Overview

Manuel Velez is a partner in the Intellectual Property practice in Mayer Brown's New York Office. He has B.A., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Biology.  His practice focuses primarily on patent infringement litigation and PTAB proceedings in such areas as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical devices.  Manuel has extensive experience litigating Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA cases.  In this regard, his experience runs the full gamut, from conducting pre-case assessments to managing litigations for innovator companies in high-stakes cases in federal courts.  In this role, Manuel has argued at Markman and many other hearings, including those for motions for summary judgment, motions for sanctions, and motions to compel.  He also performs due diligence in connection with M&A transactions, including providing freedom-to-operate opinions.

Manuel served as a law clerk to Judge Gustavo A. Gelpí, US District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

Manuel is a member of the New York Office's Hiring Committee and Pro-Bono Committee.

Areas of Focus

Practices
Industries

Spoken Languages

  • English
  • Spanish
  • French

Experience

  • Represent Gilead in Hatch-Waxman litigation involving Lexiscan®, a stress agent given in preparation for a radiologic (x-ray) examination of blood flow through the heart to test for coronary artery disease.
  • Represent Alexion in a patent infringement suit involving Ultomiris®, an improved C5 inhibiting biologic with a pH-dependent recycling effect.
  • Represented sanofi-aventis in patent infringement suit involving Elitek®, a popular treatment for certain side effects of anti-cancer therapy.Successfully moved for summary judgment of non-infringement.
  • Represented Gilead in Hatch-Waxman litigations over Truvada® and Complera®, breakthrough HIV treatments.
  • Represented Cephalon in Hatch-Waxman litigation over Trisenox®, an important advance in the treatment of patients suffering from acute promyelogenous leukemia.
  • Represented sanofi-aventis and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in patent infringement suit over Praluent®, a popular treatment for reducing the levels of bad cholesterol in the blood.
  • Represented Zest Anchors in patent and trademark infringement suit, involving the Locator® system, the gold standard for dental attachment systems.
  • Represented Bristol-Myers Squibb in responding to third-party subpoenas served in connection with patent infringement action.
  • Assisted IMS in performing due diligence in connection with six separate acquisitions. Work included analyzing the intellectual property portfolio and contracts relating to intellectual property assets.
  • Represented sanofi-aventis in Hatch-Waxman litigation over Uroxatral®, a popular urological treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Part of trial team that obtained favorable ruling on infringement and validity from the bench on the last day of trial.
  • Represented GlaxoSmithKline in patent infringement and antitrust litigation involving Paxil®, a breakthrough antidepressant treatment.

Pro-Bono Work

  • Assisting Ecuadorian children abandoned by their fathers to obtain Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.
  • Assisted same-sex couple in district court action alleging that West Virginia county employees employees violated the U.S. Constitution by treating same-sex couples differently from others in the name of religion.
  • Assisted the Violence Intervention Program ("VIP") in obtaining trademark to the phrase "Yo Tengo Derecho" ("I Have the Right"). VIP is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping Latin women to live free of domestic violence.
  • Drafted and negotiated a copyright assignment agreement on behalf of RedUP, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing awareness to the issues facing people in the sex trades.
  • Assisted Russian national in obtaining political asylum on the basis of his sexual orientation.

Perspectives

Events

News

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Education

Boston University School of Law, JD
Recipient of Faculty Academic Progress Award, Equal Justice America Fellowship
Merit-Based Tuition Scholarship; Article Editor of Public Interest Law Journal

University of Florida, MS
Florida Georgia Alliance Graduate Fellowship

University of Florida, PhD
National Science Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowship

Cornell University, BA
Dean's List

Admissions

  • New York

Court

  • US District Court for the District of Puerto Rico

Clerk Experience

US District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, 2006, 2007

Activities

  • New York State Bar Association