Knobbe Martens, one of the nation’s leading intellectual property law firms, recently announced that senior partner Gerard von Hoffmann has relocated from Irvine to the firm’s San Diego office in Del Mar Heights.
Von Hoffmann heads Knobbe Martens’ robust medical device practice group and works closely with startups and venture capital firms. His time is spent primarily on IP audits, financings, strategic transactions, developing offensive patent portfolios, and various risk reduction and design around activities. Knobbe Martens is a leader in medical device intellectual property law, having filed more than 5,000 medical device patent applications in the United States alone, successfully litigated numerous medical device patent infringement cases for both the patent holder and accused infringer, and helped hundreds of medical device companies through private equity financings, public offerings and acquisitions. In 2016, von Hoffmann led the IP diligence in 16 equity financings cumulatively valued at $356 Million, an acquisition valued at $380 Million, and an IPO with a current market cap in excess of $900 Million.
Von Hoffmann continues to spend significant time in the firm’s Silicon Valley office, where he has served as Managing Partner since 2012. His move enables him to be closer to many of the local region’s startups, inventors, venture capitalists, incubators, and established companies in San Diego’s burgeoning medical device field. “While I plan to maintain my relationships in Silicon Valley, Orange County and elsewhere, I look forward to expanding my practice into the San Diego medical device community,” von Hoffmann said.
Von Hoffmann has received a myriad of accolades for his work, including being repeatedly ranked as one of the top intellectual property lawyers in California and beyond by Chambers and Partners, Super Lawyers magazine, Legal Media Group (LMG), and other publications. He was recently featured in The Legal 500 firm rankings editorial section for assisting startup companies Claret Medical and Direct Flow Medical build their patent portfolios. Mr. von Hoffmann holds an A.B. in Chemistry from Rice University and Occidental College and received a J.D., cum laude, from the University of San Diego School of Law. Mr. von Hoffmann attended the Institute on International and Comparative Law at Oxford University, England, and served as a law clerk for the Honorable Helen W. Nies, Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Von Hoffmann also created and manages KnobbeMedical.com. This website provides information about litigation and announcements in the medical device industry as well as various resources for the startup medical device community.
He is active in many organizations fostering innovation by academia and the health technology industry, including serving as a guest lecturer and Team Coach in the Stanford BioDesign fellowship program. He has also served on the Board of Directors for an array of medical device companies including CardioVascular Dynamics, Inc. (angioplasty products), Radiance Medical Systems, Inc. (intravascular brachytheraphy), Triage Medical, Inc. (orthopedic fixation devices), NeoMatrix, LLC (breast cancer screening), and ValenTx, Inc. (implants for morbid obesity). He was an Adjunct Professor of Patent Law at the University of San Diego Law School for six years, from 1990-1996.
About Knobbe Martens
Consistently ranked among the top intellectual property firms in the nation and worldwide, Knobbe Martens has about 280 lawyers and scientists nationwide and dedicates its practice to all aspects of intellectual property and technology law, including litigation. Knobbe Martens serves a diverse group of clients from multinational corporations to emerging businesses of all stages. The firm is headquartered in Orange County, California, with offices in Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C., and enjoys an international reputation for excellence. More information about the firm can be found at www.knobbe.com.
