Tianyue Zhang

Tianyue helps clients primarily in the U.S., China, Japan, and Europe with drafting, filing, and prosecution of patent applications. He has helped clients develop patent rights in chemical compositions and processes, mechanical devices, electronics, and other technical fields.

Tianyue earned his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law, M.S. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Hong Kong.

Before joining Calfee, Tianyue worked as a Global Law Fellow for Yuasa and Hara in Tokyo, Japan. There, he advised clients on a variety of technology-related subjects including patent infringement, software license, and internet domain names.

Tianyue was a Summer Associate with Calfee before joining as an Associate in 2020.

Honors & Recognitions

• Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Intellectual Property Law, and Patent Law (2024-2025)
• Rickert Award for Excellence in Legal Writing, University of Illinois College of Law (April 2019)

Education

J.D., University of Illinois College of Law, 2019

M.S., Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2019

B.S., Chemistry, The University of Hong Kong, 2015

Experience

• Calfee is handling all aspects of three major IP projects for an American multinational medical devices and healthcare company, including (1) a current and emerging competitor monitoring project, which involves counseling the client regarding the activity of numerous competitors and potential competitors in the medical device space; (2) a competitor leverage project involving assisting the client with significant projects related to the assessment of key competitors, including analyzing key competitor products, identifying potentially relevant patents/patent families, evaluating potential infringement, and counseling the client regarding IP issues; and (3) a competitor IP analysis/monitoring project, which includes conducting monthly analyses of patent portfolios of several key competitors.
• Calfee is representing a public, Fortune 1000 company and global manufacturer in its U.S. patent prosecution and global IP strategy, working with its in-house IP counsel. Calfee oversees the drafting of patent applications directed to highly complex systems and counsels the client on critical IP-related issues such as freedom-to-practice, trade secret strategies, and innovation harvesting.
• Calfee is serving a multi-billion-dollar, multinational, publicly traded, Fortune 500 manufacturer for more than a decade, working with a team of in-house patent/IP counsel to handle the implementation of the client’s global IP protection objectives for all company divisions, including interfacing with Research & Development and business leaders concentrated in the United States and Europe. Specifically, Calfee oversees the drafting and prosecution of hundreds of patent applications throughout the world on behalf of the client and counsels the client on critical IP-related issues such as freedom-to-practice, trade secret strategies, and innovation harvesting.
• Calfee is serving as chief outside IP counsel for a multi-billion dollar, publicly traded, Fortune 1000, multinational holding company with multiple operating companies based in the U.S. and abroad. Calfee is responsible for all patent matters and assists many of the operating companies with the prosecution of patent applications, both in the U.S. and internationally. Calfee manages the U.S. trademark and patent work directly and supervises a network of foreign associates when action is required in foreign jurisdictions. Calfee also offers primary counsel on the impact of corporate reorganization efforts on the ownership and management of the IP of the operating companies. Calfee IP lawyers supervise most of the intellectual property due diligence related to the mergers and acquisition activity of the client. Calfee represents the company in several trade secret matters and other IP litigation matters.