Stephen B. Maebius
Partner
Stephen (Steve) Maebius brings more than 30 years of experience spanning patent procurement, litigation, and post-grant proceedings. He has helped clients obtain patents that were subsequently challenged by competitors and upheld in later disputes, including patents protecting high value pharmaceuticals and biologics.
Steve advises clients on patent portfolio creation and management, IP due diligence, opinions, licensing, patent litigation and inter partes proceedings, and pharmaceutical patent term extensions. Before becoming a lawyer, he served as a Patent Examiner in the Biotechnology Group of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, where he examined applications relating to small molecule drugs, peptides and biologics.
He is a former member of Foley’s Management Committee and previously chaired the firm’s Intellectual Property Department. Steve also taught Comparative and International Patent Law at GWU Law School and was a visiting professor at Tokyo University’s Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology.
Representative Experience
- Led the team that prosecuted and secured the ‘327 patent on behalf of United Therapeutics, which formed the basis of a successful patent litigation against Liquidia Technologies, Inc.
- Advised Transcend Therapeutics, Inc., on its patent portfolio and assisted with IP due diligence leading up to the company’s successful 2026 sale to Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. with a total potential consideration of $1.225 billion.
- Acted as lead U.S. intellectual property counsel for UK-based Verona Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company focused on respiratory diseases, in its approximately US$10 billion acquisition by Merck & Co. Inc.
- Assisted biotech client with building patent portfolio and presenting IP strategy to VC investors during fundraising, followed by successful IPO.
- Co-counsel in the successful defense of a post-grant review filed against a CRISPR Cpf1 patent (PGR2018-00072).
- Lead counsel in the successful defense of six inter partes reviews filed by generic petitioners against a family of Orange Book-listed pharmaceutical patents covering a US$1 illion controlled release product with parallel Hatch-Waxman litigation (IPR2013-00368, IPR2013-00371, and IPR2013-00372 — all claims found patentable in final written decision; IPR2015-01777, IPR2015-01778, and IPR2015-01782— not instituted).
- Prosecuted a portfolio of product-by-process patents listed in the Orange Book and upheld as valid in subsequent litigation.
- Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. v. John Doll (Fed. Cir. 2009) – Co-counsel in a precedential 2-1 decision remanding a double patenting rejection arising from patent reexamination (all claims confirmed to be patentable upon remand).
- Licensing of a biotechnology drug with an up-front payment of US$100m — represented the acquiring company in IP diligence and drafting transaction agreements.
Awards and Recognition
- IAM Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners
- Post-Grant Patent Procedures (2012-2013, 2020)
- Prosecution and Transactions (2014-2016, 2020-2021, 2024-present)
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- Chambers Global Intellectual Property – USA and Japan (2012-2015)
- Chambers USA for the District of Columbia – Intellectual Property and Patent Prosecution (2012-2014)
- Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers® – Intellectual Property (2014-2020, 2022-2023)
- The Legal 500
- Patent Licensing and Patent Prosecution (2010-2013)
- Patent Licensing and Transactional (2014 and 2015)
- Intellectual Property – Patent Prosecution – Utility and Design Patents (2015 and 2016)
- Healthcare – Life Sciences (2015 and 2016)
- The Best Lawyers in America®
- Biotechnology and Life Sciences (2007-2026)
- Litigation – Patent (2012-2026)
- Patent Law (2012-2024)
- Intellectual Property (2007-2010)
- Washingtonian’s Best Lawyers in Washington for Intellectual Property (2013-2014)
- Peer review rated as AV Preeminent®, the highest performance rating in the Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ system
- Managing Intellectual Property – IP Star (2015)
- Two IP transactions in which Steve participated received Licensing Executives Society’s “Deal of Distinction”
Presentations and Publications
- Co-author, “Next-Generation Bioprinted Products: Products of Nature or Patentable Innovation?” IEEE Pulse (March 28, 2023)
- Co-author, “PTAB’s Motion to Amend Pilot Program: Review of Initial Results,” PTAB Trial Insights Blog (Aug. 19, 2020)
- Co-author, “PTAB – 2019 Year in Review,” PTAB Trial Insights Blog (Jan. 23, 2020)
- Author, “District Court Sheds Light on Scope of IPR Estoppel,” PTAB Trial Insights Blog (Sept. 12, 2019)
- Author, “Revamped PTAB Trial Practice Guide Holds Surprises,” PTAB Trial Insights Blog (Aug. 13, 2018)
Thought Leadership
- Principal author, Due Diligence for Intellectual Property: Valuing Assets in a Transaction, published by Law Journal Press
- Visiting associate professor of intellectual property law, Tokyo University’s Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology
- Faculty adjunct professor of comparative and international patent law, George Washington University Law School Testified about post-grant patent proceedings during the FTC/DOJ hearings on the “Implications of Competition and Patent Law and Policy,” which preceded the landmark patent legislation known as the America Invents Act
- Co-founder, NanoBusiness Commercialization Association
- Co-founder and associate editor, Nanotechnology Law & Business Journal
United Therapeutics Prevails In Patent Litigation Against Liquidia
Steve Maebius of Foley & Lardner LLP led the team who prosecuted and secured the ‘327 patent on behalf of United Therapeutics, which formed the basis of the successful patent litigation.
IAM Recognizes Foley Attorneys and Jurisdictions in 2026 Edition of IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners
Foley & Lardner LLP is recognized in the 2026 edition of IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners, with 19 attorneys and three firm jurisdictions receiving commendation.
2025 Foley Tokyo IP Conference
Please join us on Wednesday, October 8, for the 2025 Foley Tokyo IP Conference — “Managing Risks and Opportunities in a Digital World: The Latest Developments in U.S. IP Law” — a half-day educational seminar that will guide you through the latest IP legal developments and their practical implications for business in the United States.
Foley Represents Verona Pharma in $10B Acquisition by Merck
Foley & Lardner LLP acted as U.S. intellectual property counsel for UK-based Verona Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company focused on respiratory diseases, in its approximately $10 billion acquisition by Merck & Co. Inc. (Merck).
IAM Recognizes Foley Attorneys and Jurisdictions in 2025 Edition of IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners
Seventeen Foley & Lardner LLP attorneys and five firm jurisdictions have been recognized in the 2025 edition of IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners.
Leveraging USPTO Delays To Maximize Patent Term
Before the USPTO was subject to a hiring freeze, it assumed it would onboard 400 new examiners between fiscal year 2025 and fiscal year 2026, and still predicted an increase in the backlog of unexamined patent applications.