Knobbe Martens’ Adeel Akhtar instrumental in securing patent for device that has brought clean drinking water to over 100 million individuals worldwide.
Dr. Ashok Gadgil has been selected as an inductee into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He will be recognized in May for his UV Waterworks™ water disinfection device that has made drinking water safe for over 100 million people across four continents. Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP partner Adeel Akhtar worked with Dr. Gadgil to secure the patent for his ground breaking water purification device.
“I was struck by not only by resourcefulness of Dr. Gadgil’s invention, but also by his dedication to improve the lives of people in impoverished communities around the world,” Akhtar commented. “I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this recognition and I am honored to have played a small role in this major contribution to the betterment of humanity.”
The patent examination process for Dr. Gadgil’s UV Waterworks device presented many challenges, and was at first denied patentability. Unfazed by the Patent Office’s initial finding, Akhtar responded to the rejections to persuade the Patent Office to grant a patent for Dr. Gadgil’s invention. In a further reexamination proceeding, Akhtar encouraged Dr. Gadgil to accompany him to the Patent Office in Washington D.C. to explain, in-person, the far reaching potential of his revolutionary invention and to argue for its patentability. Dr. Gadgil’s sincerity and unwavering belief in the life changing capabilities of his invention, in conjunction with Akhtar’s skillful defense of the simple ingenuity of the water disinfection device, eventually swayed the examiner to confirm patentability for the inventions embodied in the UV Waterworks™ device.
Akhtar, now managing partner of Knobbe Martens’ San Francisco office, has a long list of influential clients, both domestic and international, including among many others Analog Devices and ASM International. His particular expertise is in the semiconductor field, but he also represents a number of clients in a broad range of technologies, including Dr. Gadgil’s water purification inventions, drug delivery platforms, seismic reinforcement for the construction industry, food preparation and a variety of other fields. To his credit, Akhtar has drafted and prosecuted several significant patents for Oakley, Inc. which have withstood the test of litigation against major players like Nike, Inc.
Currently, Dr. Gadgil is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Berkeley and leads a group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that works to understand airflow and pollutant transport in buildings. Dr. Gadgil is committed to helping reduce health risks, improve energy efficiency and enhance the quality of life in developing countries. Another of Gadgil’s inventions, the Berkeley-Darfur Stove, was created to reduce the fuel demand of those in displacement camps in Darfur. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Lemelson-MIT Award for Global Innovation and the Heinz Award for his humanitarian contributions.
Inductees into the National Inventors Hall of Fame are chosen by a national selection committee consisting of representatives of scientific, technical, engineering, and patent organizations, a blue ribbon panel of experts, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). More information about National Inventors Hall of Fame and Dr. Gadgil’s recognition can be found here.
With over 275 lawyers and scientists nationwide, Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP dedicates its practice to all aspects of intellectual property law including litigation. 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.
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