Knobbe Martens has been honored with a series of accolades from Legal Media Group’s (LMG) Life Sciences division. In the 2015 LMG Life Sciences rankings, 11 Knobbe Martens attorneys were recognized as “Life Sciences Stars” and the firm ranked as “highly recommended” in the categories of Patent Prosecution and Hatch-Waxman Patent Litigation (Generic), and “recommended” for Patent Strategy and Management. At LMG’s third annual “Life Sciences Awards” ceremony held September 16 in New York City, the firm was awarded “Patent Impact Case of the Year” for its victory on behalf of longstanding client Masimo Corp. against Philips Electronics North America Corp. and Philips Medizin Systeme Boblingen GmbH, and partner Salima Merani was named “Patent Prosecution Attorney of the Year.”
The Knobbe Martens partners named “Life Sciences Stars” in LMG’s annual rankings include Dan Altman, Ned Israelsen, Christy Lea, Sabing Lee, Dr. Joseph Mallon, Don Martens, Dr. Salima Merani, Joseph Re, Dr. Joseph Reisman, Gerard von Hoffmann, and William Zimmerman. In addition, LMG’s profile of Knobbe Martens in its 2015 “Life Sciences Survey” highlighted the accomplishments of Lee, Dr. Merani, Re, and Zimmerman. Lee was recognized for his IP portfolio management expertise in the medical device space; Dr. Merani was described as a “highly praised” prosecution expert with an “inherent knowledge of the law;” Re, lead trial counsel for Masimo, was characterized as a “star attorney;” and Zimmerman was praised as “excellent, sharp, creative…always has the client needs at the top of the list, as opposed to billings.”
In its annual “Life Sciences Awards”, 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. Knobbe Martens was awarded “Patent Impact Case of the Year” for its $466 million jury verdict for longstanding client Masimo Corp. This verdict 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.
Dr. Merani was awarded LMG’s “Patent Prosecution Attorney of the Year” title for her work building patent portfolios for some of the top life sciences companies in the nation. She 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” Intellectual Asset Management’s “IAM Patent 1000”.
LMG Life Sciences is the only publication dedicated to the comprehensive analysis of the life sciences industry.
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