Practice Areas

Patent Preparation and Prosecution

For an invention to be properly patented, a patent application must be appropriately drafted and suitable claims must be prosecuted in the United States Patent & Trademark Office and other world-wide patent offices. The attorneys at ALGM have many years of experience preparing and prosecuting patent applications with the goal of obtaining the patent protection clients need to successfully license and commercialize their inventions. Since all of the attorneys at ALGM have advanced degrees in the Biological/Chemical sciences, they also have the technical expertise to communicate effectively with corporate scientists and to fully understand the invention and its commercial implications. This expertise can also be crucial when explaining the invention to an Examiner. At ALGM, we believe that an Examiner Interview is an extremely important tool in moving cases to allowance.

Freedom to Operate Opinions

Companies not only need patent protection, but also need freedom to operate. The attorneys at ALGM can provide advice regarding the potential risks involved with patents of others. This advice can assist companies in defining their risks and help corporate decisions makers plot the best course. Competent legal opinions can be critical for a company to avoid accusations of willful infringement and the potential for increased corporate financial liability. The attorneys at ALGM have many years of experience rendering such opinions and have the legal and scientific knowledge required to understand the legal and technical issues involved and to provide accurate advice on complex legal issues. Their wealth of patent prosecution experience allows for a comprehensive understanding of patent file histories and the identification of the key legal questions.

Validity and Infringement Opinions

The identification of a patent that is, at first glance, relevant to a company’s product raises a number of complex legal issues. First, do the claims of the patent read on the company’s product or activities? Second, are the claims of the patent valid? ALGM attorneys have the legal and scientific experience preparing such opinions and are able to advise our clients on the relative risks associated with specific products and activities. Our advice may be useful early during product configuration, when alternative designs may have different levels of risk and “design arounds” may be an attractive option.

Patent Trial and Appeal Board Proceedings

There are various post-grant procedures in the United States Patent & Trademark Office for challenging a U.S. Patent. These contested cases are conducted before Administrative Patent Judges of the PTAB. At ALGM, our attorneys have extensive experience with post-grant procedures, particularly Patent Interferences. Although these contested cases can be vastly less expensive than a typical litigation, these contested cases can still be a large financial burden for many companies and institutions. At ALGM, our experience allows us to provide the highest quality service. At the same time, our reasonable billing rates allows us to provide large financial savings for our clients over the costs of many other firms.

Patent Interferences

To provoke an interference, much more is involved than simply copying the claims of an issued patent or application. Decisions made at this early time can have dramatic and irreversible effects on the later outcome of an interference, when motions are decided by the APJ. ALGM attorneys have extensive experience in provoking interferences and can provide guidance regarding the selection of appropriate claims and strategies.

ALGM attorneys have extensive experience in Interferences at the USPTO and provoking them, including Nos. 106,052; 106,117; 106,118; and 106,123. These cases can be followed at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board: [https://acts.uspto.gov/ifiling/DispatchServlet].

Appeals

Sometimes, the United States Patent & Trademark Office can be unyielding in allowing a patent application to issue as a patent and an appeal is required. ALGM attorneys have in-depth experience in handling appeals of patent applications, both before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Such experience can be invaluable in the preparation of a case for appeal.

Client Counseling

Companies and Institutions can have many different questions regarding patent procurement, enforcement, infringement, and licensing. To provide advice to decision makers, ALGM attorneys have extensive experience in many different areas of client counseling. ALGM attorneys can provide pre-litigation counseling, due diligence analyses, advice regarding prosecution strategies and product development, and assist in licensing negotiations. ALGM attorneys can also provide assistance in complex legal analysis, such as inventorship determinations.