January 2020

McCoy Russell heavily emphasizes the importance of wellbeing for their staff by proactively supporting wellness initiatives.  We also support flexible work schedules to provide an added level of accommodation in today’s hectic environment.

As our firm community continues to expand, our strategies on wellbeing continue to evolve. To build upon the strategies we have in practice, which you can read about here, we are introducing more initiatives and creating programs to ensure the McCoy Russell team can thrive in a high pressure field.

McCoy Russell has had hosted a variety of firm wide events focused on encouraging team work, bringing people from across the organization, and building morale. New initiatives such as our brownbag book club aim to give insight on diverse perspectives and experiences to bolster a more inclusive space for all. Exercises in gratitude have been introduced with our bi-weekly newsletters to encourage staff to flex a different part of the brain. Game nights encourage staff to mingle and build personal and working relationships with the community of peers who understand the pressures and demands of working in Intellectual Property Law.

While our strategies and initiatives are still in its infancy and evolving, our commitment to the wellbeing of the McCoy Russell team remains a high priority.

Former Reedie and founding Partner, Anna McCoy, will be representing McCoy Russell at Reed College’s Spring Job/Internship Fayre. She will be participating in small group discussions with students, giving resume advice, offering insight into what else you can do with a STEM degree, and sharing her experiences being in Intellectual Property.

McCoy Russell is committed to developing and growing our highly-skilled staff. We are always looking to expand our knowledge base and welcome the opportunity for new talent.

McCoy Russell will be hosting an INTA Roundtable January 30 at our downtown Portland office. This discussion is focused on top trademark cases of 2019, a few Supreme Court cases, as well as decisions on genericness, nominative fair use, preliminary injunctions, and aesthetic functionality. We are excited to share in the opinions, ideas, and ramifications of these cases with others in Intellectual Property who wish to further the practice.

To learn more information about INTA Roundtables or to register to attend please visit INTA.org/Roundtables.

McCoy Russell is pleased to announce that Will Schlecht has passed the Patent Bar Exam and will become a patent agent. Will’s background in chemical engineering provides a strong technical foundation for working with patents covering a wide range of technical fields. We congratulate Will on his success and look forward to his continued efforts for the firm’s clients.

McCoy Russell obtains another complete reversal in the area of fuel injectors. Our team, led by John Russell, disputed claims of obviousness in view of § 103.  Our arguments showed that the evidence presented failed to support the rejection of those claims and the PTAB reversed all rejections on Appeal 2017-010008.

McCoy Russell has been recognized by Juristat as the top patent firm within USPTO Tech Center 3700 for the second year in a row. Tech center 3700 patents relate to mechanical engineering, manufacturing, and products.

Similarly, to our high ranking in tech center 3600 we are also the top firm for allowance rates within tech center 3700.

We practice a holistic approach to patent strategy and our unique collaborative model, including strategic and coordinated use of interviewing, restriction responses, petitions, and appeals has helped our firm, and our client’s IP, rise to the top.  As just one example, over the course of 2019, we had a significant number of PTAB appeal decisions with a success rate well over 90%.

McCoy Russell is pleased to announce ranking top four, according to Juristat, within USPTO Tech Center 3600. Tech center 3600 patents relate to transportation, electronic commerce, construction, agriculture, licensing and review.

Within this tech center, McCoy Russell also ranks number one for our allowance rates. Many cases within this tech center receive Alice rejections due to the abstract nature of these patentable concepts. Early 2019, Juristat recognized McCoy Russell as having the second highest Alice allowance rate nationally. Our Alice allowance rate is above 97% well above the USPTO Alice allowance rate of 54.6%.

Our success within this tech center is based on our firm’s unique collaborative model that focuses on utilizing the technical skills of our staff, many with Ph.D.’s within a variety of technical backgrounds. Our team’s significant experience in artificial intelligence, deep learning, database management software, transportation, etc. allows our firm to create pro-active solutions, as well as strong applications, to address the patenting challenges in this area.

PORTLAND, OR, Jan. 2, 2020/ –We compiled a list of the top patent law firms based in Oregon. They are ranked by the total number of U.S. design, utility, and plant patents issued in 2019 where the patent firms were listed on the front of the patent. Included firms have over 40 patents with an Oregon inventor.

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McCoy Russell LLP is a nationally ranked boutique, woman-owned, intellectual property law firm headquartered in Portland, Oregon and focused on the prosecution and development of patent and trademark portfolios. www.mccrus.com