Patent Granted for Digital Advertising Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Technology
“KlickFix” Kicks-In
The “KlickFix” Sequentially-Deployable Lip Seal System increases productivity while assuring on-line capability in manufacturing, thanks to the Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP IP team who helped make this useful system become a worldwide reality.
Almost all centrifugal and rotary pumps require a sealing system to provide sealing integrity of the drive shafts carrying the impellers and protect against pumped fluid leakage. The “KlickFix” cartridge system is a new environmentally conscious alternative to mechanical seals and compression packing. Marshall Gerstein patent attorneys were successful in preparing, filing, and prosecuting U.S. & foreign patent applications on behalf of Ashbridge & Roseburgh Inc., a Canadian entity. These applications resulted in a number of patents covering the Sequentially-Deployable Lip Seal System embodied in the “KlickFix” seal system, and described as “The Future of Seal Technology.”
The “KlickFix” cartridge sealing system, manufactured, and distributed by James Walker & Company Ltd, aids in achieving environmental plant management standards by eliminating leakage, reducing power consumption and minimizing flush water requirements. The sequentially-deployable lip sealing system also significantly reduces downtime of shaft-driven manufacturing equipment. When a lip seal wears down, instead of dismantling the machinery to replace a seal, one of several pre-loaded back-up seals is deployed. The machinery can remain on-line, thereby avoiding significant disruptions.
The patent protection our Firm coordinated for “KlickFix,” in the U.S., Australia, Europe, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, China, and Japan, was instrumental in our IP Transaction team’s successful negotiation of a global patent license agreement with James Walker & Company Ltd., a U.K.-based multi-national company with a worldwide reputation for providing fluid sealing solutions.
Eliminating Spillover via an Inter Partes Victory
The Firm secured a complete victory for SSW Holding Company, Inc., in an inter partes review proceeding challenging the validity of an SSW patent, making its client one of just a handful to emerge from the newly established inter partes review process with every challenged patent claim fully intact.
Inter partes review (IPR) is a streamlined process for challenging patents created through the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011 and, to date, has proven favorable to those challenging patents. Of the 78 decisions issued in IPR proceedings through June of 2014, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board cancelled or invalidated nearly 80 percent of the patent claims before it. In only 14 percent of such cases did the board find in favor of the patent owner with respect to all of the patent claims under consideration, as it did in Schott Gemtron Corp. v. SSW Holding Company, Inc. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s decision rejected arguments that SSW’s patent—which covers spill-containing refrigerator shelving technology used by major appliance manufacturers—was “obvious” and therefore invalid. Oral argument in the case took place on June 23, 2014.
Amgen Launches New Neulasta® (Pegfilgrastim) Wearable Delivery Kit
In 2015, Amgen announced that the Neulasta® (pegfilgrastim) OnPro™ Kit is now available in the United States (U.S.). The Neulasta® OnPro™ Kit includes a specially designed single-use prefilled syringe co-packaged with a new On-Body Injector. With the Neulasta® OnPro™ Kit, the healthcare provider (HCP) initiates administration of Neulasta® with the On-Body Injector on the same day as cytotoxic chemotherapy. Administration is delayed however, and this results in the automatic delivery of the patient's full dose of Neulasta® the day following chemotherapy administration. This advantageously eliminates the need for the patient to return to the HCP to receive the Neulasta® injection, which can be physically and emotionally challenging a mere day following cytotoxic chemotherapy treatment.
Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP worked closely with Amgen to navigate a sophisticated and complex field of prior art to build a robust international patent portfolio directed to the novel On-Body Injector included within the Neulasta® OnPro™ Kit.
Infections send 200,000–300,000 cancer patients to the hospital per year. The Neulasta® OnPro™ Kit makes delivery of infection-fighting drugs one less worry for those fighting the disease.
Easing the Use of Patient Care at Home
Amgen launched its Enbrel MiniTM single-dose prefilled cartridge with AutoTouchTM reusable autoinjector in the United States in 2017. The AutoTouch™ reusable autoinjector has an ergonomic design that includes features that were designed with patients in mind, including an ergonomic handle, a needle designed to stay hidden during the injection, a sensor to detect placement on skin, a speed switch with three injection speeds, a progress bar and a speaker.
Amgen turned to the patent attorneys at Marshall Gerstein for development of an extensive patent portfolio to protect this ground-breaking device. The patent strategy for the device evolved in real time along with the device. This process requires a close relationship and open line of communication between the patent attorneys, engineers, and business executives at Amgen. This unique relationship allowed Marshall Gerstein to have a deeper understanding of the technology and how it was being developed and commercialized.
The Marshall Gerstein team possesses a wealth of knowledge relating to medical devices which allowed them to more easily identify which features of a given device can and should be patented. This advantage helps save clients time and money and presents clients with opportunities they may not have seen previously.
Zebra Technologies Accelerates Strategic Growth with Deal to Acquire Matrox Imaging
When Zebra Technologies Corporation, a world leader in designing, manufacturing, and selling innovative software, hardware, and digital solutions, decided to accelerate its strategic growth in machine vision by acquiring the imaging division of Matrox, it turned to Marshall Gerstein to handle the complex IP issues involved in the carve-out acquisition. Executing an interdisciplinary approach, Marshall Gerstein assembled a small team with deep subject matter experience within our IP transactions, electrical engineering patent prosecution, and trademark practice groups to ensure a smooth and successful deal that protected Zebra’s interests, particularly with respect to use of IP assets with applicability across multiple businesses.
Zebra notes that “the acquisition of Matrox Imaging expands the portfolio of machine vision products, software and services Zebra can offer customers to help them thrive in the on-demand economy that is constrained by both labor shortages and limited supply of upstream goods and materials,” according to the company’s press release.
Read Zebra’s press release on this intended acquisition made in part with the counsel of Marshall Gerstein.
