Firm News

Oblon Spivak Elects A New Partner

For Immediate Release January 4, 2012 Alexandria, Va. – Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, L.L.P. announces Tia Fenton and Kurt Berger have been elected partners. In addition, Soumya Panda has been elevated to senior associate.

Benchmark Litigation Again Recognizes Oblon Spivak As A Leading Virginia Litigation Firm

For Immediate Release November 17, 2011 Alexandria, Va. -- The intellectual property law firm Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, L.L.P., has been recognized again in the 2012 edition ofBenchmark Litigation as a "Recommended Local Litigation Firm" in Virginia. Richard D. Kelly, the firm's managing shareholder, was identified as a "Local Litigation Star."

Oblon, Spivak's Richard Kelly Quoted in Law360 Regarding Prior Use Rule

Oblon, Spivak's Richard Kelly is quoted in a news article regarding the prior user rights provision of the America Invents Act. Mr. Kelly commented that big technological breakthroughs will always be patented because the inventors will want to protect them. But prior user rights could make the trade secret route more appealing when it is debatable whether the invention is patent-eligible.

Law360, November 10, 2011

Oblon Spivak Again Named a Best Law Firm for Intellectual Property Law by U.S. News & World Report

For Immediate Release November 9, 2011 Alexandria, Va. –The intellectual property law firm Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, L.L.P. is proud to announce that the firm, for the second year in a row, is ranked nationally for Intellectual Property Law in the "Best Law Firms" list, published by U.S. News & World Report in tandem with Best Lawyers. Additionally, the firm is ranked highly at the metropolitan level in Washington, D.C.

U.S. News & World Report in tandem with Best Lawyers

Oblon, Spivak's Richard Kelly Quoted in Business on Main Regarding the Impact of the New Patent Reform Bill

Oblon, Spivak's Richard Kelly is quoted in a recent news article regarding the impact of the new patent reform bill. Mr. Kelly commented that most large corporations and entrepreneurial high-tech organizations are already wired to file patents as quickly as possible. "Fundamentally, the U.S. is just one slice of major world markets. Active patent filers in the U.S. know not to risk the loss of patent rights in other countries or diminish the value of their patents by delaying U.S. filings. Further, in cases involving a dispute between two parties regarding who was first to invent, the party who was first to file usually wins anyway."

Business on Main, September 27, 2011

President Obama signed H.R. 1249 on Friday, September 16th

President Obama signed into law the "America Invents Act" on Friday, September 16, 2011 at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia. The America Invents Act as passed by the House of Representatives was approved by the U.S. Senate last week. This means that all statutory US PTO fees will be subject to a 15% surcharge beginning on September 26, 2011.

PTO Fee Increases Effective 9/26/2011

A Listing of PTO Fee Increases Effective 9/26/2011 can be found at the following link:

Five Oblon Spivak Attorneys Named To Best Lawyers 2012

For Immediate Release September 15, 2011 Alexandria, Va –Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, L.L.P. is pleased to announce that five partners have been named to the 2012 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Charles L. Gholz, Gregory J. Maier, Gerald J. Mossinghoff, Arthur I. Neustadt and Norman F. Oblon are all recognized as among the best in Intellectual Property Law. Best Lawyers is widely regarded as the preeminent referral source to the legal profession in the United States.

Senate passes the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act

It was announced yesterday evening that the "Leahy-Smith America Invents Act" (H.R. 1249) has been passed by both houses of congress and sent to President Obama for signature. The President has stated that he will sign the bill into law which we expect to occur in the next few days.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Proposes to Redefine "Materiality" in its Duty of Disclosure Rules Consistent with Federal Circuit's Therasense Decision

On July 21, 2011, the USPTO published proposed rules §§ 1.56(b) and 1.555(b) to revise the materiality standard for the duty to disclose information to the USPTO in patent applications and reexamination proceedings in view of the Federal Circuit's decision in Therasense, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson & Co., ___ F.3d ___, 2011 WL 2028255 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (en banc). The revision to section 1.56, which is substantively identical to the proposed new section 1.555(b) is as follows: