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

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

Smith Hopen Partner Andriy Lytvyn Board Certified

Anton Hopen, Smith & Hopen, PA ( 12/6/2018) 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

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 US... 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

Six Questions for Building a Brand

Nicholas Pfeifer, Smith & Hopen, PA ( 3/27/2018) 1. Is your brand already in use by another? When creating a brand, it is important to verify that there are no other similar brand names used in connection with similar goods/services. The existence of multiple brand names could cause consumer confusion and pote... 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
10,232,416 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
10,234,552 3/19/2019	University of South Florida	a precise infrastructure mapping using full-waveform inversion of ground penetrating radar signals
10,237,720 3/19/2019	Syniverse Technologies, LLC	an intelligent data routing application and method for providing a home mobile network operator with a location of an outbound roamer
10,220,025 3/5/2019	Florida A&M University	self-emulsifying formulation of CARP-1 functional mimetics
10,225,275 3/5/2019	Syniverse Technologies, LLC	a method for computationally detecting anomalies of digital device behavior on a communications network
10,222,113 3/5/2019	Florida A&M University	a solar adiabatic cooling apparatus
10,223,777 3/5/2019	Freedom Scientific, Inc.	selective modification of visual output displayed by cancelling an initial modification effect
10,225,278 3/5/2019	Syniverse Technologies, LLC	a method of assessing real-time security of sequenced packet exchange (SPX) network connection
10,215,769 2/26/2019	The Florida State University Research Foundation, Inc.	a Multi-Fluid Jet Nozzle for Sensor Calibration
10,212,600 2/19/2019	Syniverse Technologies, LLC	a contextual signaling system 7 (SS7) firewall and associated method of use
10,207,617 2/19/2019	Pichael P. Sosa	a reduced-impact-and-recoil headrest

View more patents.

Recently Issued Trademarks

Registration	Mark	Registrant
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.
5,671,547 2/5/2019	STORZEM for mesh net for storing objects	Walker Sports Innovations, LLC.
5,665,863 1/29/2019	NeuronaStem for nutritional supplements	Biogenetix, LLC.
5,647,347 1/8/2019	EXPOSURE MAGIC for cleaning, polishing, and scouring preparations for exposing plaster on swimming pools and spas	Jack's Magic Products, Inc..
5,648,733 1/8/2019	"N' Logo for restaurant and bar services, including restaurant carryout services; restaurant and catering services	Social Holdings, LLC.
5,651,618 1/8/2019	GLORIA GO for a series of books and written articles in the field of romance	4Incentive, Inc..

More trademarks issued through Smith & Hopen