About Lawrence W.
Lawrence W. Granatelli combines technical training and legal training in a career centered on patent law. He began his academic journey in engineering, earning a B.E. in 1979 from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He stayed at Stony Brook for graduate work and completed an M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering in 1981. He turned to law next, receiving a J.D. from Cornell University in 1984.
Those consecutive degrees shape how he approaches intellectual property. Having studied the physical sciences and then law, he moves comfortably between laboratory detail and statute. His background makes him comfortable reading patent specifications and talking to inventors about practical problems. The technical training underpins his work before patent examiners and in preparatory drafting for complex inventions.
Granatelli's practice record includes time at Fenwick & West LLP. There, he worked on matters tied to patents and the processes that govern them. His legal training and technical degrees have kept him aligned with patent prosecution and counseling rather than general litigation. He has sought to translate technical concepts into claim language that patent offices will accept.
He is admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in California. Those admissions allow him to file and prosecute patent applications at the federal level and to advise clients on intellectual property strategy within California. He has worked with inventors and corporate clients on portfolio development, patentability assessments, and responses to office actions.
Colleagues describe him as steady and detail-oriented in handling filings and deadlines. He tends to favor clear claim drafts and methodical responses to examiner objections. Clients who require close technical collaboration find that his engineering background speeds initial intake and technical assessment.
Outside of filings, he has been involved in counseling on prosecution strategy and in coordinating with outside and in-house teams to align patent work with business objectives. He has handled the drafting and prosecution stages that turn laboratory concepts into patent applications and then shepherd those applications through the examination process.
He represents clients before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and advises on patent matters in California.
