Firm News 2006 Archive

Fitch Even is pleased to announce that Jon A. Birmingham has become a partner of the firm. Mr. Birmingham is a resident in Fitch Even's Chicago office. He joined the firm in 2000, and had worked previously at the firm as a summer associate in 1998 and 1999. His practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and prosecution, and includes a broad range of different technologies such as food packaging, irrigation equipment, household storage products, water dispensers, electronic medical devices, fluid systems, printing presses, optical recognition software, network management software, and injection-molded automotive components.

Fitch Even Partner Lectures At DePaul Law School Regarding Digital Millennium Copyright Act

November 16, 2006

On November 16, 2006, partner Karl Fink lectured to students taking an advanced copyright seminar at the DePaul Law School in Chicago, Illinois. The seminar addressed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and Mr. Fink spoke regarding his involvement in the significant case entitled Chamberlain v. Skylink.

Fitch Even Hosts The University Of Illinois IP Legal Society

October 20, 2006

Fitch Even welcomed the University of Illinois Intellectual Property Legal Society to the firm on Friday, October 20, 2006. Steven Parmelee presented a seminar, and a number of alumni were present to welcome the group.

Fitch Even Partner Lectures At University Of Michigan Law School Regarding Markman Hearings

October 5, 2006

On October 5, 2006, at the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, partner Karl Fink lectured to law students in an advanced patent law seminar regarding Markman hearings. Mr. Fink also met with the student body's intellectual property law society to discuss careers in intellectual property law.

New Locations For Fitch Even's Washington, D.C. And San Diego Offices

September 22, 2006

As of September 25, 2006, Fitch Even's offices in Washington, D.C. and San Diego are moving to new locations to position the firm for continued growth in those markets.

The Washington, D.C. office is moving to:

One Lafayette Centre
1120 20th Street, NW
Suite 750S
Washington, DC 20036

The San Diego office's new address is:

9330 Scranton Road
Suite 350
San Diego, CA 92121

Please note that phone and fax numbers for both offices will remain the same.

Fitch Even Sponsors IP Conference

October 12, 2006

Fitch Even is a contributing sponsor for the Intellectual Property, Trade and Development conference being held at Chicago-Kent College of Law on October 12-13, 2006. The Honorable Christine LaGarde, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, France, and Geoffrey Yu, Deputy Director General, World Intellectual Property Organization, along with Amy Cotton, Office of International Relations, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Jens Gaster, DG Internal Market, European Commission Brussels, will be speaking at the event.

Additional information on this event can be found at www.ipconference.kentlaw.edu.

Federal Circuit Affirms Judgment In Favor Of Pioneer Laboratories, Inc.

August 11, 2006

On August 11, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a non-infringement judgment confirming that Pioneer's Quantum™ Pedicle Screw system does not infringe U.S. Patent No. 6,565,565. The patent is owned by Stryker Corporation.

Pioneer Laboratories, Inc. is a medical device manufacturer located in Marquette, Michigan. On February 23, 2005, Pioneer filed a declaratory judgment action in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan seeking a declaration that the Quantum™ Pedicle Screw System does not infringe the '565 patent, and that the patent is invalid. The Quantum™ system is a unique, implantable spinal stabilization system.

On October 13, 2005, the District Court agreed with Pioneer's construction of the asserted patent claims, denied two summary judgment motions filed by Stryker and granted Pioneer summary judgment that the Quantum™ system does not infringe the '565 patent. The Federal Circuit heard oral argument on August 10, 2006, and affirmed the following day without written opinion. The District Court's opinion has been published as Pioneer Laboratories, Inc. v. Stryker Corp., 395 F.2d 612 (W.D. Mich. 2005).

Pioneer was represented in the District Court and the Federal Circuit by Phil Petti, Steve Schroer, Tim Maloney and Mark Borsos.

Fitch Even Partner Presents IP Program At McGill University

August 15, 2006

Joseph Nabor presented two advanced intellectual property programs at the McGill University in Montreal. The programs were a component of summer courses organized by the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada and McGill University addressing various aspects of intellectual property. On August 15, Mr. Nabor spoke regarding U.S. and Canadian trademark prosecution practice, and discussed the Madrid Protocol from a U.S. perspective. Mr. Nabor, a partner at Fitch, Even, focuses in the areas of trademark, copyright and unfair competition law.

Fitch Even Partner Selected As Officer Of IP Section Of ISBA

June 16, 2006

Partner Joseph Nabor was selected to serve as the Secretary of the Intellectual Property Section Council to the Illinois State Bar Association for this year. Mr. Nabor has been an active member of the ISBA for many years, serving as an Officer of this Section Council, and ultimately as the Chair. He has also served as the Chair of the Trademark Subcommittee of this Section.

Federal Circuit Affirms Jury Verdict Of Willful Patent Infringement And Judgment Awarding Treble Damages And Attorneys' Fees

June 7, 2006

On June 1, 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a judgment of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in favor of Fitch Even's client, Liquid Dynamics, in its patent infringement lawsuit against Vaughan Company, Inc. The judgment included a finding of willful patent infringement and compensatory damages awarded by a jury, as well as enhanced damages, attorneys' fees, and a permanent injunction entered by the District Court. The decision also rejected Vaughan's defenses alleging prior art invalidity, non-enablement, best mode violations, and inequitable conduct. The Federal Circuit's precedential opinion affirmed the District Court judgment in favor of Liquid Dynamics in all respects.

Liquid Dynamics' "'414 patent" is directed to storing and mixing system technology commonly employed in wastewater treatment facilities. The technology of the '414 patent has achieved industry award winning status and significant commercial success. Vaughan originally supplied pumps incorporated into Liquid Dynamics' patented JetMix system. The jury, the District Court, and the Federal Circuit were persuaded by evidence that Vaughan later copied Liquid Dynamics' patented design in Vaughan's competitive "RotaMix" system, which Vaughan introduced to the market after Liquid Dynamics' early commercial successes. The jury and the Federal Circuit found that Vaughan had infringed Liquid Dynamics' patent in connection with the sale of 47 RotaMix systems installed as of April 2002, including 11 systems in Canada and the United Kingdom.

The June 1, 2006 decision was the second victory for Fitch Even and Liquid Dynamics before the Federal Circuit. In July of 2002, the District Court had granted Vaughan summary judgment on the issue of infringement, but in an appeal prosecuted by Fitch Even, the Federal Circuit reversed summary judgment because the District Court had erred in interpreting certain claim language (Liquid Dynamics Corporation v. Vaughan Company, Inc., 355 F.3d 1361 (Fed. Cir. 2004)). As a result, the lawsuit was remanded to the District Court for the jury trial, which was ultimately held in October 2004.

The Liquid Dynamics trial and appeal team at Fitch Even was led by Steve Schroer, Mark Hetzler and Jon Birmingham.

The two Federal Circuit opinions in the noted case can be accessed via the following links: Liquid Dynamics Corporation v. Vaughan Company, Inc., 05-1105, -1325, -1366, -1399 and Liquid Dynamics Corporation v. Vaughan Company, Inc., 355 F.3d 1361 (Fed. Cir. 2004).

Fitch Even Partner Named IPLAC Vice-President

May 18, 2006

Fitch Even congratulates partner Joseph Shipley for being elected Vice-President of the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago (IPLAC). IPLAC was founded in 1884, has about 1,000 members, and provides a wide range of programs and services to the profession. Mr. Shipley continues the firm's long-standing support for this fine organization.

Fitch Even Helps Organize USPTO Conference In Chicago

May 4, 2006

Fitch Even partner Phil Petti spoke at the "Protecting Your Intellectual Property in China and the Global Marketplace" conference in Chicago. The topic of his speech was the U.S. International Trade Commission's enforcement of intellectual property rights.

Fitch Even and several clients were also invited to meet with the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property & Deputy Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to discuss global IP issues and the newly proposed rule changes affecting U.S. patent prosecution practice.

The conference was organized with the assistance of Fitch Even, and was sponsored by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Fitch Even Partners Present At 2006 LES International Conference In Seoul

April 12, 2006

Partners John Lyhus and Stephen Favakeh will speak regarding design patent and trademark protection for the automotive industry at the Licensing Executives Society International Conference in Seoul, South Korea, on April 12, 2006. Speakers from Europe and Japan will also be making presentations on related subject matter.

More information about the 2006 LES International Conference can be found at www.lesi2006.or.kr.

Fitch Even Partner Serves As Panelist At MCCA Roundtable On Global IP Management

March 17, 2006

On March 16, 2006, during the 5th Annual CLE Expo in Chicago, partner Stephen Favakeh discussed strategies for developing global patent portfolios, including various patent filing strategies. The Global IP Management panel discussion was organized by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association.

Fitch Even Client Chamberlain Wins Reversal At Federal Circuit

March 15, 2006

In a March 15, 2006 memorandum opinion, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed an adverse judgment against Fitch Even client, The Chamberlain Group, Inc., the nation's leading garage door opener manufacturer. Chamberlain was sued by Microchip Technology Incorporated in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Microchip sought a declaratory judgment of non-infringement, invalidity and breach of a license agreement regarding several of Chamberlain's patents protecting its remote control technology. Chamberlain denied all allegations, and further denied that there was any justiciable controversy between the parties.

The District Court found that there was a justiciable controversy between the parties and, after several years of pretrial proceedings, granted summary judgment on all three grounds in favor of Microchip. Chamberlain appealed, and the Federal Circuit agreed with Chamberlain that there was no justiciable controversy. The Federal Circuit vacated the district court's entry of summary judgment in its entirety and remanded the action to the District Court with instructions to dismiss the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction based on the lack of a justiciable controversy.

Chamberlain is represented by Karl Fink, Rudy Kratz and John Flannery.

Fitch Even Partner Presents Seminar On Trade Secret Law

January 27, 2006

On January 6th and 27th, Joseph Nabor presented a program titled "The Basics Of Trade Secret Law" as part of an intellectual property seminar sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Intellectual Property Section. Mr. Nabor's presentation focused on protecting trade secrets and managing confidential disclosures, as well as issues that arise in trade secret disputes.

Fitch Even Recognized For IP Litigation In 2006 Illinois Super Lawyers Survey

January 19, 2006

Fitch Even is pleased to announce that four partners from the firm's Chicago office have been named Illinois Super Lawyers in 2006 for their accomplishments in the field of intellectual property litigation. John Flannery, Tim Maloney, Phil Petti and Karl Fink were each selected based on an annual survey of active lawyers in the United States and panel review conducted by Law & Politics magazine. These attorneys, each of whom devotes a substantial portion of their practice to patent infringement and other IP litigation matters, have been instrumental in many litigation and trial successes of the firm's clients over the years.