James H. Laughlin, Jr. concentrates his practice on intellectual property matters and related technology issues with a focus on litigation and counseling. He is particularly active in representing clients in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and electronics industries.
Mr. Laughlin recently received an affirmance in a split decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit from a jury verdict he obtained as lead counsel for MDS America and MDS International invalidating two patents. He has recently served as lead trial counsel for 3Com Corporation in complex litigation relating to Ethernet Controller chips in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. He was lead appellate attorney for Monsanto in the EDA litigation against Halcon resulting in a favorable en banc decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He also served as lead attorney for Union Oil Company of California in In re Dillon, which resulted in an en banc decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He has also served as lead attorney for DeBeers, Texaco, Qualcomm, Owens Illinois, Hughes Aircraft, Dow Corning, Emerson Electric, and Call Sciences, among others, in various litigation matters.
In addition to lecturing in various continuing legal education programs of the American University; American Intellectual Property Law Association; California State Bar; D.C. Bar; Los Angeles Patent Law Association; Michigan State Bar; Virginia State Bar; and Virginia Bar Association, Mr. Laughlin was appointed and served as Adjunct Professor of Patent Law at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Representative cases include:
- served as lead outside and trial counsel for Texaco in the planning and construction of a methyl tertiary butyl ether or MTBE plant in Texas
- served as lead outside counsel for Union Oil Company of California in a three-way patent interference proceeding involving FMC and Republic Geothermal involving the chemical removal of sulfur from geothermal steam
- served as lead counsel in the creation of the IS-95 Standard for CDMA during infringement and validity litigation relating the same technology
- was the lead trial attorney for Dow Corning in proceedings against Wacker Chemie GmbH in the Eastern District of Michigan for infringement of medical adhesive patents
- served as staff counsel for Lederle, the pharmaceutical division of the American Cyanamid Company
- served as outside licensing counsel to 3Com in the successful negotiation of a significant patent portfolio license to VIA for Ethernet Controller chips
- served as managing house counsel in proceedings before the Federal Trade Commission brought against Lederle, the pharmaceutical division of the American Cyanamid Company
- served as outside counsel to BioChem Pharma in significant biotech interference proceedings before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences of the United States Patent and Trademark Office against a major American university
- served as lead trial counsel for Med-Tech, a veterinary pharmaceutical company, in litigation with Sanofi and American Home Products
- lead trial counsel in defense of Vitaline Formula in litigation involving FDA enforcement action both before the agency and in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, and, separately, patent infringement litigation related to the medical use of calcium acetate as a phosphorous binder in patients in end stage renal failure
- served as outside counsel for the Benaroya Research Institute of the Virginia Mason Research Center licensing research technology relating to autoimmune diseases including juvenile diabetes and scleroderma
- served as lead trial counsel to Med-Tech Medical Products in trademark and trade dress litigation involving diabetic test strips in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- serves as counsel for Integrated Vascular Interventional Technologies in initiating interference proceedings before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences of the United States Patent and Trademark Office involving micro surgical techniques for replacing coronary bypass surgery
- served as lead trial counsel to Biologics, Inc. against the Colorado State University Research Foundation in proceedings before the United States District Court for Colorado in patent litigation involving rehydration therapy
- served as lead counsel for Hughes Aircraft in a three-way chemical interference proceeding before the United States Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences involving the United States Department of Energy and the a major American university. After achieving a favorable decision in a collateral district court proceeding against the Department of Energy, the case was resolved by a favorable settlement