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Oblon, Spivak Remains Top Firm for Obtaining U.S. Utility Patents for 21 Consecutive Years
- March 1, 2011
- Firm News
- IP Today, March 2011
For Immediate Release
March 1, 2011
Firm Also Becomes the First to Secure More Than 5,000 U.S. Patents in a Single Year
Alexandria, Va. -- The intellectual property law firm Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, L.L.P., has obtained a record 5,455 U.S. utility patents issued in 2010, according to numbers provided in the March issue of IP Today magazine. The firm also secured 89 design patents and one plant patent last year, for a total of 5,545 patents obtained, becoming the first law firm to obtain more than 5,000 U.S. patents in a single year. Oblon, Spivak topped their achievement last year of being the first law firm to obtain 4,000 patents in a single year. The firm has maintained the number one spot as the top patent firm for obtaining patents for 21 consecutive years.
“We are extremely proud to be the leading firm in patents obtained for the past 21 years, and that we’re the first law firm to obtain more than 5,000 patents in a single year,” said Richard Kelly, the firm’s managing partner. “These designations are significant achievements for our firm and a great testimony to the hard work, knowledge, expertise and client service of our attorneys. They are familiar with the USPTO patent examiners and have advanced degrees in science and technology, making it much easier to handle our clients’ technically oriented needs.”
“The firm’s success is a reflection of our clients’ recognition of the quality of the work product at a reasonable price, Kelly continued. “If the firm was not providing both, we would not have been entrusted with so much of our clients’ valuable intellectual property to protect. Many of the firm’s largest clients have been with the firm for over 40 years, demonstrating the firm’s commitment to its clients.”
In addition to these achievements, other significant highlights for Oblon, Spivak in 2010 included:
- In March, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio doubled the damages Chinese windshield manufacturer Xinyi Automobile Glass Company, Ltd. must pay firm client Saint-Gobain Autover for its willful infringement of Saint-Gobain’s patents, and ordered payment of attorney fees and costs in the amount of $2.3 million for a total award of more than $24 million.
- In October, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a precedential decision in favor of firm client Solvay, making clear that to establish a 35 U.S.C. §102(g)(2) defense, a party must prove that another conceived the invention in the United States before the patentee. Solvay S.A. v. Honeywell International, Inc. (2009-1161)
- The firm hired Lee Barrett, former Administrative Patent Judge with the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
- The firm was named to The National Law Journal’s Midsize Hot List in July 2010.
Assisting clients for 40 years, Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, L.L.P. is one of the largest intellectual property specialty firms in the United States. The firm provides a full range of intellectual property services, including litigation matters in all courts, as well as trademark, copyright and patent interference services.
