Knobbe Martens Awarded “Patent Impact Case of the Year,” Partner Salima Merani Named “Patent Prosecution Attorney of the Year” by Legal Media Group
Knobbe Martens was honored to receive two awards by Legal Media Group (LMG) at its third annual Life Sciences awards ceremony held on Wednesday night in New York City.
Knobbe Martens’ $466 million jury verdict for longstanding client Masimo Corp. against Philips Electronics North America Corp and Philips Medizin Systeme Boblingen GMBH was named “Patent Impact Case of the Year”. It was the largest IP verdict and fifth largest overall in the US in 2014. Masimo is a global medical technology company that develops and manufactures innovative noninvasive patient monitoring technologies, including medical devices and a wide array of sensors. On October 1, 2014, an eight-person jury unanimously awarded Masimo $466 million in damages against Philips Electronics North America Corp. for infringing two Masimo patents. In addition, the jury rejected all claims by Philips that Masimo infringed a Philips patent for which Philips was seeking $169 million. On May 18, 2015, the Delaware federal district court upheld the verdict. Partner Joseph Re was lead trial counsel for Masimo.
Dr. Salima Merani, a partner in the firm’s Orange County office, was awarded "Patent Prosecution Attorney of the Year.” She has 15 years of experience building patent portfolios for some of the top life sciences companies in the nation and is highly sought out for her vast experience and reputation in conducting complex patent due diligence investigations for prominent venture capital and investment firms. Dr. Merani has been lead IP counsel in high stakes financing and acquisition deals worth well over a billion dollars in the last three years alone. In addition to this prestigious award from LMG, Dr. Merani received multiple accolades in the past year, such as inclusion in “Women Leaders in Tech Law” by The Recorder, Diversity & The Bar’s “Rainmakers List,” and “Top Intellectual Property Attorneys” by the Daily Journal. She has also been recognized in several other noteworthy lists and guides, including The National Law Journal’s “IP Hot List”, The Legal 500 “United States 2015” and Intellectual Asset Management’s “IAM Patent 1000”.
LMG recognized and honored the leading attorneys, law firms and in-house counsel teams that have played a significant role in the life sciences industry over the past year. LMG Life Sciences is the only publication dedicated to the comprehensive analysis of the life sciences industry.
About Knobbe Martens
With over 275 lawyers and scientists nationwide, Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP dedicates its practice to all aspects of intellectual property law, including post-grant review proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Consistently ranked among the top intellectual property firms worldwide, Knobbe Martens serves a diverse group of clients from multinational corporations to emerging businesses of all stages. Headquartered in Orange County, California, Knobbe Martens also has offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Seattle and Washington, D.C. More information about the firm can be found at www.knobbe.com.
