Salima Merani, Ph.D., Partner, Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear
Listed in Intellectual Property, Intellectual Property Litigation, Patent, Patent Litigation, Trademark, Trademark Litigation
- 2040 Main Street, 14th floor, Irvine, CA 92614
- 949-721-7605
- knobbe.com/attorneys/salima-merani
email: salima.merani@knobbe.com
Law School: University of California - Berkeley School of Law (J.D. 2000)
School: McGill University (Ph.D. Neuroscience 2001)
School: McGill University (B.Sc. Genetics 1992)
State/Provincial Admissions: California
Other Admissions: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Salima A. Merani, Ph.D. is a partner in our Orange County office. Dr. Merani has over a dozen years of experience in building patent portfolios for various life sciences companies, including several medical device companies. She also has extensive experience in conducting patent due diligence for Venture Capital Firms and other investors. Dr. Merani’s Venture Capital clients include Versant Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, Technology Partners and Arboretum Ventures, as well as several others. In addition to representing VC clients, she also works with companies and investors on US and foreign patent and trademark portfolio management, generating licensing revenues, gaining a strategic offensive patent position, infringement analysis, and managing global patent risk.
Dr. Merani’s technical experience in medical devices includes strategic guidance in the aesthetics, orthopedics, cardiovascular and neuroscience fields. She has done extensive work with medical implants, denervation technologies, regenerative technology (such as adult stem cells), and dermatological procedures. Her technical work outside the medical device field includes cosmetic formulations and nutraceuticals.
Dr. Merani is past Vice Chair of the AIPLA (American Intellectual Property Law Association) USPTO Inter Partes Patent Proceedings Committee, which oversees the Interference, Reexamination, and Derivation subcommittees. In 2011, she was also appointed to the AIPLA’s Special Task Force on AIA (America Invents Act) Rulemaking. Dr. Merani is also a founding member of the Firm’s USPTO Trials and Post Grant Proceedings Committee, and has represented clients in multiple patent disputes before the USPTO and international patent and trademark offices.
Dr. Merani graduated from McGill University, Montreal Canada with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology in 1992. She obtained her Ph.D. from McGill University in 2001, where she conducted research in the fields of genetics and neuroscience. Dr. Merani received her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) in 2000. During law school, she served as Article Editor of the Berkeley Technology Law Journal and was an advisor for the Annual Review of Law and Technology. At Berkeley, Dr. Merani received an Award for Excellence in Legal Writing.
Dr. Merani was recognized as one of the 100 leading intellectual property attorneys in California, where she was named as one of the Top 25 Intellectual Property Portfolio Managers. She has also been recognized among the World’s Leading Patent Practitioners. Dr. Merani has also been named as one of Southern California’s Rising Stars in intellectual property law and was named one of Orange County’s top lawyers.
Dr. Merani was a summer associate with the firm in 1999 and she joined the firm as an associate in 2000
