James Aquilina

James Aquilina is the Washington Office Managing Partner and a partner in the Intellectual Property Group. He advises clients on intellectual property procurement, portfolio development, licensing, and dispute matters. He aligns legal strategy with business goals to protect inventions, brands, product designs, and artistic works.

James earned a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School in 2005 and a B.S., cum laude, in Biomedical Engineering from Rutgers University in 2002. He is admitted in the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

James counsels industry-leading and emerging companies on utility and design patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. His clients span personal apparel, consumer packaged goods, medical devices, home furnishing, and software. He builds comprehensive portfolios that address the intersection of design patents, trade dress, and copyrights.

With strong knowledge of international IP treaties, James helps clients secure global protection. He handles patent appeals and reexamination proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, achieving final decisions in fully briefed cases.

James has secured design patents and trade dress protection for product configurations in the United States and abroad. He also led a multinational anti-counterfeiting campaign, working with customs agencies to stop infringing products using coordinated patent and trademark enforcement strategies.

James Aquilina is recognized in the IAM Strategy 300 Global Leaders as a Top 300 Intellectual Property Strategist from 2023 through 2025. He serves in leadership roles with leading IP organizations and co-founded and edits the Protecting the Product blog, focused on design-related rights.

Law Office Affiliations

• Partner, Quarles & Brady LLP
• Member, American Bar Association, Section of Intellectual Property Law
• Member, American Intellectual Property Law Association
• Member, International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property
• Member, International Trademark Association

Licensed State

• District of Columbia
• New Jersey
• Pennsylvania

Education

• University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
  Juris Doctor (JD)
• Rutgers University
  Bachelor of Science (BS)

Awards & Badges