Babak Akhlaghi

Babak Akhlaghi is the Founding Director of NovoTech Patent Firm, a Washington, D.C.-based intellectual property law firm serving startups, entrepreneurs, technology companies, and innovators throughout the United States and internationally. With more than two decades of experience in patent law, he advises clients on patent portfolio development, intellectual property strategy, patent prosecution, freedom-to-operate analyses, and the protection of emerging technologies. His practice encompasses a broad range of technical areas, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, blockchain, quantum computing, software systems, semiconductors, robotics, cybersecurity, and telecommunications. 

Mr. Babak Akhlaghi is particularly known for helping technology companies align intellectual property investments with business objectives, including fundraising, commercialization, market positioning, and long-term growth. His strategic approach to portfolio development has earned recognition from leading organizations in the intellectual property profession. He has been named to IAM Strategy 300, one of the most respected recognitions in the intellectual property profession.  IAM Strategy 300 identifies top intellectual property professionals who lead the development and implementation of strategies that maximize the value of intellectual property portfolios. He has also been recognized as a WIPR Leader and selected to Super Lawyers® for eight consecutive years. 

In addition to his private practice, Mr. Akhlaghi serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland, where he teaches Legal Aspects of Entrepreneurship. He is also a co-author of the annual Patent Applications Handbook, a respected reference work published by Westlaw for patent practitioners. 

Before founding NovoTech Patent Firm, Mr. Akhlaghi practiced with nationally recognized intellectual property law firms, including Fish & Richardson and McDermott Will & Emery. He also served as in-house counsel for Panasonic Corporation in Osaka, Japan, where he gained firsthand experience managing intellectual property matters within a global technology company. 

Mr. Akhlaghi earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, magna cum laude, from the University of Maryland, graduating first in his electrical engineering class, and received his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Houston Law Center. He is admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.