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

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

Supreme Court and Patent Death Squad

Anton Hopen, Smith & Hopen, PA ( 11/28/2017) Inter Partes Review (IPR) is an administrative proceeding before the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). IPRs are generally an 18-month process in which a petitioner seeks invalidation of a patent based on prior publication (e.g., “prior ar... read full article

Track One Prioritized Patent Examination—Cut to the Front of the Line

Paul Murty, Smith & Hopen, PA ( 9/26/2017) Under a typical examination by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the process of receiving an issued patent can take several years. For example, the average time before receiving a first office action (communication on the merits of application) is about 18 months. Moreov... 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
10,119,286 11/6/2018	The Florida State University Research Foundation, Inc.	a wave propagation apparatus
10,121,212 11/6/2018	University of South Florida	a system and method for transportation demand management
10,116,159 10/30/2018	TheFlorida State University Research Foundation, Inc.	family of isolated battery energy storage system (BESS) with multiple functions for DC grid application
10,115,276 10/30/2018	Phillip Flagg Rockwell	a portable security surveillance device
10,104,895 10/23/2018	HSC Organics LLC	compositions and methods for improving plant health
10,105,419 10/23/2018	Eastern Vision Limited	dietary supplements and formulations
10,101,596 10/16/2018	Stephen M. Loner	eye patch attachable to glasses
10,104,310 10/16/2018	Sureview Systems, LLC	geospatial security monitoring asset association
10,086,166 10/2/2018	Sedation Systems, LLC	a demand gas flow valve apparatus
10,085,424 10/2/2018	In the Lead, LLC	a self-containing, retractable leash and collar/harness assembly
10,084,103 9/25/2018	University of South Florida	electric field tuning of PBS quantum dots for high efficiency solar cells application
10,080,725 9/25/2018	University of South Florida	antibacterial s-heterosubstituted disulfides

View more patents.

Recently Issued Trademarks

Registration	Mark	Registrant
5,602,233 11/6/2018	VPAY 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..
5,596,948 10/30/2018	MERMOSA for wine	Celestine Blu, LLC.
5,590,151 10/23/2018	PIPO'S for restaurant and catering services	Pipo's Cafe, Inc..
5,587,923 10/16/2018	FUNROOS for stuffed and plush toys; toy animals	EpicCrazyLife LLC.
5,581,933 10/9/2018	Geometric Logo for clothing, namely, hoods, jackets, shirts, ties and tops	Florida Polytechnic University.
5,580,333 10/9/2018	DTP Logo for dresses	Frank & Adam Apparel LLC.
5,575,434 10/2/2018	BLINKIT for electric warning lights	Willowbrook Promotions, LLC.
5,574,916 10/2/2018	JUNK-BUDDY for trash clean-up	Junk Buddy, Inc..
5,575,433 10/2/2018	BLINKIT for electric warning lights	Willowbrook Promotions, LLC.
5570201 9/25/2018	ALMOST A BANK for check cashing; issuing prepaid credit card; money order services; savings account services; temporary loans	Almost a Bank, L.L.C..
5,572,055 9/25/2018	SOULGANI for athletic apparel, namely, leggings and tank tops; athletic tops and bottoms	Soulgani, Inc..
5,572,059 9/25/2018	Design Logo for athletic apparel, namely, leggings and tank tops; athletic tops and bottoms	Soulgani, Inc..
5,571,737 9/25/2018	BROOKSVILLE BLUEBERRY FESTIVAL for conducting entertainment exhibitions in the nature of an annual food festival; organizing community festivals featuring primarily food and drink tastings and also featuring live music, live audio and visual street performances, and mobile street vendors featuring food, drink and souvenirs	Active Food Service Management, Inc..

More trademarks issued through Smith & Hopen