Patent Preparation and Prosecution

The Firm's registered patent attorneys are experienced in drafting and prosecuting patent applications in the mechanical, electromechanical, software, and chemical arts for clients in industries such as vehicular lighting and safety equipment, medical devices, proportional solenoid valves, scientific equipment, automated pharmacies, beverage ware, RFID-enabled beverage-dispensing machines, geothermal energy systems, construction safety equipment, and image-tracking devices. We provide clients with a full range of services, from patentability opinions through the preparation of applications and all phases of the prosecution process, including reexamination proceedings, appeals to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences and to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. We apply our international experience to help clients identify what to patent, which countries to obtain patents in, and how to value their portfolios.

As litigators as well as patent prosecutors, we are disciples of the "Low Profile/Common Denominator" philosophy of preparing and prosecuting patent applications. As such, our patents may look different from those prepared by those who do not try patent cases. There is no "Background of the Invention," "Summary of the Invention," or "Preferred Embodiments" in our clients' patents. Likewise, there is no listing of the invention's advantages or deficiencies with the prior art. Instead, written descriptions are drafted to enable the claims, disclose the "best mode," and reduce the risk that a trial court or appellate court will import language from the written description into the claims, thereby limiting the scope of the claims. Our focus, of course, is on claim drafting, which is a fusion of art, science, legal skill, and imagination, where the resultant claims of the patent are understandable to all relevant audiences, valid, enforceable, and able to withstand challenges in litigation.

Our patent prosecution clients use their patent assets to support significant manufacturing enterprises and service operations, keep competitors from entering their markets, generate significant licensing revenue, increase the value of their companies, leverage their assets to fuel growth, and grow market share in the U.S. and around the world. Second only to their human resources, a client's patent assets are among their most valuable business assets and, in some cases, their only marketable assets.

Just as important as our skills at drafting and prosecuting patent applications is our ability to assist clients with balancing their needs with the costs of obtaining meaningful and necessary protection, by providing clients meaningful assistance with tools for use in the management and valuation of their portfolios. If patent steering committees aren't already in place, we assist clients with the formation of these committees, often comprised of representatives from a company's engineering, sales, marketing, and finance departments, for purposes of facilitating informed business decision-making relative to the building, maintenance, and exploitation of their patent assets. Our billing department works closely with client representatives responsible for budget oversight to ensure that projects are completed on time and on budget.