Gerson S. Panitch has nearly 30 years experience in patent litigation, strategic planning, licensing, due diligence and portfolio development. He leads the firms Strategic IP Planning Group and its Israel practice, working with many of Israels leading companies to help them grow valuation through strategic patenting, and to assert and defend patent infringement claims in U.S. courts.
Gerson is on the faculty of the Business School at Tel Aviv University, where he received the schools 2017 Outstanding Lecturer Award for his MBA course on patent strategy. In addition to his patent litigation work, Gerson also handles other contentious IP-related litigation, and has been recognized by The Legal 500 U.S. for trade secrets work.
Previously, Gerson taught patent litigation and strategy for five years at the University of Haifa Faculty of Law. Outside of his work representing leading Israeli companies, Gerson represents companies in the United States and Europe as well.
Gerson applies strategic planning concepts to patenting decisions to help companies align their patent strategies with their business goals, maximizing patent portfolio impact and minimizing resources wasted on patents unlikely to add value.
He combines his experience as an in-court patent litigator and his practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to help companies strategically develop patents designed to provide competitive advantage and withstand courtroom attack.
In one case, he successfully defended a patent owner from claims of infringement during $500M+ public transaction, enabling the transaction to proceed on schedule and saving the patent owner over $100M in potential penalties.
Gerson often provides due diligence counsel to assess infringement risks, help clients avoid them, and define avenues for enhanced patent protection. Although recovery of attorneys fees are not the norm in U.S. courts, Gerson has developed successful strategies for defending companies accused of patent infringement, and recovering attorneys fees in the process.
Gerson led the defense for a major manufacturer against patent infringement claims in a $150M+ case related to commercial cooling systems. He secured a jury decision that both patents involving heat exchanges and an electronic system control were invalid, and an award of nearly $1M in attorneys fees after persuading the judge that the case exceptional.
Education :
- University of Wisconsin School of Law J.D., 1988
- University of Wisconsin, Madison B.S., Industrial Engineering, 1985
Admissions :
- District of Columbia
- Wisconsin
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
- Supreme Court of the United States
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Professional Activities :
- District of Columbia Bar (Section on Patent, Trademark and Copyright)
- State Bar of Wisconsin (Section on Patent Law)
- American Bar Association (Section on Patent, Copyright and Trademark)
- American Intellectual Property Law Association
- Federal Circuit Bar Association
Cost
Rate : $$$