Areas of Expertise
Intellectual Property Licensing, Intellectual Property Strategy, Patent Law, Patent Litigation & Prosecution, Legal Ethics and Technology Ethics
Courses
Fundamentals of Innovation I and II, Patent Litigation, Special Topics in Commercialization, IP Survey, Trade Secrets
Biography
Nicole N. Morris is a member of the faculty at Emory University School of Law. She is a professor of practice and director of the TI:GER® program. TI:GER® (Technological Innovation: Generating Economic Results) is an innovative technology innovation program where Emory law students work with technology innovators to transform highly promising research or early stage technology into economically viable products. In collaboration with the Department of Energy's National Labs, students in the TI:GER Program work with scientists at the Labs to evaluate the commercial prospects for the technology. Students leverage market and industry analysis, along with legal research, to develop a robust licensing strategy.
Prior to joining the Emory faculty, Morris was the former managing patent counsel at The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, Georgia. While at The Coca-Cola Company, Nicole was responsible for the development and implementation of the company’s global patent strategy and providing day-to-day advice & counseling to business stakeholders, including freedom-to-operate and competitive assessments and counseling concerning IP related agreements.
Morris has over ten years of experience practicing patent law in large and mid-sized law firms and has represented clients in patent and trademark litigation matters, as well as patent prosecution matters. Morris also worked as an engineer for six years with 3M and Eli Lilly and has over twenty years of experience working with consumer products and technology commercialization.
Professor Morris is a frequent speaker on patent law topics including patent prosecution, patent litigation, IP licensing, and the role of corporate counsel in patent transactions. She is also a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, Atlanta IP Inn of Court, Atlanta Bar Association, Georgia Lawyers for the Arts (Board Member), and serves as Treasurer of the Minority In-House Counsel Association. In 2013, Morris was awarded the 2013 Rising Star Corporate Counsel Award from the Atlanta Business Chronicle and featured in the August 2013 issue of Corporate Counsel magazine.
Morris is licensed to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and is admitted to practice in the states of Georgia, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and in the District of Columbia.
Education: JD, University of Minnesota; MS, Chemistry, University of Michigan; BS, Chemical Engineering, Northwestern University.