HSML Announcements

HSML New Team Members
Ms. Sarah Voeller joins HSML as an associate attorney. Sarah has her B.S. in Biology from Boston College and has a J.D. degree from the William Mitchell College of Law. Sarah is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and is admitted to the Minnesota State Bar. As a member of the firm’s Trademark Team, Sarah's practice focuses on international trademark prosecution, trademark searches, availability and registrability opinions, infringement opinions, acquisitions, licensing, business branding strategies and enforcement of trademark rights. Sarah also handles general patent prosecution matters.

Dr. Yufeng Dong joins HSML as a patent engineer. Yufeng has a Ph.D. in Solid State Physics from the National University of Singapore. Yufeng works with a variety of technologies including electrical, electro-/bio-mechanical, semiconductors, nanoelectronics, materials science, computer engineering, optics, renewable energy and solar cells. Yufeng has a number of publications and presentations in relation to his studies. As a patent engineer at HSML, Yufeng's practice focuses on domestic and international patent prosecution, drafting patent applications and assisting with patent investigations.

Dr. Jianguang Du joins HSML as an associate attorney. Jianguang has a Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from University of Michigan and has a J.D. degree from the William Mitchell College of Law. Jianguang is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and is admitted to the Minnesota State Bar. Jianguang works with a variety of technologies including materials science, nanotechnology, chemistry, physics, mechanical engineering, and medical devices. His practice focuses on matters involving U.S. and international patent preparation and prosecution, IP due diligence on freedom-to-operate and patentability, client counseling on patent plans/strategies and patent portfolio development/management, patent opinions on noninfringement and invalidity, reexams, and IP agreements including patent licensing and confidentiality agreements.

We also wish to welcome Ms. Yijun Ge as a law clerk intern. Yijun has her M.S. in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of California, Irvine. Yijun currently attends the University of Minnesota Law School, expecting to receive a J.D. degree in 2011. As an intern, she assists the attorneys and staff in a variety of matters.

Yufeng, Jianguang and Yijun are native Mandarin speakers and are fluent in spoken and written Mandarin. As members of the HSML China Team, they work with clients on a variety of China IP issues and work closely with our China clients seeking to register, license and enforce IP rights in the US.

For more information on our newest team members, please see the Professionals page of our website. We warmly welcome Sarah, Yufeng, Jianguang and Yijun to the HSML team!

Wyeth v Kappos
On January 7, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a decision in the case of Wyeth v. Kappos (2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 300) ruling that the USPTO has been incorrectly calculating patent term adjustments (PTA) provided by 35 U.S.C. §154(b) since the year 2000.

The result of this decision is that many patents granted since the year 2000, as long as they were pending for more than 3 years, may have been entitled to increased PTA. For commercially significant patents, this could mean additional patent term.

It is not clear at this time whether the USPTO will provide retroactive adjustments to incorrectly calculated PTA on granted patents.

Please do not hesitate to contact your attorney contact at HSML if there are any questions.

HSML Attorney Doug Mueller Named to 2010 Minnesota Super Lawyers List
Partner Doug Mueller is currently listed among the 2010 Minnesota Super Lawyers, which features the top attorneys in the state. Mr. Mueller has been named to this list in 2008 and 2009. The 2010 Minnesota Super Lawyers list will be appearing on the web at www.superlawyers.com.

HSML Selected by City of Saint Paul
The City of Saint Paul has selected HSML to be added to its panel of outside counsel for Intellectual Property. This selection by the City of Saint Paul reflects recognition of our ability as a team to provide cost-effective, quality legal services in a responsive manner. HSML serves as a role model for diversity in the legal community. Our diversity reflects the international global community in which we live and the diversity of the clients we serve.