February turned out to be a great month for Irwin IP and its clients.
First, on February 7th, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) agreed to a petition prepared and submitted by Irwin IP on behalf of one of its clients to institute an inter partes review (IPR) of a patent that was touted as the foundation for a billion dollar per year business despite that patent having previously withstood numerous other invalidity challenges, including prior Patent Office reviews and several federal court litigations. In instituting the IPR, the PTAB found that there was at least a “reasonable likelihood that [Irwin IP’s client] would prevail.” Reid Huefner and Ifti Zaim were primarily responsible for drafting the request for the inter partes review.
Then, on February 8th, Irwin IP secured a major victory for another client on summary judgment. At issue was whether an agreement adequately transferred ownership of intellectual property to Irwin IP’s client. In granting Irwin IP’s motion, Judge Gettleman of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois held that the agreement was unambiguous and that the plain language of the agreement clearly supported Irwin IP’s position. Irwin IP considers this a substantial step towards successful resolution of the case. Jared Hedman, Lisa Holubar, and Adam Reis were primarily responsible for drafting the summary judgment briefs.
These two victories came shortly after Thomson Rueters selected Barry Irwin to the 2018 Illinois Super Lawyers’ Top 100 list. Attorneys on this list were ranked in the top 100 during the Super Lawyers selection process, a rigorous process that includes peer review and independent research. Barry is one of only 8 intellectual property attorneys on the list, and the only one from a small (under 75 attorney) intellectual property boutique. Barry has been selected as a Super Lawyer every year since 2005.