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

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• News & Updates
• Inter Partes Review
• First Ever CMB Denial
• Largest Patent Award

News & Updates

Trademark Protection for Low-THC Cannabis and CBD Products

Anton Hopen, Smith & Hopen, PA ( 5/3/2019) As of May 3, 2019, over 600 pending trademark applications were in limbo while the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) issued refusals on otherwise registrable trademarks because they claimed cannibis or cannabis-derived goods such as cannabidiol (CBD).   The basis for the refusals ... read full article

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Florida Universities Building Large Patent Portfolios

Anton Hopen, Smith & Hopen, PA ( 4/22/2019) TAMPA, FLORIDA.   Four patent-prolific universities in Florida have generated nearly 3,000 U.S. patents for their institutions in the last 10 years.  This does not count foreign patents on the same technology.   The University of South Florida produced 978 of these patents c... read full article

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

• University of South Florida
• University of North Florida
• University of Central Florida
• Colorado State University
• University of Colorado
• Moffitt Cancer Center
• Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
• Florida Gulf Coast University
• Florida Polytechnic
• Polytechnic University of Turin

Recently Awarded Patents

Patent	Client	Invention
10,315,920 6/11/2019	The Florida State University Research Foundation, Inc.	method of synthesizing soluble polyphosphides by conversion of red phosphorous using alkali metal compounds and organic solvents
10,309,147 6/4/2019	Faour's Mirror Corp.	a frameless impact door system
10,302,384 5/28/2019	DBDROP, Inc.	a firearm barrel fitment sleeve and method of use
10,292,725 5/21/2019	University of South Florida	an incision-less laparoscopic instrument
10,292,889 5/21/2019	University of South Florida	a compliant bimanual rehabilitation device and method of use thereof
10,285,935 5/14/2019	University of South Florida	a non-invasive method for direct delivery of therapeutics to the spinal cord in the treatment of spinal cord pathology
10,291,613 5/14/2019	Syniverse Technologies, LLC	mobile device authentication
10,292,190 5/14/2019	Syniverse Technologies, LLC	a method of selecting and interconnecting distributed packet core nodes
10,287,000 5/14/2019	Hyalta Aeronautics, Inc.	a hybrid lighter-than-air vehicle
10,280,606 5/7/2019	Sam Barry Smith	a non-leaking toilet
10,280,580 5/7/2019	USA Intellectual Property Holding, Inc.	an anti-corrosion structure anchor
10,283,871 5/7/2019	University of Central Florida Research Foundation, Inc.	a reconfigurable antenna array and associated method of use

Recently Issued Trademarks