Seed IP Law Group is proud to be a sponsor of the WiT (Women in Technology) panel, “Hiring Women in Tech,” on June 26 at the Columbia Tower Club. Register here. The panel will discuss how startups can attract female tech talent and the importance of hiring of women in tech. The money raised will be used for a scholarship fund for the first all-women Code Fellows bootcamp taking place July 8 through August 23.

The winner of the scholarship will be automatically enrolled in a Code Fellows bootcamp to learn Ruby on Rails (an open-source web framework using the Ruby programming language). Programmers with knowledge about Ruby on Rails are in demand for developing web apps for startups and large corporate giants.

“The women-only course provides them with a unique opportunity to learn among peers and to immediately build a network of fellow female coders,” said Will Little, the managing director of Code Fellows, an organization that also offers co-ed classes. See https://codefellows.org/

Please join WiT and Seed IP on the evening of June 26 for an important discussion that benefits a worthwhile cause.

Seed IP partners Frank Abramonte, David V. Carlson, Kevin S. Costanza, William O. Ferron, Jr., Karl R. Hermanns, Dr. Stephen J. Rosenman, and Jeffrey M. Sakoi have been selected as 2013 Super Lawyers, as published in Thomson Reuters’ Washington Super Lawyers, Summer 2013 issue. Since 1991, Super Lawyers has provided a yearly listing of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Super Lawyers honorees are nominated and selected through a detailed process based on nomination points, research points and peer-review points. Super Lawyers is published as a special supplement in leading newspapers and in city and regional magazines across the country. All eight of our selected attorneys are multiple-year Super Lawyers honorees and each specializes in intellectual property law. Mr. Hermanns and Dr. Rosenman are attorneys within Seed IP’s Biotechnology, Chemistry & Pharmaceuticals Group; Mr. Costanza, Mr. Ferron, and Mr. Sakoi are attorneys within Seed IP’s Mechanical Engineering & Trademark Group; Mr. Abramonte and Mr. Carlson are attorneys within Seed IP’s Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Group.

Seed IP proudly congratulates our seven attorneys who have been selected to the 2013 Super Lawyers list.

Seed IP Law Group associate, Thomas J. Satagaj, has been selected to the 2013 Rising Stars list, as published in Thomson Reuters’ Washington Super Lawyers, Summer 2013 issue. Rising Stars honorees are nominated and selected through a detailed process based on nomination points, research points and peer-review points. The Rising Stars designation is given annually to a selected group of attorneys, each of whom has either been in practice for less than 10 years or are under the age of forty. Specializing in intellectual property law, Mr. Satagaj is an attorney in Seed IP’s Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Group. Seed IP proudly congratulates Mr. Satagaj on his selection to the 2013 Rising Stars list.

Intellectual Property Today magazine has ranked Seed IP Law Group at #71 in its annual “Top Trademark Firms” survey. The data, gathered from reporting nationwide firms, is based on the total amount of United States trademark registrations issued in 2012 where the law firm, or member of the firm (i.e. partner/associate), is listed as the legal representative on the registration. Seed IP issued 151 trademark registrations in 2012. Seed IP has consistently been among the Top 100 in this annual survey.

Intellectual Property Today magazine has ranked Seed IP Law Group at #62 in its annual “Top Patent Firms” survey. The data, gathered from reporting nationwide firms, is based upon the total amount of United States patents issued in 2012 where the law firm, or member of the firm (i.e. partner/associate), is listed as the legal representative for the issued patent. Seed IP issued 617 patents in 2012. Seed IP has consistently been among the Top 100 in this annual survey.

All the provisions of the America Invents Act (AIA) are now in effect. The most significant change in the patent law – switching from a first-to-invent to a first-inventor-to-file system. But, the beginning of first inventor-to-file does not mean the old first-to-invent law is gone. To the contrary, the old law remains in effect for disclosures in applications filed before March 16, 2013. Consequently, there is going to be a long transition period during which both the new and old patent laws will co-exist.

See Full Report

The recently enacted America Invents Act (AIA) will have long lasting ramifications for the US patent system and those who use it. The most significant change – switching from a first-to-invent to a first-inventor-tofile system – goes into effect on March 16, 2013. Under the new system, (a) prior art available to preclude patentability is greatly expanded, and (b) competing claims to the same invention will be awarded to the firstinventor-to-file a patent application – you can no longer prevail by proving you were the first inventor.

See Full Report

A FAQ sheet provides additional detail about the AIA and the new first-inventor-to-file patent law.

See FAQ

Jared M. Barrett, Christopher A. Bullard, Michael J. Freno, and Thomas J. Satagaj became partners of Seed IP Law Group effective January 1, 2013. Jared and Christopher are in Seed IP’s Mechanical Engineering & Trademark Group; Michael is with the Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals & Chemistry Group; and Thomas is in the Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Group. All four attorneys specialize in U.S. and foreign intellectual property matters, including patent procurement, licensing, and strategic planning.

Jared specializes in mechanical patent prosecution and trademark registration. Jared received his B.S. (magna cum laude) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington in 2001, and was awarded his J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law in 2007. He is admitted to the Washington State Bar and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. After receiving his bachelor’s degree, Jared worked as a design engineer at Genie Industries, a division of the Terex Corporation, designing a range of aerial lift and material handling equipment. He was involved in all stages of the design process from initial concept, through design, manufacturing, testing, and product support. He is a member of the Washington State Bar Association and the Washington State Patent Law Association.

See profile for Jared Barrett

Chris specializes in patent prosecution and portfolio management, representing clients in post grant proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, intellectual property licensing, and IP enforcement matters. Chris received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University in 2000, and was awarded his J.D. from Washington & Lee University School of Law in 2006. He is admitted to the Washington and Virginia state bars, is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and is admitted to practice before the Unites States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Chris currently serves as a Member of Council of the Intellectual Property Law Section of the American Bar Association (ABA-IPL). Within the ABA-IPL, he has also served as the Chair of the Patent and Trademark Office Affairs Committee – Patents (2010-2011), Chair of the Young Lawyers Committee (2008-2010), and as a Member of the Editorial Board of Landslide (2008-2010). Chris is also a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Washington State Patent Law Association, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

See profile for Christopher Bullard

Michael counsels clients on intellectual property matters and specializes in intellectual property litigation and opinions relating to validity and infringement. His litigation practice includes formulating strategy, conducting pre-trial discovery, brief writing, trial, and appeal, which builds upon over ten years of experience handling complex litigation matters. He received his B.A. (magna cum laude) in Chemistry from Kenyon College in 1993, and obtained a M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1997. Michael received his J.D. from Cornell Law School in 2001. Prior to joining Seed IP Law Group, Michael worked at Kenyon & Kenyon LLP in New York for eleven years, gaining extensive experience in complex patent litigation matters. Michael has extensive deposition experience, examined witnesses at hearings and trial, and has written numerous discovery briefs, dispositive memoranda of law, and appellate briefs. Michael also has experience in a number of patent interference proceedings before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. Michael is admitted to the New York State Bar, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He is a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association and the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association.

See profile for Michael Freno

Tom provides intellectual property rights counsel including patent portfolio strategy development, due diligence analysis, and validity and infringement studies. He specializes in patent procurement and licensing in the electrical engineering, embedded systems, and computer-related fields. He graduated (cum laude) from the University of Bridgeport with a B.S. in Computer Engineering, minor in Mathematics (1987) and went on to receive a J.D. (cum laude) from Seattle University School of Law (2006). Tom is admitted to the Washington State Bar and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He is a member of the Washington State Bar Association, and serves on its Intellectual Property Section Executive Committee. Additionally, Tom is a member of the King County Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Washington State Patent Law Association, The Association for Computing Machinery, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

See profile for Thomas Satagaj

Law students Walker G. Weitzel (Seattle University School of Law) and James P. Barker (University of Washington School of Law) were recently selected as the recipients of Seed Intellectual Property Law Group’s annual Founders Scholarships for year 2012. In 2003, Seed IP Law Group created two scholarships to honor its founders, Richard W. Seed and Benjamin F. Berry. Seed IP Law Group’s Founders Scholarships are given annually to students at the University of Washington and Seattle University Schools of Law. Seed IP seeks to annually recognize outstanding students who have a keen interest in the field of intellectual property law and who also have an undergraduate degree that qualifies him/her to sit for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Bar Exam. “We think it’s very important to train the next generation of intellectual property attorneys so that we can continue to build on the legacy started by Ben Berry and Dick Seed,” said Karl R. Hermanns, Seed IP’s Managing Partner. “Only through strong support of higher education will our country continue to be a leader in the world.”

U.S. News Media Group and Best Lawyers® have released the 2013 Best Law Firms® rankings, marking the third edition of this highly-anticipated annual analysis. Seed IP Law Group PLLC ranks in Tier 1 for Patent Law, Trademark Law, Information Technology Law, Biotechnology Law, Litigation-Patent Law, and Copyright Law in the Seattle-area. The rankings showcase 10,324 different law firms ranked nationally in one or more of 80 legal practice areas and by metro or state in 118 practice areas. These rankings are presented in tiers both nationally and by metropolitan area or by state, and provide a comprehensive view of the U.S. legal profession that is unprecedented both in the range of firms represented and in the range of qualitative and quantitative data used to develop the rankings. The third edition of these rankings features law firms given consistently impressive performance ratings by clients and peers. Achieving a high ranking is a special distinction that signals a unique combination of excellence and breadth of expertise.

The mission of Best Law Firms is to help guide referring lawyers and clients — from the country’s largest companies requiring corporate legal advice to individuals seeking counsel regarding personal legal issues. “The Best Law Firms rankings are now in their third year, and the reaction to the rankings from the legal profession and from legal clients continues to be very gratifying,” says Steven Naifeh, president of Best Lawyers. “Because we combine hard data with peer reviews and client assessments, more and more clients inform us that ours are the most thorough, accurate, and helpful rankings of law firms ever developed.”

“U.S. News has more than two decades of experience in providing the public with the most accurate and in-depth rankings of a wide range of institutions, including Best Law Schools rankings” says Tim Smart, Executive Editor of U.S. News & World Report. “Law firms are an integral part of our rankings and a natural accompaniment to the law school rankings.”

About the U.S. News Media Group
The U.S. News Media Group is a multi-platform digital publisher of news and analysis, which includes the monthly U.S. News & World Report magazine and the digital-only U.S. News Weekly magazine, www.usnews.com. Focusing on Health, Money & Business, Education, and Public Service/Opinion, the U.S. News Media Group has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers. The U.S. News Media Group’s signature franchises include its News You Can Use® brand of journalism and its series of consumer guides that include rankings of colleges, graduate schools, hospitals, health plans and more.

About Best Lawyers
Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. For over thirty years, the company has helped lawyers and clients find legal counsel in distant jurisdictions or unfamiliar specialties. The 2013 edition of The Best Lawyers in America includes 41,284 lawyers covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia and is based on more than 4.3 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers. Best Lawyers also publishes peer-reviewed listings of lawyers in nearly 70 other countries, covering many of the world’s major legal markets. Best Lawyers lists are excerpted in a wide range of general interest, business and legal publications worldwide, reaching an audience of more than 17 million readers.