James provides clients with strategic intellectual property portfolio development and counseling.

In addition to preparing and prosecuting patent applications, James serves clients by conducting invention mining sessions, providing patent portfolio analysis of competitors, establishing corporate intellectual property policies, and performing intellectual property audits.  James has developed patent portfolios for his clients in various technical areas, including additive manufacturing, robotics, machine vision, machine learning, medical devices, digital health, semiconductor devices, and power electronics. 

James’s practice includes advising clients on trade secrets, brand management, copyright protection, and open source compliance issues. He has helped clients with a broad range of commercial and intellectual property-based transactions, including negotiating and drafting patent, software, and technology license agreements.  James also serves as an advisor for several emerging technology startups, helping them develop their intellectual property strategy while raising money from investors and venture capitalists.

Prior to joining the firm, James served as General Counsel of a venture-capital-backed startup in the field of additive manufacturing, responsible for both the general legal and intellectual property functions. James’s in-house experience also includes nine years at a multi-national energy management company where he served in several IP positions of increasing responsibility, including as Chief Patent Counsel for the Americas region. In these positions, he worked closely with research and product development teams to identify and evaluate inventions for potential patenting and managed patent prosecution. During his time in-house, James gained invaluable insight into how companies develop their products and business strategies, and how intellectual property protection can fit within those frameworks.

James has served on the Board of the Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts and as the Chair of the In-House Counsel Committee of the Boston Patent Lawyers Association. In 2021, James was selected by industry peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® for his patent law expertise. James is a graduate of Boston University School of Law and holds an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University and a B.A. with dual majors in Psychology and Mathematical Sciences from Johns Hopkins University.

Certifications

• Black Duck Certified Open Source Legal Professional

• Open Source Software Counseling
• Counseling
• Patents
• Post-Grant Proceedings
• Design Patents
• Trade Secrets
• Trademarks
• Copyrights
• IP Litigation
• Agreements
• Licensing

• Electrical Engineering
• Computer Software
• Computer Hardware
• Robotics
• Business Methods
• Internet of Things
• Network Infrastructure
• Clean Technology
• Mechanical Engineering
• Medical Devices
• Medical Imaging
• Mobile
• Optics
• Semiconductors
• Telecommunications

• The Johns Hopkins University, B.A. in Mathematical Sciences and Psychology
• Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, M.S. in Electrical Engineering
• Boston University School of Law, J.D., cum laude

Articles

• Welcome to the Jungle: Policing the Amazon Marketplace Against Brand Copycats, December 2, 2020
• Patent Portfolio Management in Uncertain Economic Times, Article Published in Bloomberg Law, June 29, 2020
• Patent Marking: Give Your Patent Some Bite Before Litigation Even Begins, New England In-House, April 25, 2006
• Making Your Mark: Using Trademarks to Build Your Brand, Inventors Digest, July/August/September 2005

IP News Alerts

• The Transition is Over: Evaluating Your Trademark and Design Portfolios in the EU and UK Now That BREXIT is Official, January 11, 2021
• United States Patent Office Finds Artificial Intelligence System Cannot Be An Inventor, April 29, 2020

• "Innovating with 3-D Printing in Medical Technology," MDG Online Forum, November 18, 2020
• "What Early Stage Startups Need to Know About Funding," MITEF Webinar, August 13, 2020
• “Managing and Growing an IP Portfolio,” High Tech and Emerging Tech Conference of the Boston Bar Association, Boston, November 2018
• “The 3 Pillars of an IP Defense Strategy,” IP Defense Summit, Boston, November 2016
• “Protecting Patents on a Budget,” IP Strategy Innovation Summit, Boston, September 2016
• “When to Trade Secret and Manage the Process,” IP Strategy Summit, Boston, May 2016

• Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts

• James Coe Rejoins Hamilton Brook Smith Reynolds as Counsel more

• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
• Massachusetts
• U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit