Banner Witcoff

Attorneys Mercedes Meyer and Kirk Sigmon have been elected to serve on Intellectual Property Owner Association (IPO) committees for the 2026 calendar year. Mercedes will serve as Vice Chair of the Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Issues Committee. The committee will advise the IPO Board of Directors regarding legislative changes, patent office policies, regulatory issues and judicial…

So, what’s happening at the PTAB?  Successful use of secondary considerations, showing expectation of success, hindsight findings, and more! Secondary Considerations…they do exist!  Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. v. Ouraring, Inc., PGR2024-00039, Paper 54 (December 5, 2025) (Horner, joined by Powell and Valek) In its Final Written Decision, the Board found claims non-obvious based on secondary…

Banner Witcoff’s Hengyi Jiang and Kirk Sigmon explore strategies for filing U.S. utility patent applications based on prior Chinese applications in an article published in the most recent issue of the Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal. The article surveys the procedural routes for filing such utility patent applications in the United States and details common…

Banner Witcoff Patent Engineer Marguerite Smith joined AIPLA’s Patent Agents Committee to talk about her first year as a patent agent on the People of Ordinary Skill in the Art (POSITA) podcast. The episode covers:– How Marguerite found her way into intellectual property after college– What it’s really been like starting out in her first…

On December 11, shareholder Kirk Sigmon spoke on a General Counsel 360 roundtable with various general counsel from technology companies on the topics of IP enforcement and portfolio valuation.  Kirk focused his comments on the increasing value of foreign patent enforcement in countries like China and Brazil, the importance of working with innovation teams to…

The World Intellectual Property Review (WIPR) has recognized Banner Witcoff shareholders Katie Laatsch Fink and Anna King, along with the firm’s trademark practice, in its 2025 edition of the USA Trademark Rankings. The national rankings identify firms and individuals capable of advising leading companies and associate law firms on their most significant trademark matters. In…

Banner Witcoff shareholder Kirk Sigmon was featured in eMarketer’s “Tech Trends to Watch in 2026.” The article highlights predictions for artificial intelligence (AI) market corrections, advancements in voice assistants, the rise of AI companion devices, and anticipated regulatory developments in 2026. The full article, which is behind a paywall, can be found here.

It’s been a little over 10 years since the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International published in 2014, laying out a two-step analysis for determining whether a patent claim recites eligible subject matter under Title 35 of the U.S. Code, Section 101. While this test provides a basic framework…