News

McCoy Russell is recognized as one of largest women-owned business in Oregon and Clark County, Washington according to Portland Business Journal.

McCoy Russell is a women-owned technology-focused law firm that is rising in recognition. The firm’s innovative practice and unique firm model has resulted in numerous national rankings for quality and effectiveness in the area of intellectual property preparation, prosecution, and portfolio development.

The Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Corona has awarded McCoy Russell, a preeminent women-owned and managed intellectual property boutique law firm located on the West coast, to provide patent legal services under a five-year contract.

NSWC Corona Division has served as the Navy’s independent assessment agent since 1964. NSWC Corona is positioned as a leader in NAVSEA data analytics utilizing networked data environments, data analytics and visualization, and measurement technology.

McCoy Russell’s unique firm model has led to numerous national rankings for quality and effectiveness in the area of intellectual property preparation, prosecution, and development. The firm’s high quality drafting and unique prosecution strategies have helped our firm secure and successfully complete contracts with government agencies to provide patent prosecution services.

###

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

John Russell has received recognition as a Lawyer of the Year in 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America for his excellence in Patent Law with in Oregon. Lawyer of the Year is award to only one lawyer per region and practice area, making it an outstanding recognition. For 2023, only 0.4% of all practicing U.S. lawyers across the country were presented this award.

As one of the founding Partners, John has an active hand, collaborating with founding Partner Anna McCoy, in developing McCoy Russell’s collaborative model and prosecution strategies that help its clients diversify and protect their intellectual property portfolios. While maintaining an active practice, he continues to foster community through thought leadership via his patent prosecution blog – www.mriplaw.com, which discusses patent prosecution issues from a practical perspective.

McCoy Russell congratulates John on his recognition as a 2023 Lawyer of the Year.

The USPTO hosted its Second Anniversary Celebration and Recognition of its Legal Experience and Advancement Program (LEAP) Practioners and Law Firm Sponsors for their participation in the program. Patent Agent Kathryn Chi is among the recognized practioners.

The USPTO’s Legal Experience and Advancement Program (LEAP) provides opportunities for practitioners to gain key appeal experience early in their career. LEAP encourages professional development through increased opportunities for oral advocacy at the PTAB and grants up to 15 minutes additional argument time.

Kathryn Chi had the opportunity to participate with John Russell in her first oral hearing at the PTAB through LEAP. As a LEAP practitioner, she had the opportunity to present arguments and respond to questioning from the Board.
McCoy Russell congratulates Kat for her successful participation in the LEAP program.

McCoy Russell Partners Anna McCoy and John Russell are holding tight to the last moments of summer. The firm has enjoyed a summer of celebrating attorney recognitions and an abundance of positive feedback from clients to our teams.

McCoy Russell continues to bolster and further refine its collaborative hybrid-remote work in the intellectual property realm. The firm is constantly finding ways to be more efficient developing and using new technologies and tools. Our diverse team, with wide ranging backgrounds and experiences, is key to our ability to innovate and bring our clients patent and trademark solutions like no other.

McCoy Russell attorney Justin Wagner attended the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Stadium Tour that was hosted by the University of Oregon Law School in downtown Portland last week. Each year, the USPTO selects a handful of law schools around the country to host a stadium tour but this was the first stadium tour to be held in Oregon. Several patent and trademark judges participated in the full-day event, including Georgianna Braden, the Lead Administrative Patent Judge, and Mark Thurmon, the Deputy Chief Administrative Trademark Judge.

After an introduction to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) proceedings, a panel of three TTAB judges presided over an oral argument for a trademark opposition. The case involves a trademark application for the mark Honest Pop filed by La Brisa Ice Cream Company for their frozen fruit confections. Counsel for the opposer, Honest Tea, Inc., argued that a granting of the mark to La Brisa would result in consumer confusion with regard to various products sold by Honest Tea that have the word honest in the name.

The afternoon session began with an introduction to Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) proceedings, followed by two separate PTAB proceedings. The first proceeding was an Ex Parte appeal in which counsel for the patent applicant argued in front of three PTAB judges that the invention, directed to plasterboard panels, is patentable over the prior art despite the Patent Examiner’s insistence otherwise. The second proceeding was an oral hearing before three other PTAB judges for an Inter Partes Review (IPR) regarding an issued software patent. A key issue in that case regarded use of the term “configuration error” in the patent.

Four of the judges were part of an advocacy panel in which they shared best practice tips for practitioners. For example, they recommended that attorneys avoid a “shotgun approach” in which they present as many arguments as possible because such approach can clutter the proceeding and frustrate the judges; rather, the judges recommended an approach in which the first and last arguments are the strongest arguments. The judges also recommended the use of reply briefs, which are often not used by practitioners, but they cautioned the use of non-precedential opinions unless the case is directly on point to the case at hand.

At the end of the day, Eric Priest, IP Professor at the University of Oregon, made some closing remarks before dismissing the crowd for an evening reception with the judges, most of whom had never been to Portland before. Justin enjoyed speaking with the judges at the reception, one of whom is a former colleague of Justin.

The latest rankings for IP stars has been release and McCoy Russell is pleased to announce our firm’s inclusion. We congratulate founding Partner Anna McCoy who continues to receive recognition as a “Trademark Star 2022” in Oregon.

McCoy Russell has specific expertise in developing and prosecuting patent and trademark applications with a portfolio-based strategic approach. The firm is consistently recognized at the highest levels of performance for its innovative approach to trademark and patent portfolio development and cost effective solutions.

####

IP Stars research analysts obtain information from thousands of firms, IP practitioners and their clients through interviews, email and online surveys. Aspects assessed for the firm rankings include expertise, workload, market reputation, track record, outcomes achieved for clients, and unique strengths in a given practice area.

Anna McCoy continues to receive recognition in Women in Law for her Trademark practice. While maintaining an active and successful patent and design practice, Anna spearheads McCoy Russell’s Trademark and Branding Specialty Practice helping its clients in developing strong branding rights.

McCoy Russell establishes product configuration protection for famous consumer products in the US and abroad, and can provide strategic counsel with cost-effective approaches. The firm has significant experience in China, Europe, and Japan advising clients on Trademark matters. The firm collaborates with many esteemed foreign firms and associates that share in our values of accuracy, timeliness.

Anna’s vision continues to shape McCoy Russell’s Trademark and Branding Specialty practice seeing significant success in a variety of industries including, apparel, footwear, art, banking and finance, e-commerce and digital goods, food and beverage, pharmaceutical and supplements, software, transportation, and video games.

McCoy Russell congratulates Wes Nicholson for a successful year revitalizing the Oregon Patent Law Association (OPLA) and serving as the President of the Board 2021-2022.

Providing opportunities to develop and improve skills, the OPLA organizes social and educational events relating to intellectual property and patent law for the benefit of its members. In the 2021-22 term, the OPLA hosted five CLE events including Single Speaker Events, Panels, and Roundtable discussions collaborating with Patent Law professors, USPTO Judges, and Patent Law Professionals in the Pacific Northwest.

McCoy Russell is happy volunteering with the OPLA providing administrative tasks and helping grow the patent law community in the Pacific Northwest.