Patent Reexaminations
Reexaminations are an important aspect to modern patent infringement litigation and Novak Druce has earned national recognition for representing companies utilizing patent reexaminations as a litigation tool.
Novak Druce has been a leading filer of litigation driven reexaminations since the inception of the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Central Reexamination Unit in 2005*. The firm currently has a remarkable close to 100% record of requests granted by the USPTO.
Novak Druce is one of the first and only firms to have a dedicated team to handle litigation driven reexaminations in order to provide the commitment and experience necessary to achieve the most favorable results. Novak Druce has represented both defendants and plaintiffs in reexamination proceedings with notable success.
The firm also represents patent owners who have come under attack by the USPTO and is showing a similar success in preserving valid patent claims on these difficult patent owner cases.
Our clients benefit from Novak Druce’s unique and unmatched insight into this practice area.
Leaders of the Reexamination Team include:
- Senior Partner Donald Quigg, former USPTO Commissioner and the founder of reexaminations;
- Partner Stephen Marcus, former senior legal advisor of the Office of Patent Legal Administration (OPLA);
- Partner Michael O'Neill, former Administrative Patent Judge for the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, Reexamination Primary Patent Examiner for the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU), and Primary Patent Examiner;
- Tracy Druce and Gregory Novak, pioneers in current reexamination use and strategy.
Adding to this group is a team of more than 30 attorneys dedicated to litigation driven reexaminations.
*Based on data from the USPTO through December 2010. (Source Data http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal/pair)