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News About DC

IN THIS DAY AND AGE, NEWS TRAVELS FASTER THAN EVER BEFORE.

And when it’s about Dunlap Codding, our team and our accomplishments, it all lands right here.
Dunlap Codding Listed As One Of The Fastest Firms At The U.S. Patent Office
Posted Dec 7, 2015 at 10:52 am See More

Dunlap Codding was recently identified as the second fastest patent firm at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for inventions falling within a broad range of technologies, including fields as diverse as organic chemistry, fuel cells, adhesives, and food (Technology Center 1700).  Juristat—Moneyball for Lawyers—designated this ranking based on the average amount of time required for completing the patenting process at the USPTO.  The average amount of time from filing to completion for all technology categories at the USPTO is 35.8 months; with the average time for TC 1700 being 36.6 months.  Dunlap Codding’s average elapsed time was 30.5 months, more than six months faster than the average.  

Other firms ranked among the top ten were Jones Day (#10), Merchant Gould (#4), Pepper Hamilton (#3), and Porter Hedges (#1).  Juristat chose firms from IP Today’s top firms for 2015 which had at least 100 disposed patent applications in the technology center. 

Nick Rouse, Dunlap Codding’s Managing Director, noted that Juristat’s findings underscored one of the firm’s key values:  nimble, prompt, responsive service to clients.  “We get results quickly because of our in-depth experience at the USPTO and understanding of the underlying technologies covered by TC 1700.” 

Dunlap Codding Director Jordan Sigale Quoted in Article on “Benchslaps”
Posted Dec 4, 2015 at 9:33 am See More

Bill Donahue authored an article on copyright beatdowns and benchslaps in Law360 on November 20.  “No matter the area of law, frustration appears to be the common factor behind the phenomenon that has come to be known as the “benchslap.””  Donahue added: “Judges see a lot nonsensical behavior from the attorneys and clients who enter their courtrooms, and the vast majority of the time, they respond in the measured, equitable fashion that their position of power demands. But every once and a while, things bubble over.”

“Judges see a lot of questionable lawsuits,” said Jordan Sigale, an intellectual property litigator with the firm Dunlap Codding. “Their dockets are getting larger, and what we expect of these people involves a heck of a lot of work for not so much pay.”

Commenting on judges using colorful language in the face of apparently bogus lawsuits, Sigale  also said, “It could have been one frivolous complaint too many that week, and she saw an opportunity to have some fun with it,” Sigale said. “It seems like a good way to not melt down.”

Dunlap Codding Director Jordan A. Sigale Quoted in Law 360 on 5 Times NOT To File An AIA Petition
Posted Nov 19, 2015 at 15:46 pm See More

On November 17, Erin Coe wrote, “5 Times NOT To File An AIA Petition.”  Coe said, “The America Invents Act reviews have emerged as an effective tool for attacking patents, but they may not always be the best response when a company is targeted in an infringement suit.”  Dunlap Codding Director Jordan Sigale opined on two of the five times.  Discussing when the PTAB isn’t the superior forum, he said, “When the prior art and the patent claims are close to each other, defendants may have an easier time before a judge or jury than before administrative law judges at the PTAB who are usually long-time patent examiners.” 

Regarding the fifth time not to file an AIA petition—when prior art can lead to amendments—Sigale noted that, “Going forward, accused infringers are going to have to look more carefully at whether their prior art references could help patent owners bolster their patents….There’s a possibility that they can amend their patent at the PTAB, and that doesn’t exist in court.”

Associate Julie Langdon’s Article on Social Media is Published by Corporate Counsel
Posted Nov 19, 2015 at 15:22 pm See More

Corporate Counsel ran Julie Langdon’s article, “Question No. 1 for the Lawyer on Social Media:  What Not to Share?” on October 1.  The full article is instructive, and her top tips in a nutshell are:

  1. Be Wary of Self Promotion
  2. Keep Your Client’s Information Confidential
  3. Know Your Social Media Discovery Limits
  4. Do Not Have Communications with Judicial Officers
  5. And…Think Before You Post
Jordan Sigale, Dunlap Codding Director and Co-Practice Group Leader, Quoted in Law360
Posted Oct 15, 2015 at 10:22 am See More

On September 14, 2015, Erin Coe, quoted Jordan Sigale in an article entitled “6 Tips For Using An Expert Witness to Win An IP Trial.”  Coe wrote, “[P] icking the right expert witness who resonates with jurors can be a critical factor for bringing home a win.” 

Sigale said, “I look for expert witnesses who take a position and whatever they believe, they hold it to their core, which either works for my case and I hire them, or it doesn’t, and I either figure out a way to use that opinion or I don’t hire them,” he said. “If I only go with an expert that adopts the opinion I want to hear, opposing counsel is going to shake the crud out of the expert.”

Douglas J. Sorocco, Dunlap Codding Shareholder and Practice Group Leader, Quoted in Corporate Counsel Article
Posted Oct 15, 2015 at 10:06 am See More

On October 13, 2015, Lisa Shuchman wrote an article for Corporate Counsel covering a 22-page legal opinion issued in September by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) regarding the use of F**K.  The TTAB denied the appeal of a ruling denying trademark registration to an Italian apparel company for one of its marks: “F**K Project.

Doug Sorocco was quoted as saying, “Five to ten years ago, this would have been a slam dunk case,” says Douglas Sorocco, a partner at the Intellectual Property law firm Dunlap Codding. “The panel would have ruled unanimously that this mark was scandalous or immoral and could not be registered.”

Read more: http://www.corpcounsel.com/id=1202739728336/Trademark-Appeals-Board-Opinion-Has-People-Asking-What-the-FK#ixzz3oeYqhAhG

Emily E. Campbell, Dunlap Codding Shareholder and Practice Group Leader Quoted in LifeZette
Posted Oct 15, 2015 at 9:55 am See More

LifeZette, recently quoted Emily Campbell in an article by Christian Toto on “The Politicization of Music.”

Toto wrote, “In recent years, as pop music became entrenched in our lives, candidates began choosing Billboard hits to boost their electoral chances. Emily Campbell, an attorney with Dunlap Codding, said in most situations the candidates in question backed down if they were challenged with legal action by the corresponding artists.

Politicians would stand on firmer ground if they didn’t play the songs in question repeatedly, and obtained the proper license in the first place, Campbell said. But campaign songs are like jingles, she said, and to work best they need to resonate and be remembered by potential voters. That demands repetition.”

Dunlap Codding Shareholder Emily E. Campbell Named an Oklahoma Rising Star 2015
Posted Oct 8, 2015 at 10:45 am See More

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA—October 8, 2015— Dunlap Codding is pleased to announce that Emily E. Campbell has been named to the Oklahoma Rising Stars 2015 list for Intellectual Property as one of the top up-and-coming attorneys in Oklahoma. Campbell was previously listed as a Rising Star in 2010 and in 2013-2014.  Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in a state receive this honor. 

Campbell is a shareholder and practice group leader at Dunlap Codding, providing strategic counsel to clients on trademarks, copyrights, Internet law, and licensing.  She was recently named to the University of Oklahoma’s College of Engineering Industrial & Systems Engineering Advisory Board and the Oklahoma City Geological Society Board of Directors.  She received her J.D. from the Oklahoma City University School of Law and received her B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Oklahoma.  Campbell is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Dunlap Codding, with offices in Austin, Chicago, Oklahoma City, and Washington, D.C., serves sophisticated international, national, and regional clients.  Established in 1957 as Oklahoma’s original intellectual property firm, Dunlap Codding remains the region’s largest and most versatile IP boutique providing counsel in the areas of patent, trademark, copyright, and entertainment law as well as related litigation and licensing services.

Dunlap Codding is a member of Primerus, an International Society of Law Firms.

Dunlap Codding Sponsors the 2015 Women in Law Conference
Posted Sep 23, 2015 at 11:28 am See More

The Oklahoma Bar Association’s Women in Law Committee held its annual Women in Law Conference on September 18, 2015, in Oklahoma City. Dunlap Codding was a proud sponsor of the event. The conference topic this year was Fearless Leadership and featured keynote speaker, Carey Lohrenz, the first female Tomcat F-14 Fighter pilot. The conference also included discussions by panels of leading female attorneys from the community, the Oklahoma Bar Association, the Oklahoma legislature, and the Oklahoma judiciary. 

Jordan Sigale Quoted in Bloomberg BNA Article re Apple v. Samsung
Posted Sep 23, 2015 at 9:16 am See More

Bloomberg BNA reported on September 18, 2015, that “Samsung must remove or replace Apple-patented features from its smartphones and tablets, according to a Sept. 17 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Apple Inc. v. Samsung Elecs. Co., Fed. Cir., 2014-1802, 9/17/15).”  The court was divided in this ruling, offering three separate opinions.  The majority, however, held that Apple had shown a connection between the patented feature and downstream sales, noting that the patent features were important to consumers.  In a concurring view, Judge Jimmie V. Reyna “said that a patentee’s reputational harm will “certainly” occur “when customers find the patentee’s innovations appearing in a competitor’s products.””

Jordan Sigale said, “The real crux of the majority’s opinion is its holding that to prove irreparable harm the patentee need not prove in a multi-featured product that the infringing feature was the sole feature driving consumer demand for the product.”

Disputes between Apple and Samsung include two cases tried in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on different sets of patents, according to Bloomberg.  “The U.S. Supreme Courot in eBay, Inc. v. MercExchange LLC, 547 U.S. 388, 78 U.S.P.Q. 2d 1577 (2006) (72 PTCJ 50, 5/19/06), chastised the appeals court for defaulting to an injunction for patent infringement, absent a “sound” reason for denying it.”   In the case at hand, “[u]nderlying the three opinions is a dispute in the Federal Circuit about injunctions generally.” 

Sigale put the differing views in perspective, as to how eBay addresses the circumstances of cases like this specifically.  “As much as the Supreme Court made clear in eBay that injunctive relief should not automatically follow every finding of patent infringement, the Federal Circuit made clear today in Apple IV that not every infringing feature in a multi-feature product should receive an automatic pass on irreparable harm either.”

Bloomberg noted that the Federal Circuit, should it decide to take the case en banc, “may have more to resolve than what to do with injunctions on multi-featured products specifically.  The court’s decision vacates the denial of a permanent injunction and remands for further proceedings.”

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DC On Film Row

About DC on Film Row

DC on Film Row is a free event space open to everyone in our community.

We like to say that the space is a “home for creatives and innovators, home builders and the homeless, celebrators and the celebrated” so people understand that we are inclusive and want everyone from throughout our community using our space.

Our goal is to celebrate the incredible diversity of creativity, innovation, and passion within Oklahoma City and to provide a venue—free of charge—to those groups and individuals working to bind us all together and make our home a cooler and better place. No strings attached—no extensive rules to follow. We simply ask that all of our neighbors be honored and that all viewpoints be respected. Our criteria for use is simple: If the event, group, or meeting is something which strengthens our community and brings us all together, the space is available for use.

The space has hosted everything from charitable fundraisers to an underground nightclub party to celebrate Canterbury Choral Society’s 45th anniversary season. We host dinners for the OKC homeless population most Monday evenings where upwards of 250 people are served—we provide the space and soft drinks and a local church provides the food. We’ve hosted university planning retreats and monthly local rock concerts.

Every Wednesday, we open up the courtyard for lunch, invite a local food truck to set up outside our gates, and welcome our downtown neighbors into the space for a bit of socialization.

Our never-ending soda fountain seems to be the biggest hit with some of our neighbors while others spend time playing pool or simply chatting about what is happening on the weekend.

For October we turn the space into a haunted house and invite the neighborhood children to come out and trick-or-treat.

Got an idea for how to use the space? Just ask us – we’re almost certain to say yes!

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Industries Served

Biotechnology

LIFE SCIENCES AND BIOCHEMISTRY
Leveraging Patent Portfolios

Our professionals routinely assist legacy and start-up companies in the acquisition and exploitation of patent portfolios of cutting edge research in the areas of pharmaceuticals, drug formulation, medical technology, drug screening, inflammation inhibitors, regulation of skin pigmentation, testing for environmental pollution, novel treatments of septic shock, and water and food quality testing.  We have an exceptional track record in identifying and protecting inventions involving:

  • Pain regulation
  • Tissue grafting
  • Cloning/gene expression/protein production, isolation and characterization
  • Cell surface expressional
  • Medical/surgical anesthetic devices
  • Biocidal formulations and coatings
  • Toxicity screening
  • Enzymatic activity assays
  • Drug delivery systems
  • Developing Portfolio Strategy

We believe that a pragmatic and strategic approach is necessary to ensure that every portfolio is strong on defense as well as on offense. Whether it is a core, a platform, a fence-picket or a poker-chip technology, Dunlap Codding has the depth of experience and tools necessary to help our clients determine whether it is an asset or simply just an expense.

Chemistry and Chemicals

Chemistry is one of the fundamental foundations of science and technology. Emerging chemical research and experimentation continually produce innovations that shape the field of raw materials and affects the lives of every person on the planet.

Dunlap Codding is fortunate to work with and contribute to the success of many of the leading researchers and entrepreneurs in these areas. From nano-fibers to synthetic and recombinant polymers, Dunlap Codding consistently provides clients with broad-based, cost-effective patent prosecution in the chemical arts.

The depth of our skill and experience is unmatched in our region. We represent several of the largest chemical companies in the world and have shepherded the development of complex patent portfolios and transactional items.

Selected Clients

Invista S.a.r.l. is one of the world’s largest integrated fibers and polymers businesses. The company has a powerful portfolio of some of the most recognized global brands—Lycra®, Stainmaster®, Cordura®—for example. Built on a heritage of innovation, Invista owns more than 700 unique pending or granted U.S. patents, with corresponding patents in nearly all the countries where they have a business presence. We were honored to be one of Invista’s preferred providers of intellectual property services supporting their chemical intermediates and performance fiber initiatives. As part of these efforts, we wrote and prosecuted patents on hundreds of Invista technologies and provided strategic planning and facilitated innovation services to maintain Invista’s technological lead. Notably, Invista relied on our chemical engineering and chemistry expertise for transactional matters requiring complex reviews of freedom to operate, infringement, and invalidity concerns. Recently we provided Invista with the due diligence analysis and opinions required for the placement and construction of a chemical plan requiring a capital investment of more than $1 billion dollars.

Cristal USA Inc. is the United States arm of Cristal Arabia, one of the largest titanium dioxide and performance chemicals producers in the world. As part of our representation of Cristal, we are responsible for the strategic development and management of Cristal’s intellectual property portfolio, including the patent assets of Millennium Inorganic Chemicals—a wholly owned subsidiary of Cristal. Cristal and Millennium’s technologies encompass titanium dioxide, titanium metal, performance chemicals, and DeNOx technologies for removing nitrous oxide from the exhaust of internal combustion engines. We have developed a proprietary process for the identification of patenting opportunities, and use the process in facilitated sessions with technical and business personnel of Millennium. This proprietary process currently tracks more than 100 companies and approximately 1,000 intellectual property documents.

We work with DuPont Performance Elastomers to facilitate the development of new technologies and patenting strategies around DPE’s core elastomer technologies. In addition to such strategic planning, we provide assistance and guidance to DuPont’s in-house legal staff and technical champions.

Technology Focus:
Nanotechnology

We obtained multiple patent families for Dr. Daniel Resasco, a University of Oklahoma professor of chemical engineering. Dr. Resasco’s pioneering work in sulfur tolerant catalysts and nanotechnology resulted in the first method for making carbon nanotubes in commercial quantities.

Surface Technology

We represent international chemical companies such as SDC Technologies Inc., a world leader in the development and manufacturing of polymeric high-performance abrasion resistant coating systems for application to plastic and glass materials. Dunlap Codding helped SDC develop patent portfolios involving several chemical arts such as nanotechnology, material sciences, and state of the art functional surface coating technologies. SDC’s considerable patent portfolio secured its position as a world-wide industry leader providing the chemical marketplace with enhancements required for the materials of tomorrow.

Polymers

We work extensively with clients involved with polymers, polymeric coating compositions and resinous compositions having enhanced color, optical clarity, thermal shock, and impact resistance. Dunlap Codding obtained patent protection for Dr. William Franks’ innovative methods for polymerizing soybean oil. Dr. Franks’ methods led to the development of the first commercially available one hundred percent soybean oil based inks. Dunlap Codding also has expertise in the areas of petrochemicals and water repellent compositions for cellulose containing materials.

Environmental & Green Technologies

We have procured patent rights in various fields of environmental science. Dunlap Codding obtained patents for one of the first water-based inks that is completely free of volatile organic compounds. These inks are water-resistant upon curing and can be printed on polymer films. The inks have won numerous awards and accolades for the impact they have had on environmental quality and safety. Dunlap Codding was also privileged to successfully prosecute the patent that protects the state of the art technology for using sophisticated surfactants to remediate underground pollution. This new technology may also revolutionize the household detergent industry.

The challenges inherent in the specialized field of procuring and protecting chemical intellectual property rights mandate working with legal experts who are well versed in the chemical arts. Our diverse and knowledgeable team of patent attorneys and agents includes former research chemists with extensive chemical background at the doctoral level, a wealth of scientific knowledge gained from industry experience and a former corporate patent general counsel having responsibility for a chemical subsidiary of a major corporation.

Life Sciences

We provide the insight and practical advice required by innovative companies to compete effectively in the marketplace.

Over the past 20 years, life sciences, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical ventures set new records for research and capital investment. Just as the life sciences are the building blocks of life itself, new biotechnologies consistently push the intellectual property envelope, requiring highly specialized and focused representation. Dunlap Codding assists many of these emerging growth companies in the development of their business plans, as well as securing strategic life science patent portfolios that are used for offense as well as defense.

Our life sciences and pharmaceutical practice has grown with the evolving needs of our clients. This evolution is evident in the increased number of Ph.D. level scientists moving into the field of patent prosecution. Along with our experienced patent professionals, top caliber technical advisors having varied academic and industry backgrounds complete our Life Sciences and Pharmaceuticals Practice Group.

Our proficiencies are a reflection of our extensive legal and scientific backgrounds including Doctorate and other advanced degrees in Chemistry, Botany, Plant Physiology, Population, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. We have also served as adjunct faculty members at several universities including the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and Oklahoma City University School of Law.

Our clients benefit from our professionalism, efficiency, and devotion to their individual intellectual property needs. We provide advice and counseling to medical and biotechnology companies including high-tech startups, university laboratories, research institutions, and established biotechnology pioneers.

We provide the personal attention that results in successful patent portfolios. Dunlap Codding’s expertise extends into all areas of biotechnology including glycobiology, biochemistry, immunology, microbiology, virology, genetics, developmental biology, cell biology, molecular biology, pharmaceutical compositions, molecular diagnostics and techniques, and medical devices and equipment.

A Strategic Partnering Example—Medical Devices/Biotechnology
For a client with a medical device designed to maintain blood flow, we performed a complete state of the art search, analyzing more than 300 references. The current “map” contains more than 1,000 references—patent, technical, and literature.

  • We brainstormed with engineering, legal, business and marketing teams to develop a hierarchy of chokepoints and “white space.”
  • We facilitated innovation strategy meetings and currently maintain an online and proprietary database including visualization tools focused on the information collected and analyzed.
  • We helped the client develop a patent strategy with a specific goal of market entry.  Market entry was achieved within 18 months of project initiation.
Additional highlights of include:
Cutting Edge Biotechnology

We were instrumental in securing intellectual property protection for the first process for producing individual endogenously loaded soluble HLA molecules and on the first recombinant methods for producing hyaluronic acid, chondroitin, and heparin. These patent portfolios have led to the creation of five biotechnology companies in several Oklahoma and Texas metroplexes.

We were instrumental in securing broad platform intellectual property protection for preconditioning and treatment of an intrinsic cardiac nervous system using an implantable electrical stimulus.

Immunology

We secured pioneering intellectual property protection for the first process for producing individual endogenously loaded soluble major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. Our deep experience and skill in this area also extends to methods and processes for producing T Cell Receptor-mimics (TCRm) and the use of such mimics for the creation of peptides and antibodies for use in vaccines as well as assaying the potency of vaccines. We are pleased to have represented more than 12 U.S. and/or international companies in the field of immunology and we prosecute more than 100 patent applications worldwide per year on immunology-linked inventions.

We also have specific knowledge and experience in the areas of immune modulation, including the induction of targeted immune responses and the induction of specific immune tolerance, and antibody removal for transplantation technologies.

Oncology

We treat the field of oncology with a multi-disciplinary approach. Most biochemical inventions either have or hope to have some impact on the field of oncology. As such, our approach is to create a team of professionals with diverse backgrounds who can effectively and proactively protect a client’s oncology innovations. For example, we prosecuted and obtained the patent portfolio covering the fire recombinant methods for producing hyaluronic acid, chondroitin, and heparin. These glycosaminoglycans show excellent promise for oncological applications and we have extended the portfolio to cover their use as therapeutic and diagnostic tools. Additionally, many of our immunology clients perform research in the field of oncologic therapeutics—including the use of antibodies, cytolytic delivery of peptides, or conjugates for the targeting and treatment of specific forms of cancer, as well as other methods of upregulating the immune system to recognize cancerous cells as foreign. We are also experienced in diagnostic oncologic technologies, including the use of biomarkers and other diagnostic platforms for identification, progression, metastasis and prognosis.