Yannan Zhang

Yannan’s work experience encompasses supporting attorneys in the preparation and prosecution of patent applications, patent search and analysis, IP strategy and portfolio management, and patent litigation. 

With an education background rooted in polymer chemistry, Yannan has gained experience in a wide spectrum of technologies practicing for more than a decade in the fields of chemistry and life sciences, including high-performance materials, lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles, nanotechnology, 3D printing, adhesives, paints, water treatment, oil and gas, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. 

Prior to joining Calfee in 2024 as a Technical Writer, Yannan served as a Senior Chinese IP Attorney for a global producer of innovative materials. She was also a Chinese IP Counsel for a world-leading paint company, and before that, she worked as an IP Specialist at the Shanghai office of a U.S. boutique IP law firm.

Yannan earned her LL.M. with an IP Concentration from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in May 2024. She earned her M.S. in Chemistry and Physics of Polymers from Fudan University in Shanghai, and she earned her B.S. in Chemistry from East China Normal University in Shanghai.

Education

LL.M., IP Concentration, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (Philadelphia, PA), 2024

IP Law Program Certificate of Completion, East China University of Political Science and Law (Shanghai, China), 2016

M.S., Fudan University (Shanghai, China), 2011

B.S., Chemistry, East China Normal University (Shanghai, China), 2008

Yannan Zhang is not licensed to practice law in the U.S.

Experience

• Work with a small team of in-house patent/IP counsel and manage a larger team of external Calfee attorneys to draft and prosecute a publicly traded, Fortune 500 company client's patent applications and provide legal opinions and consultation on patent portfolio growth. Together, Calfee and the client’s in-house IP counsel handle the implementation of the client’s IP protection objectives for the company’s four divisions. This work includes interfacing with Research & Development and business leaders concentrated in Europe, including Great Britain, France, and Finland. Calfee oversees the drafting and prosecution of hundreds of patent applications throughout the world on behalf of this client, as well as counseling the client on critical IP-related issues such as freedom-to-practice, trade secret strategies, and innovation harvesting. (2024)