Caryn Borg-Breen

Caryn Borg-Breen is a partner at Ballard Spahr in Philadelphia and a first-chair patent litigator with more than two decades of experience in patent litigation, counseling, and prosecution. She represents plaintiffs and defendants and has substantial experience in Hatch-Waxman litigation for brand pharmaceutical companies facing generic ANDA filers. Her practice also includes Federal Circuit and PTAB matters, patent licensing, settlement agreements, freedom-to-operate analysis, due diligence, and prosecution counseling.

Borg-Breen earned a J.D., cum laude, from Northwestern University School of Law, a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a B.S., magna cum laude, from the College of William and Mary. Her scientific training gives her a strong technical foundation for patent disputes and counseling involving pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, biologics, biosimilars, medical devices, and chemical products, where legal analysis must be integrated with complex scientific subject matter.

Borg-Breen advises biotechnology, chemical, and pharmaceutical companies on patent strategy and risk, including freedom-to-operate reviews, licensing, due diligence, prosecution, and dispute resolution. She has argued matters before the Federal Circuit and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and has handled patent litigation in major federal forums. Her experience also includes drafting and negotiating patent license agreements, covenants not to sue, and settlement agreements involving valuable intellectual property rights.

Caryn Borg-Breen has been recognized by publications and ranking organizations including IAM Patent 1000, LMG Life Sciences, Managing IP Magazine, Leading Lawyers, and Crain’s Chicago Business. She is admitted in Pennsylvania and Illinois, before the US Supreme Court and Federal Circuit, and to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Her practice combines trial strategy, technical depth, and business-focused patent counseling.

Law Office Affiliations

• Partner, Ballard Spahr LLP
• Member, Illinois State Bar Association
• Member, Pennsylvania Bar Association
• Member, Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law
• Member, Chicago Women in IP

Licensed State

• Illinois
• Pennsylvania

Education

• Northwestern University School of Law
  Juris Doctor (JD) (Cum Laude)
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Chemistry
• The College of William and Mary
  Bachelor of Science (BS) (Magna Cum Laude)

Awards & Badges