Education

• Sweet Briar College (B.A., 1998, Magna Cum Laude)
• Northern Virginia Community College (A.S., in progress)

Experience

Shay Canfield is a Technical Advisor and Group Director at Muncy, Geissler, Olds & Lowe, P.C. She specializes in design and plant patent applications and assists in prosecution of patent applications in the biotechnology fields. Ms. Canfield has drafted Orchidaceae, Asphodelaceae/Hemerocallis, and Cannabaceae plant patent applications. She has also published zoological discussions of the Belgian horse in America and Europe, including evolutionary trends, history of the breed, specific adaptations of the modern horse, and changes in phenotype via centuries of selective breeding.

She prepares unusual and/or complicated patent prosecution documents before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, such as Petitions to Accept Color Drawings, Petitions to Revive, Requests under Rule 48 Correcting Inventorship, Petitions to Restore Priority, reissue applications, Petitions to Make Special, Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), Quick Path Information Disclosure Statements (QPIDS), and third party submissions.

Ms. Canfield’s specialized skills include processing complex data streams, independent research, public speaking, training, and analytical comparisons of design objects. With over 20 years of experience training others and lecturing in both patent prosecution and administrative matters, she has prepared and/or given lectures on many topics including:

International PCT practice
US national stage practice
After-final practice
Cost saving strategies for patent prosecution
Unusual inventorship situations  (Virginia CLE approved)
Navigating the legal requirements of 37 CFR 1.84 for patent drawings (Virginia CLE approved)
Establishing and correcting priority claims (Virginia CLE approved)
Formality requirements for new applications

Outside of the intellectual property industry, Ms. Canfield is an equine history public scholar, an accomplished judge of equine artistry, and an avid fundraiser for various animal rescue organizations.