Susan Betcher
A trained engineer and registered patent lawyer, Susan helps clients realize, strengthen, and protect their most valuable patents.
Susan Betcher strengthens public and private companies’ patent portfolios. She creates intellectual property (IP) rights and leverages those rights via licensing agreements, competitive market advantages, and cross-jurisdictional partnerships. She helps clients define their IP strategies and commercialize proprietary innovations.
Susan is a trained engineer with experience across technology sectors, particularly in clean technologies. She draws on her background in infrastructure project management and business operations to help clients visualize the significance of their patents. The legal budgets she prepares are predictable, flexible, and protective of product features, business lines, and jurisdictional rights.
A registered patent lawyer, Susan drafts and prosecutes U.S. and foreign patent applications and performs IP due diligence for mergers and acquisitions. She also offers analysis on patent infringement and invalidity issues and prepares and prosecutes design patent applications.
Susan negotiates a range of licenses and agreements and advises clients on internal patent procurement and international patent prosecution.
In the clean tech sector, Susan advises sustainable energy clients from startup to commercialization. She is a member of the Tech Advisory Council of the University of Washington Clean Energy Institute and a board member of the Washington Clean Technology Alliance.
Education & Credentials
Education
- University of Colorado Law School, J.D.
- University of Washington, B.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering
Bar and Court Admissions
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Washington
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U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Related Employment
- Calypso Medical Technologies Inc, Seattle, WA, Part-time In-house Counsel, 2003-2005
- Seed IP Law Group PLLC, Seattle, WA, Patent Attorney, Senior Associate, 1998-2005
Professional Recognition
Named "CleanTech Law Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers in America, 2023
Female Founders Alliance Champion Award Nominee, 2018
Listed in Best Lawyers in America; Top Peer - Nominated Lawyer, 2016
Listed in Best Lawyers in America; CleanTech Law; Patent Law, 2015-2025
Listed in Washington CEO as a "Top 10 Life Sciences / Biotechnology Attorney in Washington," 2008
Listed in Washington Law & Politics, "Washington Super Lawyers," 2004-2008
Listed in Washington Law & Politics, "Rising Stars of Washington Law," 2002-2005
Impact
Professional Leadership
- American Intellectual Property Law Association
- Licensing Executives Society
- University of Washington Clean Energy Institute, Tech Advisory Council
- Washington State Patent Lawyers Association
- Washington State Bar Association
Community Involvement
- Washington Clean Technology Alliance, Board Member and Member of the Executive Committee
- Seattle Children’s Hospital, Board of Trustees, Board Member and Member of the Executive Committee
- Seattle Children's Research Institute, Board Chair
- Seattle Children’s Systems, Board Chair
- University of Washington, Civil and Environmental Engineering Visiting Committee, Board Member