Smith Hopen, Patent Attorneys - Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Florida

Smith & Hopen represents clients world-wide in a practice limited exclusively to intellectual property law including patents, trademarks and related litigation. The firm is one of the largest IP practices in the State of Florida and represents clients ranging from independent inventors to Fortune 100 institutions. All attorneys at Smith & Hopen are registered to practice before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.

Anton Hopen

Board Certified, AV-Rated

Nicholas Pfeifer and Andriy Lytvyn

Ahead of oral arguments at the U.S. Federal Circuit on an IPR appeal.

Andriy Lytvyn

Interviewed by NBC on trademark law

News & Updates

Smith Hopen Partner Andriy Lytvyn Board Certified

Anton Hopen, Smith & Hopen, PA ( 4/17/2019) Andriy Lytvyn earned his board certification in Intellectual Property Law by the Florida Bar this year. He is one of only 141 attorneys currently holding this certification. According to the Florida Bar, board certification recognizes attorneys’ special knowledge, skills and proficienc... read full article

Beware of Trademark Scams

Steven Forte, Smith & Hopen, PA ( 4/16/2019) Your brand is critical to the success of your business and obtaining a federal trademark registration is an effective strategy for shielding your brand against infringement. When you register your trademark, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will publish your trademark registrati... read full article

Private Sales Invoke AIA "On Sale" Bar to Patentability

Paul Murty, Smith & Hopen, PA ( 1/22/2019) On January 22, 2019, the Supreme Court unanimously decided that private sales of inventions invoke the on sale bar to patentability of 35 U.S.C. § 102 (post-America Invents Act, or AIA). See Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., 586 U.S. __ (2019). Prior to the passa... read full article

New Guidelines May Help Patent Software

Anton Hopen, Smith & Hopen, PA ( 5/8/2018) The pendulum may have swung back to patenting software again. Since 2014 when the Supreme Court handed down its inscrutable ruling in Alice v. CLS Bank International, 134 S. Ct. 2347 (2014), the patentability of software and computer systems became a gray area of law. Some also felt that former USPT... read full article

Two recent Supreme Court decisions shape the scope of post-grant patent proceedings

Paul Murty, Smith & Hopen, PA ( 5/8/2018) On April 24, 2018, the Supreme Court announced opinions in two cases involving patent rights—Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC, and SAS Institute, Inc. v. Iancu. The long-awaited Oil States opinion decided on the legality of inter partes reviews (IPRs); simila... read full article

New - USPTO Issues Guidance on Patent-Eligible Subject Matter (35 U.S.C. 101)

Paul Murty, Smith & Hopen, PA ( 4/20/2018) As many software-related inventors can attest, patent protection can be difficult to obtain for software applications. Most software-related patent applications are rejected by United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) examiners, particularly under 35 U.S.C. § 101 – the statute th... read full article

More News

Inter Partes Review

February 22, 2017: Smith & Hopen as counsel for Petitioner filed its Reply in a Federal Circuit Appeal against Apple Computer on two decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Petitioner argues that the PTAB found that prior art rendered Petitioner's patent invalid when even opposing counsel conceded a missing limitation was not met. Both sides are currently awaiting the schedule for oral arguments in Washington, D.C. to be set.
August 4, 2016: The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) denied institution of a trial (IPR2016-00539 ) against patent number 7,748,325 for all claims asserted. Smith & Hopen prosecuted the original patent before the USPTO and defended the patent before the PTAB. The same patent was also found valid and infringed by the U.S. Court of Claims which awarded a verdict amounting to approximately $70 million over the life of the patent. This is the largest known patent award in Court of Claims history. The non-institution decision is final and non-appealable.
October 6, 2015: The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) denied institution of a trial (IPR201500569 ) against patent number RE44748 for all claims asserted in a related litigation. Smith & Hopen wrote, prosecuted and defended the patent before the PTAB. The same patent was also found valid and infringed the same month by a jury in Tampa, Florida that awarded a multi-million dollar verdict.
March 4, 2015: The PTAB denied institution of a trial (IPR201401414 ) against patent number RE43904. Smith & Hopen both wrote the subject patent and represented the patent owner before the PTAB, opposing counsel: Kilpatrick Towsend & Stockton LLP.

First Ever CMB Denial

February 18, 2014: Defended US Patent RE43904 against a Covered Business Method Review before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Obtained the first ever non-institution decision in history (CBM2013-00047)

Largest Court of Claims Patent Award

December 19, 2014: the U.S. Court of Federal Claims found that the United States Army infringed on U.S. Pat. 7,748,325 (written by Smith & Hopen) for a Firearms Projectile that replaces lead-based ammunition.
The court initially awarded the patent owner $15,617,533.68 in damages as of April 30, 2013.
With interest, that judgment should be in the $25m range by the end of 2015 and approximately $70,000,000 over the life of the patent (Court's Order).

Representative Clients

Recently Awarded Patents

Patent	Client	Invention
10,264,409 4/16/2019	Syniverse Technologies, LLC	a virtual dynamic pool of SIM-based devices
10,258,852 4/16/2019	Walker Sports Innovations, LLC	a garage storage net
10,263,456 4/16/2019	The Florida State University Research Foundation, Inc.	an integrated three-port bidirectional DC-DC converter for renewable energy sources
10,258,607 4/16/2019	H. Lee Moffitt Cancer and Research Institute, Inc.	a method of increasing intratumoral PHE and reducing acid-mediated invasion
10,253,208 4/9/2019	University of South Florida	Cutin-Like Materials with Advanced Functionalities and Methods of Manufacture
10,257,693 4/9/2019	Syniverse Technologies, LLC	a System and Method for Virtual Global Title Translation Service
10,252,304 4/9/2019	En RX Chemical, Inc.	a Soil and Water Contamination Remediation Injector and Method of Use
10,251,955 4/9/2019	The Regents of the University of Colorado, a body corporate	a Heparin-mimicking sulfonated reverse thermal gel for the delivery of heparin-binding therapeutic proteins
10,257,966 4/9/2019	Marianna Juhaszne Molnar	a shielding device to reduce the impact of electromagnetic radiation
10,246,025 4/2/2019	University of South Florida	a kayak loading system
10,232,416 3/19/2019	EnRX Chemical, Inc.	a corrugated and slotted injection system and method of use
10,232,956 3/19/2019	SkyGenex, Inc.	aerobridge providing multiple access points to aircraft vehicle

View more patents.

Recently Issued Trademarks

Registration	Mark	Registrant
5,713,753 4/2/2019	YOUR NEW LIFE STARTS HERE for addiction treatment services; rehabilitation patient care services	Riverside Recovery of Tampa, LLC.
5,712,475 4/2/2019	Radar Symbol Logo for downloadable mobile applications for managing pest control services	Verifume Corp..
5,714,570 4/2/2019	QR=QQCC for counseling in the field of developing, strengthening and sustaining a well-balanced marriage	Relationship Magic Academy, LLC.
5,707,098 3/26/2019	GLOBAL SPORTS ALLIANCE for timing of sports events; organization of sports competitions and events	Global Sports Alliance, Inc..
5,709,459 3/26/2019	OXDS for interior design services	Oxford Exchange Design Studio, LLC.
5,698,300 3/12/2019	DELIVERY 360 for electronic processing of insurance claims and payment data exclusively between financial institutions, merchants, and insurance companies, the foregoing excluding banking services	VPAY, Inc..
5,698,301 3/12/2019	DISBURSEMENT 360 for electronic processing of insurance claims and payment data exclusively between financial institutions, merchants, and insurance companies, the foregoing excluding banking services	VPAY, Inc..
5,698,922 3/12/2019	FIT FOR SNACKING for edible bark containing protein	Pervine Foods, LLC.
5,693,724 3/5/2019	Stylized Bull Logo for providing courses of instruction for others at the university level; research in the field of education; arranging and conducting athletic events and tournaments, exhibitions for entertainment purposes, conferences for entertainment purposes, live entertainment performances and festivals for cultural or entertainment purposes	University of South Florida.
5,677,498 2/19/2019	OPAL UNPACKED for on-line journals, namely, blogs featuring travel destination, dining and lodging information	Portsmouth Corporate Financial Services, Inc..
5,673,056 2/12/2019	INNOVATIVE FOODSERVICE DESIGN TEAM for interior design services, namely, foodservice and hospitality planning and design	Louis Wohl & Sons, Inc..
5,673,504 2/12/2019	VERTEBRAE for environmental sampling and remediation device, namely, injection well strings comprised of pipes for use in soil and ground water remediation	EN RxChemical, Inc..
5,673,899 2/12/2019	IN TOUCH for touch screens	In Touch Electronics, LLC.

More trademarks issued through Smith & Hopen