Ryan J Aaron

Ryan J. Aaron is an associate in the Firm's Charleston, West Virginia, office. He is a member of the Commercial Law and Commercial Litigation Practice Groups and the Higher Education Industry Group, with his practice focusing on commercial litigation and intellectual property. Mr. Aaron’s practice involves representing clients in various commercial and intellectual property disputes. He has represented numerous national and regional banking and lending institutions in contracts and consumer credit actions. Additionally, Mr. Aaron has assisted businesses and universities, both in enforcement of intellectual property rights and in defense against infringement claims, in handling cease and desist notifications, license and settlement negotiations, opposition proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, civil litigation and domain name dispute resolution proceedings. He is experienced in representing clients before both state and federal courts and is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, the Supreme Court of Ohio and the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia. Mr. Aaron's practice further includes handling various other intellectual property matters for clients of the Firm, such as developing organizational intellectual property policies and securing and maintaining trademark and copyright registrations. Additionally, Mr. Aaron prepares and evaluates intellectual property‑related agreements, including license, collaboration, assignment, non‑disclosure and independent contractor agreements. He also is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and is experienced in both preparing and prosecuting domestic and international patent applications. Mr. Aaron has published numerous articles, including, as a member of Defense Research Institute (DRI), an article relating to trade dress rights in the organization's national publication, For the Defense, and, as co‑author, articles relating to trade secret law and non‑compete agreements in the state of West Virginia. He also has authored the Tech Tips column for the Defense Trial Counsel's quarterly newsletter, which addresses topics including web‑based social networking, paperless legal practices and electronic discovery. Additionally, Mr. Aaron is a member of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) and the Wheeling Jesuit University (WJU) Charleston Area Alumni Chapter and has served as a mentor to business students of WJU. Mr. Aaron was a recipient of the 2009 James O'Brien, S.J., Award, which is awarded to select alumni of Wheeling Jesuit University who "manifest a growing competence in their chosen field and whose personal life reflects WJU's mission of 'educating men and women for life, leadership, and service to others'". He also participated in the 2007‑2008 Leadership Kanawha Valley Program. Mr. Aaron has earned a Master of Business Administration through the Isenberg School of Management of the University of Massachusetts in May 2011. Mr. Aaron is a 1999 graduate of Wheeling Jesuit University with a Bachelor of Science in business management, having earned Laut Honors and Sigma Beta Delta honors recognition. He also is a 2005 graduate of West Virginia University College of Law with a Juris Doctor. Also, Mr. Aaron is a 2007 graduate of West Virginia State University with a Bachelor of Science in biology, having received distinction honors recognition.