Anthony J. Fitzpatrick practices in the area of intellectual property litigation with a concentration on patent and trade secret matters. Mr. Fitzpatrick serves as co-chair of the firm's Intellectual Property Litigation Practice. He has litigated matters involving diverse technologies, including factory controls and automation, semiconductors, and water purification, and has gained particular experience in biotechnology, medical devices and other life sciences. Mr. Fitzpatrick has extensive trial experience in state and federal courts and he has been lead trial counsel in a number of patent cases.

In addition to patent and trade secret matters, Mr. Fitzpatrick represents clients in intellectual property disputes concerning trademarks, copyrights, false advertising, rights of publicity and the Internet. He is also experienced in complex commercial litigation and white-collar criminal defense matters.

Mr. Fitzpatrick is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and his native Republic of Ireland. He holds law degrees from Boston University School of Law (Juris Doctor, 1993), The Honorable Society of King's Inns, Dublin (Barrister-at-Law, 1988), and University College Dublin (Bachelor of Civil Law, 1986).

Mr. Fitzpatrick is an active member of the Boston Bar Association. He is presently a member of the BBA's Amicus Committee, and has previously served on the Board of Editors of the Boston Bar Journal. Since 1998, Mr. Fitzpatrick has been an advisor to Harvard Law School's Trial Advocacy Program.

Representative Matters

Counsel to three of the world's largest biotechnology companies in major patent litigation matters concerning their core products.
Lead counsel for the plaintiff in three-week trial of an inventorship action against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Massachusetts General Hospital. The technology at issue concerned polyethylene used in total joint replacements.
Represented a leading manufacturer of water purification equipment in patent litigation concerning technology for the production of ultrapure water. Served as lead counsel at Markman hearing and at trial of patent invalidity issues.
Lead counsel for plaintiff medical device manufacturer in patent infringement litigation concerning modular hip prostheses.
Lead counsel for cord blood bank in litigation concerning technology for collection and storage of stem cells.
Counsel to manufacturer of cardiac defibrillators in dispute with company founder concerning ownership of patent rights and other intellectual property covering the company's product.
Lead counsel for defendant in patent infringement litigation concerning biological markers for autism.
Represented medical device company in litigation concerning ownership and license rights in patents concerning polymeric spinal implants.
Represented a number of companies in patent litigation and licensing negotiations with The Lemelson Foundation and with other so-called patent holding companies.
Lead counsel to building products manufacturer in patent and false advertising litigation.
Lead litigation counsel for an Italian manufacturer of plastic molding machines in Section 337 patent litigation before the United States International Trade Commission.
Lead counsel for a manufacturer of plastic cup lids in patent infringement litigation.
Represented the developer of an idea for a consumer product in a dispute with a company that had misappropriated the idea.
Counsel to a publisher of financial newsletters in a major false advertising case in U.S. District Court in New York.
Counsel to a healthcare benefits company in trademark litigation against a medical device manufacturer.

Professional Activities

Boston Bar Association
- Board of Editors, Boston Bar Journal, 2001-2004
- Certificate of Distinguished Service, 2004
- Amicus Committee, 2004-present
Named a Massachusetts Super Lawyer in the field of intellectual property litigation by Boston magazine, 2004-2007
Advisor, Harvard Law School, Trial Advocacy Program, 1998-present

Admissions

Ireland
Massachusetts
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

Education

Boston University School of Law, J.D., 1993
The Honorable Society of King's Inns, Barrister at Law, 1988
University College Dublin, B.C.L., 1986

Experience

Burns & Levinson LLP, Boston, Massachusetts
- Associate, 1993-1999
Looney & Grossman, Boston, Massachusetts
- Foreign Associate, 1989-1993
Duane Morris LLP
- Partner, 2000-Present
- Associate, 1999

Selected Publications

Featured in "Patent Litigation Roundtable: Recent Decisions Mean Big Changes," GC New England, May 2008
Quoted in "Lawyer Fitzpatrick Comments on U.S. Supreme Court Patent Case," Bloomberg News, June 26, 2006
Quoted in "Buyer Beware; An IT vendor's legal entanglements can snare its customers" and sidebar "Protect Yourself," Computerworld, January 25, 2007
Co-author, "New Terrain," 8-K: The Legal Magazine for Business Executives, Fall 2006
Quoted in "Supreme Court Set to Review Obviousness," IP Law360, June 26, 2006
Quoted in "Patent Holders Suffer a Setback," Lawyers USA, June 5, 2006
"Dealing With Patent Trolls," Counsel to Counsel, January 2006
Co-author, "Automatic Disclosure Requirements in Federal Court - Avoiding the Bark Behind the Bite," Boston Bar Journal, May/June 2004
Co-Author, "The Internet Domain Name Landscape in the Wake of the Government's 'White Paper'," Boston Bar Journal, November/December 1998
Co-Author, "Preliminary Injunctions in Biotechnology Patent Cases," High Technology Law in the Twenty-First Century, September 1997 The Journal of Biolaw and Business, Summer 1998
"Law and the Internet," Insights, Newsletter of the American Consulting Engineers Council of New England, May/June 1998
Co-Author, "Electronic Theft Could Create Vicarious Liability," The National Law Journal, April 17, 1995
"Copyright Law and the Public Domain," National Association of Desktop Publishers Journal, January 1995
"Writing the Book on Multimedia Copyrights," National Association of Desktop Publishers Journal, December 1994

Selected Speaking Engagements

Panelist, "Defending Against the Patent Troll Threat," Strafford Legal Briefings, March 14, 2006
Speaker, "Patent Litigation in the Wake of the Supreme Court's eBay Decision," IP Law360 seminar, September 13, 2006