If you’ve worked at all in intellectual property (IP), the names James Weatherly and Barb Campbell have probably come across your desk at some point in time. Both attorneys at law specialize in IP and have been working in the field for a combined 30 years. Together, they’ve seen a need in the industry: a need for better IP understanding and a need for people to procure and defend IP.
That’s where their joint solution comes in: Weatherly IP Solutions.
“After my experience leading SIPA for the last six years, I’ve gained a better understanding of the industry and how it works,” Weatherly, interim executive director of the Seed Innovation Protection Alliance (SIPA) and founder of Weatherly IP Solutions, says. “I announced to ASTA and SIPA in August 2019 that I was going to start my own firm July 1, 2020.”
Weatherly says that Weatherly IP Solutions is a full service intellectual property firm.
“We’re here to help ag innovators — whether that’s through patents, Plant Breeders Rights, trademarks or licensing and whether that’s domestically or internationally,” he says. “We have the ability to help you protect your innovations.”
Weatherly says that a portion of this comes from the understanding of the systems in place when it comes to innovations: from knowing the appropriate type of patent for a particular innovation to understanding plant breeders’ rights.
“We have the experience to help companies know what to do when they have an innovation that needs protection,” he says. “You need to know how to properly license the innovation and intellectual property, whether it’s a patent, or a trademark. You need to know how to get that product into the marketplace, and then, you need to ensure you have eyes on it.”
Besides just helping to get a patent, Plant Breeders Rights or trademark, Weatherly IP Solutions can also help facilitate audit or investigate situations after a product is in the market.
“In addition, we specialize in agriculture — we know the differences in each IP area, from soybeans to flowers to produce,” Weatherly says. “They all have their nuances and idiosyncrasies to work around, and we have expertise across them all.”
That means that Weatherly IP Solutions isn’t just there to help the seed industry. They’re helping everyone across agriculture, from biotech to greenhouse technology.
“The ultimate goal is for us to take all the relationships we’ve made, and learn to apply them to our new firm,” Weatherly says. “It’s all about the relationships — I could have never developed all these relationships from sitting behind a desk. A lot of people have taken me under their wing and that allows me to see and learn so much more than if I were just an attorney at a firm.”
Weatherly says that he’s most excited about being able to branch out on his own with Campbell.
“The exciting part is we get to make the decisions, and we won’t have any of the hurdles of larger law firms,” he says. “Barb and I get to make our own path, and it’s specific to the ag industry. Now, we get to specialize and help the industry in a way we never could have before.”
However, for the time being, Weatherly will continue to work with SIPA as well.
“We don’t have a timeframe to hire my replacement. In the meantime, I’ll continue working as the interim executive director, and we’ll carry on as we have before. We want to make sure we’re still here to be a resource for the public so they can understand IP and agriculture.”
Want to reach out to James at his new office? Reach out at:
Weatherly IP Solutions, LLC
1251 19th Street, Suite 200
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: 303-323-1095
Email: info@weatherlyip.com
