug product launches in the United States.
He has represented companies involved in a broad range of commercial disputes in state and federal court proceedings and before Tribunals such as the American Arbitration Association and the International Chamber of Commerce, International Court of Arbitration in Paris, France.
Keith represents companies in the seed and agricultural biotechnology industries in connection with regulatory, intellectual property, liability and transactional matters. Keith has counseled clients on issues relating to the international sale of seed, global regulatory approvals of transgenic products, and product stewardship.
Among the types of clients Keith has represented are biotechnology trait providers, seed producers, seed dealers, seed distributors, seed certification agencies, plant variety protection certificate holders, patent holders, seedsmen’s errors and omissions insurers, and seed certification agencies and seed association’s errors and omissions insurers.
Keith represents companies in the pharmaceutical industry in connection with regulatory and intellectual property matters. Keith has substantial experience in filing Citizens Petitions with the FDA, representing generic companies seeking to enter the United States market in Hatch-Waxman Act Paragraph IV cases, and pursuing antitrust counterclaims. He has represented both patent holders and accused infringers in patent litigation involving prescription pharmaceutical products.
Keith represents agribusiness companies in connection with regulatory, liability, intellectual property and transactional matters. Keith has represented clients in connection with matters involving a number of different federal regulatory agencies, including FSIS, FDA, APHIS, PACA, FSA and the FCIC. Among the types of general agricultural and agribusiness clients. Keith has represented are packing plants, growers, producers and federally reinsured crop insurers.
Keith has had an interest in the energy sector since his days in the Office of General Counsel of El Paso Natural Gas Co., El Paso, Texas. Keith represented two Illinois based start-up ethanol plants, Adkins Energy LLC and Illinois River Energy LLC, in their project development, project finance, and start-up phases. Adkins Energy was the first corn-to-ethanol plant built in the State of Illinois that included farmer owned agricultural cooperatives.
Keith has significant lead counsel trial experience and has headed up a number of trial teams on major patent, trademark, trade dress and copyright litigation matters. Keith has represented clients in industries as diverse as the cellular telephone, consumer electronics, retail consumer products, pharmaceutical, seed and architectural design industries.
Keith has represented companies involved in a broad range of commercial disputes in state and federal court proceedings and before Tribunals such as the American Arbitration Association and the International Chamber of Commerce, International Court of Arbitration in Paris, France.
Keith represented the first insurance carrier to offer Patent Enforcement Litigation Expense (PELE) insurance policies in the United States. Keith has represented clients in connection with requests for defense and indemnity for intellectual property infringement claims under Advertisement Injury endorsements of Comprehensive General Liability (CGL) policies. Keith also has represented insurers offering specialized forms of insurance products, which provide a defense and indemnity for patent, trademark and copyright infringement claims.
Representative Experience:
- Generic pharmaceutical companies in Hatch-Waxman Act Paragraph IV lawsuits seeking patent clearance and market entry for launch of generic versions of ranitidine hydrochloride and fluoxetine hydrochloride.
- Generic pharmaceutical companies in Hatch-Waxman Act Paragraph IV lawsuits seeking patent clearance and market entry for launch of generic versions of atomoxetine, tizanidine and gatifloxacin.
- Generic pharmaceutical companies in Hatch-Waxman Act Paragraph IV lawsuits seeking patent clearance and market entry for launch of generic versions of Amphetamine XR, Clarithromycin XL, Seasonale, and Lybrel.
- Seed companies and seed producers in joint ventures, germplasm pooling and exchange agreements, cooperative research and development agreements, asset sales, mergers and acquisitions.
- Seed producers, seed companies, seed dealers, seed distributors and biotechnology trait providers in connection with various legislative and regulatory proposals.
- Federally reinsured crop insurers in connection with General Accounting Office audits, Office of Inspector General subpoenas and investigations, and related administrative hearings.
- Accused infringer in patent infringement litigation involving nitrox breathing devices for scuba diving.
- Architectural design firm and commercial real estate developer in copyright infringement litigation against competitors.
Professional History:
- Law Clerk, Office of General Counsel, El Paso Natural Gas Co., El Paso, Texas (1980)
- University of Illinois, Department of Animal Science, Feedlot and Breeding Experimentation, Estrus Synchronization Project, Urbana-Champaign, IL (1979)
Professional Affiliations :
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, American Agricultural Law Association
- Member, Illinois State Bar Association
- Member, American Intellectual Property Law Association
Education:
- J.D., University of Illinois, 1981
- B.S., Agricultural Science, University of Illinois, 1978
Admissions :
- Illinois, 1981
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- U.S. Supreme Court
Cost
Rate : $$$