Blogs, Commentary & News

Klarquist Sparkman is pleased to announce that attorney Liliana Di Nola-Baron, Ph.D., has joined the firm.

Dr. Di Nola-Baron’s practice focuses on the preparation and prosecution of U.S., international, and foreign patent applications. She also prepares patentability, invalidity, infringement, and freedom-to-operate opinions. Dr. Di Nola-Baron has expertise in biotechnology, including pharmaceuticals, small molecule drugs, polymer applications, cosmetics, medical treatments and devices, immunology, biochemistry, gene therapy, food science, and agriculture. Prior to joining Klarquist, Dr. Di Nola-Baron was employed as a patent attorney and patent agent at firms in the United States and Israel. She was also employed as patent examiner at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. As a research scientist, Dr. Di Nola-Baron completed post-doctoral research in molecular biology at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and in immunology at the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. She also completed a stage as biochemist at the Université P. et M. Curie in Paris, France.

Dr. Di Nola-Baron received her J.D. from George Washington University, and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry, M.Sc. with Distinction in Botany, and B.Sc., cum laude, in Agriculture, from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel.

Last week, Klarquist hosted 11 examiners from the USPTO’s Art Unit 1600 as they visited innovative companies in the Portland area. The examiners were visiting Portland as part of their Site Experience Education (SEE) program, in which they learned about the various chemical and biotech technologies used by Portland-area companies. The examiners visited AgonOx, Agrinos, Intel, NIKE, OHSU, Phylos Bioscience, the Portland Business Accelerator, Portland State University, Providence Cancer Center, and Ubivac. Klarquist also hosted a happy hour reception for the examiners that was attended by members of the biotech and chemical community from all over Oregon. The event gave the examiners the opportunity to meet with companies to better understand some of the issues of their industries. The USPTO examiners’ SEE trip to Portland was coordinated by Susan Alpert Siegel. The examiners’ visit only helped reinforce what we already knew- that Portland is an amazing place to live, and we are fortunate to be a part of such strong scientific and business community.

Klarquist attorneys Ramon A. Klitzke II, Gregory L. Maurer, and John D. Vandenberg were recently recognized as IP Stars by Managing Intellectual Property (MIP) magazine. The “IP Stars USA” list highlights the country’s leading intellectual property attorneys who have been highly recommended by their clients. Additionally, Klarquist was one of only three Oregon firms ranked as “highly recommended” by the publication. MIP‘s independent research is based on a weighted system of peer and client feedback, combined with a review of information obtained from surveys conducted with law firms and their clients in more than 80 jurisdictions around the world. Click here to see what MIP and its sources had to say about us.

Operation Technology, Inc. (ETAP) won partial summary judgment invalidating all 138 asserted patent claims in four patents, in a lawsuit filed by Power Analytics Corp. The patents are in the field of modeling electrical systems. ETAP, founded in 1986 by Dr. Farrokh Shokooh, is a technology leader in modeling, design, analysis, optimization, monitoring, control, and automation software for electrical power systems.

Hon. John A. Kronstadt, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, ruled that all asserted claims are invalid under the abstractness exclusion to patent eligibility under section 101 of the Patent Act. The claims are invalid in part because none exceeded “the abstract idea of evaluating and reacting to prediction deviations,” the Court ruled.

Klarquist attorneys Salumeh R. Loesch, Garth A. Winn, Kristin L. Cleveland, Klaus H. Hamm, Sarah E. Jelsema, and John D. Vandenberg represent ETAP in this action. Also representing ETAP are David W. Kesselman and Trevor V. Stockinger of Kesselman Brantly Stockinger LLP. Joining the motion was co-defendant Schneider Electric USA, Inc., represented by attorneys from Jenner & Block LLP.

View Judge Kronstandt’s July 13, 2017, Order and decision.

Klarquist scored a key victory for client Nautilus, Inc., fending off four IPR petitions filed by rival exercise equipment company Icon Fitness. The denied petitions attempted to challenge four Nautilus patents relating to elliptical machines. Nautilus is asserting those patents against Icon in district court litigation, alleging infringement by the NordicTrack FreeStride Trainers. Klarquist also represents Nautilus in that litigation, which commenced in May 2016 in the Western District of Washington. The four petition denials are particularly significant given that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board grants more than 70% of such petitions. Klarquist attorneys Andrew M. Mason, John D. Vandenberg, and Garth A. Winn represented Nautilus at the PTAB.

Microsoft prevailed as the petitioner over Smart Skins in an inter partes review decision involving a mobile device cover with attached peripherals. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruled all six claims under review unpatentable as obvious.

The Board held that the interrelated teachings of two prior art patents, made obvious the challenged patent claims.

Microsoft was represented by Klarquist attorneys John D. Vandenberg and Todd M. Siegel.

Link to the decision.