About Us
IP Lab Services was founded by Dr. Frank W. Harris, an emeritus distinguished professor of polymer science and biomedical engineering at The University of Akron.  Having served as a expert witness in numerous court cases involving trade secrets, patent prosecution, assertion and defense over the past 30 years, Dr. Harris has gained invaluable insight on the scientific aspects of intellectual property litigation.  He has presented experimental results of laboratory work he directed before a patent examiner and in federal court.  He has also helped to invalidate the experimental results of others.  Dr. Harris has assembled a team of 12 scientists with Ph.D. degrees in organic chemistry, polymer chemistry and physics, material science and engineering.  This expertise has been combined with extensive laboratory facilities and equipment to provide a unique capability to assist you in intellectual property capture and dispute.  Importantly, IP Lab Services understands the need for confidentiality as well as rapid and accurate information.  We have established extensive procedures to document sample possession, equipment calibration, and test results so that you can be confident that the data we provide will be accurate and upheld when appropriately presented in a court of law.  We also understand that a client may only want a quick, preliminary investigation of an IP issue.  In this case, the work will be carried out in a less formal, expeditious manner.

Dr. Frank W. Harris
President and CEO
Dr. Harris received his Ph.D. degree in organic chemistry with an emphasis on polymer synthesis from the University of Iowa.  He has taught organic and polymer chemistry courses and carried out extensive research in these areas for over 35 years. Until recently he served as Distinquished Professor of Polymer Science and Biomedical Engineering and as Director of the Institute of Polymer Science at the University of Akron.  He has authored 32 patents and over 200 scientific articles. He has also developed several commercial polymer products one of which has generated over one billion dollars in sales.  Dr. Harris has served as consultant for over 25 industrial firms and as an expert witness in numerous patent litigations.

Prior to starting IP Lab Services, Dr. Harris founded Akron Polymer Systems in Akron, Ohio; Daychem Laboratories in Dayton, Ohio; Ballard Advanced Materials in Vancouver, Canada; and Boca Advanced Materials in Cincinnati, Ohio.

He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Brady Corporation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.