Zac Kelton focuses his practice on domestic and international patent prosecution and counseling. He is a registered patent attorney and regularly drafts and prosecutes patent applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. His practice focuses on electronics and software, with emphasis on handling patent eligibility issues. His technical experience covers many areas, including blockchains, cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens, smart contracts, mobile applications, banking and electronic payment systems, cloud computing systems, machine learning, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, image processing, autonomous vehicles, and haptic effects.
Mr. Kelton also provides opinions relating to patentability, invalidity, freedom-to-operate, non-infringement, and licensing. He regularly counsels clients on strategic issues and considerations relating to their patent portfolios.
Mr. Kelton worked with the firm as a summer associate in 2012. While attending law school, he was the Executive Online Editor of the Wake Forest Law Review and a member of the Wake Forest Intellectual Property Student Association.
Mr. Kelton was recognized in 2025 as one of the "Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch" for Patent Law by The Best Lawyers in America®. He was recognized as a North Carolina "Rising Star" in 2024 and 2025 for Intellectual Property by Super Lawyers magazine.
Experience
Drafted and prosecuted a significant number of applications for one of the most recognized open-source software companies in the world to secure patent protection for their technologies relating to distributed and cloud computing, containerization and orchestration, operating system functionality, cybersecurity, software provisioning, configuration management, and storage solutions.
Drafted and prosecuted a significant number of applications for a leading analytics company to secure patent protection for their technologies relating forecasting and predictive modeling, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
Drafted and prosecuted significant number of applications for a leading haptics company to secure patent coverage for their technologies related to user interfaces, embedded tactile output devices and methodologies, and medical devices.
Drafted and prosecuted foundational patents for multiple startup companies in the blockchain space.
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Asset Creation - Prosecution & Counseling
Licensing, Transactions & Monetization
Wake Forest University School of Law J.D. (2013) cum laude, Order of the Coif
Brown University M.S. (2010) Electrical Engineering
University of New Hampshire B.S. (2008) Electrical Engineering, magna cum laude
North Carolina (2013)
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (2013)
North Carolina Bar Association, Member
American Bar Association, Member
Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society, Member
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