Howrey Forms False Patent Marking Task Force

Washington, DC, January 14, 2010…Howrey has announced the formation of a Patent False Marking Task Force to advise clients about recent developments in the law of false patent marking.  Over the last several years, there has been a significant increase in the number of false patent marking lawsuits filed in district courts throughout the United States.  Many of these lawsuits have been based solely on an allegation that an expired patent number appearing on a product constitutes false marking, rather than an allegation that a product was marked with a patent number that did not actually apply to that product.  A majority of these lawsuits have been filed by qui tam plaintiffs, individuals that have not personally suffered any injury as a result of the alleged false patent marking, but are seeking a monetary bounty for themselves.

A recent decision by the Federal Circuit in The Forest Group, Inc. v. Bon Tool Co., has the potential to increase the monetary damages sought by these qui tam plaintiffs.  As a result, Howrey expects to see a further increase in filing of false patent marking lawsuits, especially those filed by qui tam plaintiffs.  To assist in assessing and defending such lawsuits, Howrey has formed its False Patent Marking Task Force made up of attorneys from across its offices that have experience handling such lawsuits.

Our task force includes lawyers from several of Howrey’s U.S. offices, including:  Jason White, Rob Unikel, Deanna Keysor (Chicago); Alan Grimaldi, William West (Washington DC); Theresa Gillis (New York); John Keville (Houston); Henry Bunsow (San Francisco); Daniel Shvodian (East Palo Alto); and William Rooklidge (Irvine).  Members of our Patent False Marking Task Force have been involved in defending several false patent marking lawsuits at both the district court and appellate court levels, including multiple, recent lawsuits filed by qui tam plaintiffs.  The combined experience of these attorneys gives us the resources necessary to respond to any false marking issues that may arise, including responding to letters threatening false patent marking lawsuits and defending false patent marking lawsuits filed in federal court. 

For more information please contact us at 312-846-5680 or visit Howrey’s website at www.howrey.com/false-patent-marking/

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Founded in 1956, Howrey LLP is a global law firm with over 650 attorneys and more than 50 economic, financial and regulatory consultants. Howrey has offices in Washington DC; Northern Virginia; Houston, Texas; New York, New York; Los Angeles, Irvine, East Palo Alto and San Francisco, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; Chicago, Illinois; London, England; Brussels, Belgium; Paris, France; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Munich, Germany; Madrid, Spain and Taipei, Taiwan. Howrey's affiliate, The CapAnalysis Group, LLC (economic, financial, and litigation consultants) teams with Howrey attorneys as a strategic business resource. A consistent American Lawyer “A-List” and PLC Which lawyer? “Global 50” firm, Howrey is one of the most frequently used law firms by the world’s leading companies. Howrey’s Intellectual Property practice was ranked as a top national IP practice and the Top IP Appellate practice by IP Law & Business, its Antitrust practice topped Global Competition Review’s  “GCR 100” and the firm was named by  The Lawyer as one of the world’s “The Top 50 Litigation Practices of 2009”. As the winner of the 2003 Thomas L. Sager Award from the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, Howrey is committed to the ideals of diversity and is equally committed to the tenets of pro bono and public service. Howrey's “Advantage of Focus” makes it the clear choice for antitrust, intellectual property and complex business dispute resolution. For more information, visit our Web site at www.howrey.com.