Heller Ehrman Ranked Among Most Active Law Firms in Annual Patent Litigation and ITC Surveys

(SAN FRANCISCO) July 17, 2008 – IP Law & Business has ranked Heller Ehrman LLP among the most active law firms handling patent cases and appeals in its 2008 Patent Litigation Survey.  Heller Ehrman was ranked 15^th overall, based on the 40 cases it handled before district courts.  IP Law & Business also ranked Heller Ehrman, tied for 5^th overall, among the most active law firms that represent clients before the International Trade Commission (ITC) in the publication’s 2008 ITC Survey, which ranks firms based on ITC filings during 2007.

The Patent Litigation Survey appears in the July issue of IP Law & Business.  Heller Ehrman firm ranked 5^th – moving up nine places over 2007’s No. 14 ranking – based on the number of actions filed in district court on behalf of plaintiffs.  The firm’s Appeals & Strategy practice earned a No. 8 ranking, based on the number of patent disputes Heller Ehrman has handled before U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

To compile its rankings, IP Law & Business contacted more than 300 law firms, asking for a list of patent cases filed during calendar year 2007 in which they represented clients in federal district courts and in appeals at the Federal Circuit.

The 2008 ITC Survey appears in the June issue of IP Law & Business.  To compile the rankings, the publication used public information from the ITC.  In 2007, Heller Ehrman served as counsel in five ITC investigations, earning the firm a top 5 ranking.  In the article that accompanies the rankings, IP Law & Business mentions the firm’s role as counsel for Seagate in a patent infringement case involving surge protectors.  The publication also mentioned Heller Ehrman’s representation of several clients in the flash memory and semiconductor industries.

“This year’s ranking shows that our IP Litigation teams continue to work hard on important client matters and we are very pleased that we have again ranked, in both lists, among the top IP firms in the country,” said M. Patricia Thayer, a shareholder and co-chair of Heller Ehrman’s Intellectual Property Litigation practice group.

Heller Ehrman has enjoyed a 5-year winning streak.  Since 2003, the firm’s IP Litigation Practice has been successful in 17 consecutive trials.  More recently, the firm announced wins in two patent disputes. On July 15, Heller Ehrman announced that Allergan, Inc. and Roche Palo Alto LLC prevailed in a long-running patent dispute with Apotex, Inc., a Canadian generic drug manufacturer, after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to grant summary judgment to Roche and Allergan.  The Federal Circuit’s decision, which was issued on July 9, follows seven years of litigation between the parties over a patent connected to prescription anti-inflammatory eye medicine. 

In early July, Heller Ehrman announced that it had successfully defended Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a patent infringement action directed at Mylan's and Barr Laboratories, Inc.’s generic versions of MIRAPEX®, a drug developed by Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH to treat Parkinson's disease and restless leg syndrome.  The District of Delaware rejected Boehringer’s infringement claims and ruled in favor of Mylan and Barr, finding that the patent covering MIRAPEX® is invalid on grounds of nonstatutory double patenting.

Heller Ehrman’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice consists of more than 80 IP litigators.  The firm’s IP clients include industry leaders such as Genentech, Maxim, Allergan, Texas Instruments, Merck KGaA, Yahoo!, Innogenetics, CA, SonoSite, IAC, Palm, Depomed, Apple, S.C. Johnson and Seagate.

IP Law & Business is a monthly publication that provides updates to attorneys and executives on the law and business of intellectual property.

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