BSKB News

Michael T. Smith Named New Partner at Birch, Stewart, Kolasch & Birch

BSKB is pleased to announce the promotion of Michael T. Smith as a Partner. Michael T. Smith joined BSKB in 2012 having practiced in the intellectual property field since 2001. Mr. Smith’s practice focuses on all aspects of trademark law, including clearance, prosecution, maintenance, enforcement, and licensing. His practice also includes patent prosecution, litigation in federal district courts, and inter partes matters before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board as well as the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Mr. Smith’s litigation experience includes the representation of clients from a variety of industries, including media, technology, hospitality and manufacturing. Mr. Smith received his bachelor’s degree in biology from West Virginia University and his JD from the University of Akron School of Law.

U.S. Brand Protection & Trademark Seminar Postponed

Birch, Stewart, Kolasch & Birch, LLP recognized by Legal 500.

Birch, Stewart, Kolasch & Birch, LLP has been editorially recommended and ranked in the Patents: Prosecution area of the current edition of Legal 500.

Mike Smith weighs in on a complex trademark battle between LeBron James and a Maryland-based nonprofit in Bloomberg Law

BSKB’s Michael Smith weighs in on a complex trademark battle between LeBron James and a Maryland-based nonprofit.

Stephanie Grosvenor chats with Bloomberg Law about an antitrust case involving two tech giants, Intel Corp. and Apple Inc.

Intel, Apple Using Antitrust as New Weapon in Patent Fights

MaryAnne Armstrong, Ph.D. discusses IP rights related to diagnostic testing

Covid-19 Spotlights Ruling’s Chilling Effect on Diagnostic Tests

BSKB Partners Recognized as IP STARS

BSKB partners MaryAnne Armstrong, Ph.D., Paul C. Lewis, and Michael K. Mutter have been named IP Stars by Managing IP.

Fed. Circ. Revives Part Of Hearing Aid Patent Challenge

Oticon is represented by David R. Anderson and Eugene Perez of Birch Stewart Kolasch & Birch LLP. The case is Cochlear Bone Anchored Solutions AB v. Oticon Medical AB et al., case numbers, 19-1105 and 19-1106, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

James Slattery Selected as Best Lawyer in Baltimore and Washington, DC for 2012

Birch, Stewart, Kolasch & Birch, LLP congratulates partner James M. Slattery, who has been selected as a Best Lawyer® for 2012 in the area of Intellectual Property in Baltimore and Washington, D.C.’s Best Lawyers®. This peer review-based directory is published each year by ALM and The Best Lawyers in America®. Mr. Slattery has been previously honored as a member of Baltimore and Washington D.C.’s Best Lawyers as well as Virginia’s Best Lawyers, also published by ALM and The Best Lawyers in America®.

James Slattery and Binli Guan to Speak at China Trademark Annual Meeting

James Slattery, partner at BSKB, and Binli Guan, IP Advisor at BSKB, have been invited to speak at the 2012 China Trademark Annual Meeting in Kunming. The meeting, sponsored by the Chinese Trademark Association, will be held September 3 to 5, 2012. Mr. Slattery and Ms. Guan will lecture in conjunction with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), addressing particular problems relating to prosecuting trademark applications in the USPTO based on the Madrid Protocol.

Greg Hsu and Binli Guan to Lecture in Taiwan Regarding U.S. IP Law

BSKB partner Greg Hsu and BSKB IP Advisor Binli Guan will present lectures regarding recent changes in U.S. IP law at a one-day seminar in Taipei on March 20, 2013. Mr. Hsu will present a lecture entitled “The Coming of a New Era – Detailed Analysis of the Final Rules and Examination Guidelines of the First Inventor to File System.” Ms. Guan will discuss recent changes in U.S. trademark practice, including the introduction of new gTLD registers and internet use and trademark monitoring. The seminar is sponsored by Wideband IP Office.

Gerald Murphy to Participate in Howard University’s Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice Program

BSKB partner Gerald M. Murphy, Jr. will participate in a panel discussion at Howard University Law School’s 14th Annual IP Law seminar on Hot Topics on Patent Management and Enforcement, on Friday, March 3, 2017. The panel is moderated by Bryan Diner (Finnegan) and will also include Matthew Golden (Mondelez International) and Ankur Shah (Freddie Mac). The program, hosted by Howard University’s Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice, features speakers from government entities, corporations and private practice covering a wide variety of intellectual property topics. Distinguished guests this year include Hon. Susan G. Braden of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, Hon. Raymond T. Chen, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Hon. Dana M. Sabraw of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, and Prof. Lateef Mtima, Founder and Director, Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice. More information can be found here.

Gerald Murphy and Lynde Herzbach to Speak on Inter Partes Review in Light of Cuozzo at Upcoming Complimentary Webinar

BSKB partner Gerald Murphy, Jr. and associate Lynde Herzbach will speak at an upcoming webinar entitled “Cuozzo Challenges Inter Partes Review: So What?” The webinar will be hosted by IP Watchdog’s Gene Quinn as part of Patent Masterminds: An Innography Series. The webinar will discuss Inter Partes Review (IPR) post grant proceedings in light of the Cuozzo Speed Technologies v. Lee case at the Supreme Court and what this means for future IPR proceedings.

Dr. MaryAnne Armstrong Speaks at American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting

BSKB partner MaryAnne Armstrong, Ph.D., lectured at the 2012 National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), held March 25 – 29 in San Diego, California. Dr. Armstrong shared her expertise on duty of disclosure in light of Therasense. Dr. Armstrong is the Chair-Elect of the Chemistry & the Law (CHAL) Division of the American Chemical Society.

Birch, Stewart, Kolasch & Birch names Catherine M. Voisinet as Partner

Falls Church, Virginia – January 16, 2020. Birch, Stewart, Kolasch & Birch, LLP (BSKB), an Intellectual Property law firm based in Falls Church, Virginia, has named Catherine M. Voisinet a partner with the firm effective January 1, 2020. Ms. Voisinet’s practice focuses on counseling domestic and international clients that have interests in many fields of complex technologies, including software and hardware computer technology, electrical, mechanical, business method and bio-informatics.

BSKB to Host Japan Intellectual Property Association’s F8 Course

BSKB is pleased to announce its partnership with the Japan Intellectual Property Association (JIPA) in hosting JIPA’s annual F8 Course on October 24-28, 2016. BSKB attorneys will lecture on post grant proceedings, and provide members an opportunity to participate in a post grant workshop.

BSKB sponsors WIPR – World IP Review Influential Women in IP Project

BSKB is a proud sponsor of the World IP Review Influential Women in IP Project. The initiative will place a positive spotlight on the development and progress that women have made in creating, protecting and securing IP, as well as supporting and enabling women to move forward in their respective industries. Partner MaryAnne Armstrong and Hailey Bureau will represent BSKB at the project’s opening event. Read more here.

BSKB Sponsors 2015 Managing IP U.S. Patent Forum

BSKB is pleased to announce its sponsorship of the 2015 Managing IP U.S. Patent Forum, which will be held in Washington, DC on March 18, 2015. The forum brings together in-house IP counsel, academics, private practice attorneys and others in the IP world for a day of discussion on litigation, licensing, patent protection and important developments in U.S. IP. Speakers include Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO Michelle Lee, as well as others in industry and private practice. BSKB partner Eugene T. Perez will serve as a panel moderator at the forum.

BSKB Represents Petitioner in IPR Invalidation of Claims of BioPharma Patents

March 2015 – BSKB team (Gerald M. Murphy Jr., MaryAnne Armstrong, Ph.D., Eugene T. Perez and Lynde F. Herzbach) represented the petitioner in what appear to be the first final decisions in an inter partes review (IPR) in the biopharmaceutical field. In these decisions, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) held that the challenged claims of two patents owned by Genzyme and one patent owned by Duke University were invalid over prior art. The patents were directed to a method of treating Pompe disease by enzyme replacement therapy. For copies of the decisions, please see IPR2013-00537, IPR2013-00534 and IPR2013-00535.

BSKB Recognized by Legal 500 U.S. for 2016

BSKB has been recognized by the Legal 500 U.S. 2016 for its patent prosecution practice, which includes re-examination and post grant proceedings. The firm was recognized for its recent successful representation “in IPR proceedings at the PTAB challenging three patents relating to the treatment of Pompe disease,” as well as expertise in life sciences, biotechnology and mechanical engineering.