INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FIRM ANALYSIS
League Tables
Hatch-Waxman Patent Litigation (Generic)
Highly recommended Goodwin Procter Kenyon & Kenyon Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear Rakoczy Molino Mazzochi Siwik Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox Winston & Strawn Recommended Leydig Voit & Mayer Morrison & Foerster Perkins Coie Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi Rothwell Figg Ernst & Manbeck
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ne focal point for intellectual property practitioners this year has been educating their clients on the Leahy-Smith American Invents Act (AIA). New stipulations continue to be made under the AIA, most notably the first-to-file order that took effect on March 16 of this year. “We are making sure that we know the procedures as precisely as possible,” explains one attorney. “Our clients need to know what to do in preparation for these new statutes and part of our job now is to teach them the best ways to go about filing a patent application.” The Mayo Collaborative Services V. Prometheus Laboratories Inc. verdict last year played a major role in the IP life sciences market. This year, there is another Supreme Court case that may have a tremendous impact on the industry, Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, a case partners are calling, “a make or break case” on the subject of gene patentability. The Supreme Court issued a unanimous, mixed decision on the case, stating that one cannot patent naturally occuring human genes, though synthetic DNA is patentable subject matter. This decision will have an immediate impact on patents in the industry. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld The last year has been very active for the patent litigation team at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The firm recently represented Janssen Biotech Inc., Centocor Ortho Biotech, Inc., and New York University. “They are certainly not afraid to take any case the whole nine yards,” says one competitor. Dianne Elderkin is one of many reasons why clients go to Akin Gump for their life sciences patent litigation needs. One rival notes, “Her years of experience, as well as her ability to get a great sense of a courtroom environment are big reasons for her trial success.” She led a trial team for aforementioned client Janssen Biotech Inc. in a patent infringement suit brought by Abbott GMBH concerning Janssen’s antibody drug Stelera. Elderkin won a jury verdict on this matter, asserting that Abbott’s asserted patents were invalid. Alston & Bird Alston & Bird’s IP Prosecution and Commercialization practice is considered, “a high-quality group within the life sciences industry,” by one practitioner. The firm has over 30 attorneys with advanced life science degrees, which range from biology to biomedical engineering. The prosecution and commercialization group supports one of the largest IP practice in the country, consisting of over 170 professionals. The firm’s life sciences IP practice is located mainly in Silicon Valley, one of the most active and innovative markets in the country. Partner Romy Celli is making a name for herself within the industry and as a rival puts it “only impresses more people with her prosecution work.” At this year’s BIO conference, Celi moderated a panel called “The AIA and APA: Oversight of Patents and the Agency That Grants Them,” which discussed recent changes at the United States Patent Office (USPTO) and alterations to US patent law. Arnold & Porter “A great group of patent litigators who are extremely knowledgeable about their client’s issues,” is how one rival portrays Arnold & Porter’s life sciences IP litigation team. The practice is heavily
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LMG LIFE SCIENCES 2013