Intellectual property law firm Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto knows that when all is said and done, the most important readers of a patent may end up being a judge and jury – a fact that makes the firm keenly aware of the challenge that every patent faces when put to the test in a lawsuit. Expertise in both litigation and prosecution matters helps separate the firm from the pack, creating a synergy that can only benefit its clients. For instance, because of Fitzpatrick’s patent litigation expertise, the firm has also developed a cultural philosophy of writing patent applications with a litigator’s eyes.
Fitzpatrick was founded in New York in 1971 and has grown to 150 lawyers in three offices across the country. Its founding partners – three of whom (Joseph M. Fitzpatrick, Lawrence F. Scinto and Robert L. Baechtold, pictured above) are still active – sought to create a firm that would not only provide high-quality legal services, but would also be a meritocracy, where clients could count on finding talented lawyers in an environment where legal excellence, rather than seniority, would be rewarded.
Today, Fitzpatrick is ranked one of the top 10 patent firms by Intellectual Property Today (March 2005) and is at the top of the list for New York firms. Many of the firm’s lawyers (such as Nicholas M. Cannella, Pasquale A. Razzano, Henry J. Renk and Edward E. Vassallo, also pictured above) are consistently ranked as top intellectual property law practitioners in publications such as “The Best Lawyers in America,” Euromoney Magazine’s “Guide to the World’s Leading Patent Law Experts” and “Guide to the World’s Leading Trademark Law Practitioners.” The firm’s practice covers the spectrum of intellectual property services, including applying for protection, litigation, appeals, interferences, alternative dispute resolution, licensing, opinions and corporate transactions.
But getting results is what Fitzpatrick is all about. The firm, for example, recently obtained a preliminary injunction on Pfizer Inc.’s behalf, halting sales of a generic quinapril product marketed by Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited. In March 2005, the U.S. District Court of New Jersey ordered Teva and Ranbaxy to immediately stop marketing the product, which Teva launched in December 2004. The court held that Pfizer was likely to prevail in its patent infringement suit, issued an injunction and denied defendants’ requests to have it stayed.
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