Biography
Randal Whitehead has significant experience prosecuting patent applications related to electrical devices, software, and computer-based systems and methods, including web architecture, online video platforms, cellular telephones, radio communications, computer networking and network security, speech recognition, pointing devices, home appliances, medical devices, robotics, and electronic displays.
Randy leverages decades of deep technical experience in the computer and software technology areas. Before attending law school, Randy spent 26 years working as a software developer for what became the largest privately-owned software company in the world, where he designed, tested, and integrated large software products. He has since assisted numerous innovative companies with protecting their intellectual property. His practice focuses on representing technology companies in all aspects of patent prosecution in the computer, electrical, and software technologies. Randy’s unique combination of skills and experience — as an engineer and inventor, and now a patent attorney — enables him to effectively work with inventors, corporate counsel, and business leaders to develop and implement intellectual property strategies that broadly support protecting market share and maximizing intellectual property assets.
Prior to joining Bookoff McAndrews, Randy worked for another leading intellectual property boutique law firm in Washington, D.C. prosecuting domestic patent applications for large multi-national corporations. Previously, he worked in the University of Maryland School of Law’s intellectual property clinic counseling individuals and small companies in Maryland on patent and trademark matters.
Highlights
- Provided patent application preparation services for several small companies submitting their first applications, helping to guide these companies through the process of determining patent strategy within the United States and foreign jurisdictions.
- Drafted and prosecuted patent applications for a leading company in the financial services sector, including extensive consultation with inventors to further define and clearly describe their inventions.
- Drafted and prosecuted patent applications for a major on-line services company in the fields of electronic advertising, routing and navigation, and e-commerce, leading to the granting of numerous issued patents.
- Prosecuted patent applications worldwide for a growing biomedical information company, including patents prosecuted in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, and Europe.
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Education
- University of Maryland School of Law, J.D., 2011
- University of North Carolina, M.S., Computer Science, 2001
- North Carolina State University, B.S., Computer Science, 1984
Professional Recognition
- Recognized by Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star” for intellectual property, 2021.
Publications
- Author. “Appellants May Accelerate Adjudication of Appeals Under USPTO Pilot Programs,” BoMc Blog, October 13, 2015.
- Coauthor. “ProChat: Dynamic Formal Collaborative Protocols in a Chat Tool for Handheld Collaboration,” University of North Carolina Department of Computer Science Technical Report TR00-016, May 2000.
- Author. “Application of Shared Window Concepts to Handheld Computers,” University of North Carolina Department of Computer Science Technical Report TR00-006, February 2000.
- Author. “NLS and DBCS Support in the SAS System,” Proceedings of the SAS Users Group International Conference, 1993.
Organizations
- American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), Member
- Maryland State Bar Association, Member
- Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Member