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Ann Arbor, Mich. —December 5, 2018—Linda Nattler, a shareholder in the Ann Arbor office of Brinks Gilson & Lione, one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the U.S., and Robert Shereda, Ph.D., a patent agent also in the Ann Arbor office, co-authored the article Patent Agent Privilege Under New PTAB Claim Construction, which was published October 30, 2018 in the legal trade publication, Law 360.
The article reviews how patent agent/client privilege is affected following the final rule published by the USPTO in the Federal Register on October 11, 2018 that sets a new standard for claim construction in certain proceedings heard by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The rule is effective November 13, 2018 and shifts the standard for evaluating claims in inter partes review, post-grant review and covered business method challenges from the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim terms to the Phillips standard. The change aligns the PTAB post-grant proceedings introduced under the Leahy Smith America Invents Act with the claim construction standards applied in federal district courts, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and the U.S. International Trade Commission. The Law 360 article is accessible through this link.
At Brinks, Nattler focuses her intellectual property law practice on patent prosecution, opinion work, and IP portfolio management, with a particular emphasis on the areas of mechanics, electronics, hydraulics and computerized processes. She is chair of Brinks’ Germany task force and co-chair of the green tech practice group, and is an active member of various other practice groups.
Shereda, a biochemist, has academic and industry experience in chemistry and biology. He works with inventors to provide high-quality patent applications related to small molecule pharmaceuticals, biological therapeutics, and medical devices.
Brinks Gilson & Lione
Celebrating more than 100 years of intellectual property law, Brinks Gilson & Lione is one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the US, and helps clients around the world to protect and enforce their intellectual property rights. Our lawyers, patent agents and scientific advisors assist clients in all aspects of patent, trademark, unfair competition, trade secret, and copyright law. Brinks attorneys provide informed counsel with respect to innovations in a range of complex and valuable technologies, including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, bioengineering, industrial manufacturing, electronics and software, and medical devices. More information is at www.brinksgilson.com.
