Mechanical Arts Practice Group

Dunlap Codding’ roots reach back to the 1950s when Jerry J. Dunlap, Oklahoma City’s first private practice patent attorney, filed a patent application on August 28, 1958, that resulted in the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 2,944,361 covering a new and innovative “fishing rod holder” — it was only the beginning.

We are one of the leaders in the United States when it comes to the quality and strength of our mechanical engineering practice.  We represent more than 100 mechanical engineering clients from around the globe.  In additional to being ranked as one of the top two patent law firms in the United States, we have consistently been a leader in new approaches to patenting mechanical inventions.

Over the past fifty years, Dunlap Codding has obtained mechanical patents covering virtually every machine known to man: Innovative oil field equipment that contributed to Oklahoma’s oil boom; Concrete and asphalt machinery used to build and connect U.S. highways leading to Oklahoma’s unique position as the Crossroads of America; and broad platform patents that helped national and international companies secure their position in the global marketplace.

The Mechanical Practice Group highlights include:

  • Ranked No. 2 in the United States by Patent Ratings LLC for the Quality and Value of Mechanical Patents obtained for DCR’s clients.
  • Listed in top 200 Patent Firms by Intellectual Property Today for the past 12 years based upon the number of issued patents.
  • Representing some of the most prolific U.S. inventors, including the most prolific living U.S. inventor, the inventor having the second all time highest number of issued patents, and Oklahoma Inventor Hall of Fame Inductee Bill Swisher of CMI Corporation, whose modern repaving techniques revolutionized roadway construction by allowing for the removal and relaying of pavement in a single operation.

A Strategic Partnering Example

For a client in the oil and gas field equipment business, we performed a state of the art search and analysis of the current technology, beyond the narrow inventive concept.  We strategically prepared and filed patent applications directed at disrupting the then current state of the art.  We leveraged the pending and issued claims to exact a buyout exit strategy.  The time to market and time to liquidation event was shortened because of our strategic analysis and the disruption in the industry caused by the claims.

Wide Ranging Expertise

Our mechanical patent success lies in our professionals’ wide-ranging skill, acumen, and breadth of practical, hands-on experience — aeronautics to automotive parts and accessories, robotic systems to flower pot covers, and fishing lines to pest control devices.

Whether the device includes 1 or 1,000,000 parts, Dunlap Codding’s quality and value consistently rises to the top.