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Address
501 Office Center Drive, Suite 210
Fort Washington, Pennsylvania 19034 (Montgomery Co.)
Average Client Review Rating
Rating not available
Average Peer Review Rating
4.9
out of 5
(Main Office) Statement of PracticePatent, Trademark and Copyright Law and Intellectual Property Law. Year Established: 1853
Firm Size: 7
Stanley B. Kita (Partner) admitted to bar, 1967, Pennsylvania; 1969, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania; 1979, U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit; 1980, U.S. Supreme Court; 1982, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; registered to practice before U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Education: Drexel University (B.S.M.E., 1962); Temple University (J.D., 1966). Stanley B. Kita is a partner of Howson & Howson LLP, having been with the firm since 1967. Mr. Kita has been lead attorney in over seventy-five (75) Intellectual Property (IP) cases in the federal district and appellate courts in the United States. These IP cases involved patent, trademark/unfair competition, and copyright matters. He was trial and appellate counsel in Cover v. Hydramatic Packaging Co., 38 USPQ2d 1783 (Fed. Cir. 1996), which was a case of first impression that established the relationship between federal patent law and state commercial law principles pertaining to the patent indemnification provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code. He has also handled numerous inter parties administrative proceedings in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; has served as federal master in a post-trial patent damages proceeding; and has been a AAA arbitrator. Mr. Kita has written and prosecuted patent applications for a wide variety of mechanical inventions in over 40 years with the firm. In recent years, he has obtained industry significant patents on the propeller coupling mechanism for the V-22 Osprey aircraft (Patent No. 4,804,352); on the autoclavable, non-lubricated high speed dental handpiece (Patent No. 4,966,552); and on the first commercially successful hot-fillable grip bottle (Patent No. 5,392,937). Member: American Bar Association; American Intellectual Property Law Association; Philadelphia Intellectual Property Law Association. Practice Areas: Patent; Trademark; Copyright; Intellectual Property Law.Email: Stanley B. Kita
George A. Smith, Jr. (Partner) born 1942; admitted to bar, 1970, Pennsylvania, U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit and U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania; 1972, U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit; 1975, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth and Seventh Circuits; 1976, U.S. Supreme Court; 1977, Canadian Patent Office; 1982, Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Education: University of Pennsylvania (B.S.E.E., 1964); Temple University (J.D., 1970). George Anthony ("Tony") Smith, Jr. is a graduate of the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania and the Temple University School of Law. He has been partner at Howson & Howson LLP since 1979, and has prepared and prosecuted more than five hundred U.S. patents in a broad range of technologies including telecommunications systems, transducers, antennas, electronic circuits, chemical processes, and a wide variety of mechanical inventions. He also has extensive experience in handling cases before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Tony also has long and diverse experience in patent litigation, both on the plaintiff's side and on the defense side, having been counsel in over fifty (50) patent infringement cases, and has prepared numerous legal opinions on patent infringement and related issues. Tony is admitted to practice in the Supreme and Superior Courts of Pennsylvania, and served as an arbitrator for the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County for twelve years. He is also admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Eastern District of Wisconsin, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fourth, Seventh, Tenth, and Federal Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court. He is registered to practice not only in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, but also in the Canadian Patent Office. He is a life member of the Institute of Electronic Engineers, and a member of the IEEE Communications Society, the Philadelphia Bar Association, and the Philadelphia Intellectual Property Law Association. Member: Philadelphia Bar Association; Philadelphia Intellectual Property Law Association. Practice Areas: Patent; Trademark; Copyright; Intellectual Property Law.Email: George A. Smith, Jr.
Mary E. Bak (Partner) admitted to bar, 1981, Illinois; 1986, New York; 1987, Massachusetts; 1988, Pennsylvania; U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois; registered to practice before U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Education: University of Notre Dame (B.S., Microbiology, 1978); Villanova University (J.D., 1981). Mary E. Bak has been a partner of Howson & Howson LLP since 1988. For seven years prior to joining Howson & Howson LLP, Ms. Bak was an intellectual property attorney with law firms in Chicago and New York City, and also served as an in-house patent counsel with a small biotechnology company in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Ms. Bak's practice has been exclusively in the field of Intellectual Property transactions, with her particular areas of expertise in microbiology, biotechnology and chemistry patent prosecution and counseling in university, non-profit and for-profit settings. Ms. Bak's practice involves national and international prosecution and appellate representation of clients in such diverse fields as the discovery and pharmaceutical uses of novel and modified genes and proteins; peptide chemistries and modification; gene therapy compositions and methods; peptide and protein-based therapies for cancer and viral diseases; antibody-based therapies for cancer and viral diseases; processes and compositions for immunological and hematological cell flow cytometric analyses; industrial chemistries including polymeric coatings and metal-working formulations, among many others. Ms. Bak has also represented corporate clients in transactional matters such as license negotiations and agreements, confidentiality agreements, as well as legal opinions on the validity and infringement of patents and freedom-to-operate in various fields. In addition to her patent practice, Ms. Bak has counseled clients in matters involving trademarks, copyrights, and unfair competition, both foreign and domestic. She has spoken on intellectual property matters at a seminar for patent examiners at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and at seminars conducted for several non-profit organizations. Ms. Bak is admitted to practice before the Pennsylvania and New York bars, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and Supreme Court of the United States. She has been registered before the United States Patent and Trademark Office since 1984. Member: American Bar Association; American Intellectual Property Law Association; Philadelphia Intellectual Property Law Association; Licensing Executives Society. Practice Areas: Patent; Trademark; Copyright; Intellectual Property Law.Email: Mary E. Bak
Cathy Ann Kodroff (Partner) admitted to bar, 1989, Pennsylvania. Education: Pennsylvania State University (B.S., 1986); Temple University (J.D., 1989). Cathy A. Kodroff became a member of Howson & Howson LLP in 1996, having begun her tenure with the firm in 1990. Since her entry into intellectual property practice, Ms. Kodroff has had extensive experience in domestic and foreign patent prosecution. Ms. Kodroff concentrates her patent practice in the fields of biotechnology and chemistry. In the field of biotechnology, her experience includes viral based gene therapy delivery systems, peptide-based therapeutics and vaccine compositions, antibody-based therapeutics and vaccines, and viral and non-viral delivery systems, and proteomics. In the field of chemistry, her experience includes process chemistry, peptide chemistry, medicinal chemistry, including small molecules, nanotechnology, and agricultural compositions. Ms. Kodroff has also represented corporate clients in related matters such as agreements, including licensing agreements, material transfer agreements, and confidentiality agreements, infringement and freedom-to-operate opinions, and state-of-the-art searches and opinions. Ms. Kodroff also has experience in national and international trademarks, including opinions relating to freedom to use and adopt marks and trademark prosecution, copyrights, agreements, and client counseling in related matters. She has been a speaker at a seminar jointly sponsored by the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Philadelphia Intellectual Property Law Associations. Ms. Kodroff has also been an invited speaker at a seminar on the Intranet by Barnett International Learning Group. She is also a member of the Pennsylvania bar, is registered before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States. Member: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations; American Intellectual Property Law Association; Philadelphia Intellectual Property Association. Practice Areas: Patent; Trademark; Copyright; Intellectual Property Law.Email: Cathy Ann Kodroff
William Bak (Partner) born 1964; admitted to bar, 1992, Pennsylvania; 1993, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania; U.S. Court of Appeals, Third and Federal Circuits; and U.S. Supreme Court; and registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Education: Lehigh University (B.S.E.E., 1986); Rutgers University (J.D., 1992). William Bak has been with Howson & Howson LLP since 1992, becoming a partner in 2000. Mr. Bak's practice primarily focuses on patent prosecution, opinions, prior art studies, and intellectual property counseling in the electrical, mechanical, computer and metallurgical arts. Mr. Bak's experience also includes foreign patent prosecution, domestic and foreign trademark and copyright prosecution and related litigation and opinion work, and licensing and technology transfer agreements. Mr. Bak has prosecuted hundreds of utility and design patent applications within a broad range of technologies including: chemicals and material engineering specifically in the area of semiconductor technology and metallurgy; computer software, information security management, and electronic commerce; communications and networks, image analysis, illumination and display systems and components; semiconductor, electrical and optical systems and components; power generation and distribution and control circuits; construction, ventilation and drainage systems and components; material, article and fluid handling and dispensing systems; packaging, containers, machine tools, hand tools, musical instruments, automotive components, and surgical and medical instruments; measuring and testing systems and instruments; and textile manufacturing, apparel and athletic training equipment. He has also worked in several patent and trademark cases tried in the federal district and appellate courts in the United States. Member: Philadelphia Intellectual Property Law Association. Practice Areas: Patent; Trademark; Copyright; Intellectual Property Law.Email: William Bak
ASSOCIATESRobert J. Duminiak (Senior Associate) born 1978; admitted to bar, 2003, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania; registered to practice before U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Education: Pennsylvania State University (B.S., 2000); Temple University School of Law (J.D., 2003; LL.M., Trial Advocacy, 2009);. Robert J. Duminiak has been an associate with Howson & Howson LLP since 2004. Mr. Duminiak's practice is focused in the area of biotechnological and chemical patent prosecution, both in the United States and abroad. He has been involved in the protection of technologies including gene transfer and modulation, antisense compounds, immunization methods, viral constructs, chemical compounds and synthesis, fertilizer formulations, chain coating formulations, and flow cytometry. In addition to successfully arguing the patentability of inventions under the patent laws of the United States and numerous foreign countries, Mr. Duminiak has assisted in trademark prosecution and opposition and in intellectual property licensing and litigation matters. Mr. Duminiak earned his law degree at the Temple University School of Law. While at Temple, he was admitted to the Patent Bar and completed both Temple's Integrated Trial Advocacy Program and an internship with the Camden County, New Jersey Prosecutor's Office. Mr. Duminiak earned his Bachelor's Degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at The Pennsylvania State University, where he assisted in researching B and T-cell immunotoxin as vehicles for treating disease and in researching the role of lipoxygenases in plant hypersensitivity responses. Mr. Duminiak is admitted in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the State of New Jersey, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the District of New Jersey. Member: Bucks County, Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations; American Intellectual Property Law Association. Practice Areas: Patents; Trademarks; Copyrights; Intellectual Property.Email: Robert J. Duminiak
Colleen M. Schaller (Associate) admitted to bar, 2008, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Education: University of Delaware (B.S., Biochemistry, 2000); Temple University Beasley School of Law (J.D., 2008). Colleen M. Schaller has been an associate with Howson & Howson LLP since 2008. Ms. Schaller's practice is focused on domestic and foreign patent prosecution in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and chemistry fields. Prior to her entry into intellectual property law, Ms. Schaller worked as a research associate for a biotechnology firm, where she carried out drug discovery research to identify small molecules affecting therapeutic targets in cancer biology, inflammation, Alzheimer's disease and HIV/AIDS via novel RNA-based mechanisms. Practice Areas: Intellectual Property.Email: Colleen M. Schaller
RETIRED PARTNERSWilson Oberdorfer (Retired Partner) admitted to bar, 1950, Pennsylvania; U.S. Supreme Court; registered to practice before U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Education: Pennsylvania State University (B.S. Chem. Eng., 1943); Temple University (J.D., 1950). Practice Areas: Patents; Intellectual Property Law.
Charles M. Allen (Retired Partner) admitted to bar, 1949, New York; 1958, Pennsylvania and U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania; 1967, U.S. Supreme Court; 1982, Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and Vermont; registered to practice before U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Education: University of Pennsylvania (B.S., 1957); Harvard University (J.D., 1948). Member: Vermont and American Bar Associations; Philadelphia Intellectual Property Law Association. Practice Areas: Trademark; Copyright; Intellectual Property Law.
REGISTERED PATENT AGENTTracy U. Palovich admitted to bar, registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. (Admission pending). Education: Pennsylvania State University (B.S., Chemistry, 1992); University of Pittsburgh (Ph.D., Chemistry, 1997). Tracy U. Palovich's practice focuses on patent prosecution and patent opinion drafting in the fields of chemistry, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology. Tracy earned a B.S. in chemistry in 1992 from The Pennsylvania State University where she conducted undergraduate research in organometallic chemistry with a focus on lanthanide complexes. Tracy then earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1997 from the University of Pittsburgh where she conducted her graduate research in organometallic chemistry with a focus on transition metal complexes. Tracy was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship from North Carolina State University in 1997 where she conducted research in polymer chemistry with a focus on polyacrylamide and polyacetylene compounds. Through her research, Tracy is well-versed in current techniques and literature in many areas, including organometallic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, and polymer chemistry, among others. Tracy is a co-author of the following scientific publications. Publications: Christopher B. Gorman, Ryan W. Vest, Tracy U. Palovich, and Scafford Serron, "Preparation of Poly (cyanoacetylene) Using Late -Transition-Metal Catalysts," Macromolecules, June 29, 1999, 32(13): 4157; Tracy L. Utz, Patricia A. Leach, Steven J. Geib and N. John Cooper, "Synthesis, derivatization, and structural characterization of [Mn(CNC6H3Me2-2,6)5], a five coordinate isonitrilate complex containing Mn-I", 1997, Chem. Commun.: 847; Tracy L. Utz, Patricia A. Leach, Steven J. Geib, and N. John Cooper, "Formation of the 1,4-diazabutadien-2-yl Complex [Mn(CNPh*)4{C(=NPh*)C(CH3)=N(Ph*)}] through Methylation of a Manganese(-I) Isonitrilate", Organometallics, 1997, 16(19): 4109-4114; Tracy L. Utz, "The Synthesis, Structural Analysis, and Reactivity of Manganese(-I), Iron (0), and Cobalt (+I) Homoleptic Isonitrile Complexes", 1997, Doctoral Thesis, University of Pittsburgh; Angela R. Strzelecki, Claire L. Likar, Bradley A. Helsel, Tracy Utz, Mona C. Lin, and Patricia A. Bianconi, "Molecular Precursors to Lanthanide(II)-Based Semiconductors: Synthetic Pathways Toward the Preparation of Lanthanide Monchalcogenide Precursors", Inorg. Chem., 1994, 33:5188-5194. Member: American Chemical Society; American Intellectual Property Law Association; Philadelphia Intellectual Property Law Association. Practice Areas: Intellectual Property.Email: Tracy U. Palovich
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