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News Archive |
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June 30, 2008 Congratulations to Our First Year Associate on the CT Bar Roy D. Gross has just recently passed the Connecticut Bar exam. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: Roy D. Gross Bio |
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May 8, 2008 Firm Member Stephen McNamara Leading Case in Trademark Infringement of 9/11 Flag Firm Member Stephen McNamara is representing the long established charitable organization, Greenwich-based Flag of Honor Fund Inc., in a trademark infringement lawsuit brought against another group using their "Flag of Honor" trademark. The Greenwich organization has sold or given away more than 250,000 of the tapestries, which are American flags covered with the names of the victims of the terrorist attacks. For more information follow the link to view the recent news article. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: View The Article |
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April 21, 2008 SSJR Obtains Federal Circuit Affirmance of Summary Judgment Rulings of Invalidity and Noninfringement In Patent Infringement Suit SSJR is pleased to announce that the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has upheld a district court’s rulings of noninfringement and invalidity concerning U.S. Patent No. 5,740,801, which relates to a system for storing and displaying images during a medical procedure. A Federal District Court in West Virginia had previously granted SSJR's summary judgment motions that the claims of the patent are either not infringed by Karl Storz Endoscopy-America, Inc. (KSEA), or are invalid. In its ruling, the Federal Circuit first examined the claims directed to the pre-storing of certain doctor preferences, including an analysis of the proper construction of the term “graphical objects,” and upheld the district court’s finding that KSEA's accused products did not infringe those claims. The Court next examined the claims reciting a “still frame buffer,” directed to image freeze-and-capture systems, and upheld the district court’s ruling that these claims were invalid based on prior art that had not been considered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, but which was brought to the Court's attention by SSJR. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: View The Opinion U.S. Patent No. 5,740,801 |
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April 14, 2008 SSJR Adds Attorneys Roy D. Gross and Tatyana Voloshchuk have joined the firm as Law Clerks. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: Roy D. Gross Bio Tatyana Voloshchuk Bio |
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November 5, 2007 Congratulations to Our First Year Associates on the CT Bar Erin R. Conway and Lisa A. McAndrews have both just recently passed the Connecticut Bar exam. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: Erin R. Conway Bio Lisa A. McAndrews Bio |
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September 14, 2007 SSJR Adds Attorneys Erin R. Conway and Lisa A. McAndrews have joined the firm as Law Clerks. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: Erin R. Conway Bio Lisa A. McAndrews Bio |
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May 15, 2007 SSJR Successfully Secures Dismissal of Patent Infringement Case SSJR is pleased to report it has successfully secured a dismissal of a Hatch-Waxman patent infringement case against its client Sandoz. The case was initiated when GlaxoSmithKline ("GSK") asserted that Sandoz's generic version of GSK's anti-nausea drug Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: View The Dismissal U.S. Patent No. 5,344,658 |
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May 10, 2007 SSJR Obtains Judgment of Trademark Infringement in Denmark The Maritime and Commercial Court of Denmark ruled in SSJR’s favor in a trademark infringement lawsuit brought against a former distributor of its client H.H. Brown Shoe Company. The Court in H.H. Brown Shoe Company v. Pasternak International found in favor of the plaintiff on the grounds of trademark infringement and unfair competition and dismissed the infringer's counterclaim for breach of contract. The Court cancelled the infringer's Danish trademark registration and awarded damages to the plaintiff. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: View The Decision |
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March 23, 2007 SSJR Files Amicus Brief on Behalf of the Federal Circuit Bar Association SSJR filed an Amicus Brief on behalf of the Federal Circuit Bar Association in the In Re Seagate Technology case, arguing to limit a defendant's waiver of attorney client communications when willfulness is alleged. The amicus brief argues that the assertion of an advice of Counsel defense to willful infringement should not extend the waiver of attorney client communications to communication with defendant's trial counsel. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: View The Brief |
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January 1, 2007 Andy I. Corea Becomes Member SSJR is pleased to announce that Andy I. Corea has become a Member of the firm as of January 1, 2007. Mr. Corea joined SSJR in 2003 and has broad experience in the areas of trademark prosecution, litigation, and licensing. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: Andy I. Corea Bio |
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November 1, 2006 SSJR Obtains Ruling of Patent Infringement SSJR is pleased to announce that a Federal District Court in Sacramento California has granted SSJR's summary judgment motion that the Pocket Toner PT-1, PT-2 and PT-6 cable testers sold by the Gale Corporation infringe all of the claims of U.S. Patent No. 6,043,663, relating to a cable testing device. This determination of infringement follows SSJR's earlier victory in convincing the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that the District Court erred in its construction of the claim term "hand-grip size case" by not giving the claim term its ordinary and customary meaning. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: U.S. Patent No. 6,043,663 |
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October 19, 2006 Congratulations to Our First Year Associates on the CT Bar Exam Amanda Greenspon, Walter B. Welsh, and Benjamin C. White have all just recently passed the Connecticut Bar exam. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: Walter B. Welsh Bio Benjamin C. White Bio Amanda Greenspon Bio |
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September 22, 2006 SSJR, One of Only Three IP Firms to Grow Litigation Practice According to a survey of federal court dockets conducted by industry newswire IP Law360, SSJR was one of only three IP boutique firms to increase its patent caseload during the last 12 months surveyed. Top | Back to main page |
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September 17, 2006 SSJR Adds Attorneys Walter B. Welsh, Benjamin C. White and Amanda Greenspon have joined the firm as Law Clerks. Andrew Thurkauf has joined the firm as a Patent Agent. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: Walter B. Welsh Bio Benjamin C. White Bio Amanda Greenspon Bio Andrew Thurkauf Bio |
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July 29, 2006 SSJR Successfully Defends Karl Storz Endoscopy-America (KSEA) in Patent Infringement Suit SSJR is pleased to announce that a Federal District Court in West Virginia has granted SSJR's summary judgment motions that the claims of U.S. Patent No. 5,740,801, relating to a system for storing and displaying images during a medical procedure, are either not infringed by KSEA or are invalid, thereby successfully disposing of the case against KSEA. The United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia recently granted SSJR's summary judgment motions for non-infringement and invalidity with respect to the claims of U.S. Patent No. 5,740,801 being asserted against its client KSEA. In its ruling, the Court compared KSEA's accused products against the claims of the patent and found that 53 of the 55 claims of the '801 patent were not infringed. The Court went on to find that the remaining two claims of the '801 patent were invalid based on a prior art patent that was never considered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, but which was brought to the Court's attention by SSJR. SSJR previously obtained judgments dismissing co-defendant Karl Storz Endovision from the case, and determining that a second patent, U.S. Patent No. 5,877,819, was not infringed. The Court's ruling resulted in a complete victory for KSEA. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: U.S. Patent No. 5,740,801 U.S. Patent No. 5,877,819 View the Decision |
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July 12, 2006 SSJR Wins Award as #1 Trademark Filer for 2005 SSJR was recently awarded the During INTA's th Top | Back to main page |
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May 10, 2006 SSJR Settles Copyright Infringement Case for Goose Decoys™ SSJR is pleased to announce that it has settled a copyright infringement case on behalf of Clinton Decoys. The case, filed in District Court in Iowa, alleged that Defendants Nordic Group and Flambeau willfully infringed four of Clinton Decoys' copyrights for goose decoy sculptures. The parties have resolved the litigation amicably without any admission as to liability. The specific terms of the settlement are confidential. Top | Back to main page |
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November 16, 2005 SSJR Wins Federal Circuit Reversal of Summary Judgment Ruling SSJR was successful in convincing the Court of Appeals that the District Court erred in its construction of the claim term "hand-grip size case" in U.S. Patent No. 6,043,663 by not giving the claim term its ordinary and customary meaning. As a result, the Appellate Court vacated the finding of non-infringement, reconstrued the claim term and remanded the case back to the the District Court for a redetermination of infringement based on the proper claim construction. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: U.S. Patent No. 6,043,663 View the Decision |
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October 25, 2005 SSJR Adds Attorneys Benjamin J. Lehberger and Christopher H. Strate have joined the firm as Associates. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: Benjamin J. Lehberger Bio Christopher H. Strate Bio |
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August 31, 2005 SSJR Wins Non-Infringement Judgment for Sandoz (Formerly Eon Labs) on its Generic Version of Warner Lambert's Drug Neurontin™ In a recent Federal Court decision from the District Court of New Jersey, Judge Lifland has ruled on summary judgment that Sandoz's (Eon Labs) generic version of Neurontin™ (gabapentin), does not infringe U.S. Patent No. 6,054,482 owned by Warner Lambert (Pfizer). In its decision the Court found that Sandoz's generic version of gabapentin does not infringe the Warner Lambert patent because Warner Lambert was unable to meet its burden of proof to show the Sandoz product actually infringed the patent. The patent required that the gabapentin have less than 20 ppm of an anion mineral acid. The Court found that Warner Lambert's use of a pH test to determine the number of chloride anions in a formulation was "simply not precise enough" to determine infringement. Accordingly, the Court granted the motion holding Sandoz's generic formulation does not infringe. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: U.S. Patent No. 6,054,482 View the Decision |
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June 15, 2005 SSJR Wins Appeal Affirming Non-Infringement of Eon Labs ANDA for its Generic Version of Itraconozole The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in a unanimous decision, affirmed the judgment of the trial court that Eon Labs' generic version of Itraconazole does not infringe U.S. Patent No. 5,633,015 owned by Janssen Pharmaceutica (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.) In its decision the Federal Circuit agreed with SSJR's claim construction for the disputed claim term "mesh". The Court acknowledged SSJR's arguments that the disputed claim term should be construed based on what the term means to those skilled in the art when trying to determine particle size. The adoption of SSJR's claim construction resulted in affirmance of the trial court's finding of no literal infringement. Further, the decision also confirmed that Eon's product does not infringe under the doctrine of equivalents based in part on SSJR's ability to show Janssen's expert's testimony was unpersuasive. (More info on the trial see news archive posted on August 20, 2004.) Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: View the Decision |
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March 9, 2005 SSJR Obtains TRO and Executes Seizure Against Cannondale Counterfeiter SSJR was granted an ex-parte Temporary Restraining Order and Seizure Order on February 24, 2005 on behalf of Cannondale Bicycle Corporation in the Northern District of Illinois against a web-based trademark counterfeiting business. The counterfeiting business used several company names and operated out of numerous locations in multiple states to sell counterfeit versions of over 70 brands of goods throughout the world. A Preliminary Injunction on Consent was entered by the Court on behalf of Plaintiffs Cannondale Bicycle Corporation and Mr. Gasket Inc. against all defendants on March 17, 2005. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: View the Preliminary Injunction View the Temporary Restraining Order Reg. #2258778 Reg. #2531404 |
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January 26, 2005 SSJR Files Action for Eon Labs Against Pfizer on ® SSJR has filed a declaratory judgement action on behalf of Eon Labs asserting Eon's generic version of the drug Azithromycin does not infringe two Pfizer patents covering forms of the antibiotic. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: View the Complaint View US Patent 6,268,489 View US Patent 5,605,889 |
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September 14, 2004 SSJR Wins Appeal Restoring Attorney-Client Privilege to Patent Law In a virtually unanimous opinion, the Federal Circuit has overruled its contrary precedent in holding that no adverse inference may be drawn against an alleged infringer from either failure to obtain or produce an exculpatory opinion of counsel. Judge Newman wrote the emphatic majority opinion, which explained that implementation of its adverse inference precedent had resulted in inappropriate burdens on the attorney-client relationship. The Court specifically ruled that it is no longer appropriate for a trier of fact to draw an adverse inference with respect to willful infringement when attorney-client privilege and/or work-product privilege is invoked by a patent infringement defendant, or when the defendant had not obtained legal advice. The Court also ruled that a substantial defense to infringement is not itself sufficient to defeat liability for willful infringement even if no legal advice has been secured. The Court explicitly did not decide whether a trier of fact can or should be told whether or not an infringement defendant consulted counsel. The willfulness finding was vacated and the case was remanded to the District Court for redetermination of the willfulness issue under a totality of circumstances without benefit of the inference. On remand, the District Court ordered the parties to submit briefs on the willfullness issue. That briefing is complete. Both sides are seeking attorney fees. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: View the Court's Opinion View the Briefs and Orders See a hearing summary |
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August 20, 2004 SSJR Wins Non-Infringement Judgment in ANDA Case for Eon Labs, Inc. In a recent Federal Court decision out of the Eastern District of New York, Judge Gershon has held that our client, Eon Labs, Inc., does not infringe U.S. Patent 5,633,015 to Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson). The case related to a drug known as itraconazole and its manufacture in the form of capsules containing hundreds of tiny beads. The critical issue turned on the size of the cores of the beads. The Court resolved that issue on the basis of trial testimony evidence as to how core sizes are understood, determined and classified by those of ordinary skill in the relevant industry. On that evidence, the Court found that there was no infringement of any of the asserted patent claims, either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents. Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. has indicated that it will appeal to the Federal Circuit. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: View the Court's Judgment View the Court's Opinion and Order Eon Labs, Inc. View US Patent 5,633,015 Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. |
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November 15, 2003 SSJR Argues En Banc Appeal on Inference of Willful Patent Infringement In an extraordinary decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, ordered consideration by the entire Court of an SSJR appeal covering the appropriateness of inferring willful infringement for failure either to obtain or to disclose an attorney opinion. The current law, which SSJR's appeal seeks to overturn, has been widely criticized by the bar. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: View the Briefs and Orders See a hearing summary |
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October 1, 2003 SSJR Adds Attorneys James P. Jeffry and Andy I. Corea have joined the firm as associates. Top | Back to main page |
Related Links: James P. Jeffry Bio Andy I. Corea Bio |
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