Jonathan A. Harris

Partner

Jonathan A. Harris, a partner in the firm's Intellectual Property and Biomedical Practice Groups, focuses on all phases of patent practice, with an emphasis on patent infringement litigation.

Mr. Harris represents clients in a variety of industries.

Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals

Mr. Harris both litigates and prepares chemical patents.  His litigation experience extends to specialized adhesives used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards, in Polyclad Laminates Inc. v. MacDermid Corp., 99-162 (D.N.H.); to colloidal dispersions used in papermaking, in Ondeo Nalco Company v. Eka Chemical, Inc., 01-537 (D. Del.) and to topical compositions used in the treatment of poison ivy, in Zanfel Laboratories, Inc. v. Cade Laboratories, LLC, 06-348 (W.D. Mich.).  In addition, Mr. Harris has prepared and prosecuted patent applications directed to water treatment chemicals and systems, nanoparticles and nanotubes and fluorescent dyes used in biomedical imaging.   

Mr. Harris also regularly assists pharmaceutical companies with all aspects of Paragraph IV patent infringement actions.  Recent Paragraph IV litigation includes Celgene Corp. et al. v. Actavis South Atlantic LLC, No. 06-5818 (D.N.J.) and Purdue Pharma L.P. v. Actavis Totowa LLC, No. 07-3972 (S.D.N.Y.).  He also assists in the preparation of Paragraph IV notice letters and has conducted intellectual property due diligence in the context of venture capital/private equity financings to identify investment risk and opportunities. 

Mechanical

Mr. Harris is also active in the mechanical field, having participated in numerous mechanical patent infringement actions, including for example, The Libman Company v. Quickie Manufacturing Corp. 00-2279 (C.D. Ill.) and Quickie Manufacturing Corp. v. The Libman Company 04-2229 (C.D. Ill.), relating to cleaning implements; and Cushion Technologies, LLC v. Fila USA, Inc., No. 06-347 (E.D. Tex.), relating to cushioning devices used in athletic footwear. Further relevant experience includes The Stanley Works v. Black & Decker, 99-1087 (D. Conn.), a trade dress infringement action over power tools and power tool accessories.  Mr. Harris also prepares and prosecutes patents covering mechanical inventions, including medical devices, cleaning implements and automotive tools.  He has extensive experience with cable management and distribution systems.

Software and Systems

Mr. Harris litigates patents directed to computer software and systems.  For example, Mr. Harris recently appeared in Medacist Solutions Group LLC v. Pandora Data Systems, Inc., 07-692 (D. Conn.), involving a patent directed to software for detecting drug diversion in the hospital setting.  He has also prepared patents directed to computer software driven systems, including disaster recovery systems and global positioning systems.  Mr. Harris has a particular interest in defending the financial services industry from patent attacks by non-practicing entities.

Bar & Court Admissions

• Connecticut
• Illinois
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Education

• University of Connecticut School of Law, Hartford, Connecticut, 1998 J.D. cum laude.
• University of Connecticut School of Business, Storrs, Connecticut, 1998 M.B.A. cum laude.
• Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 1994 B.S.

Publications

Five Things Every Biotech Company Must Know About Biosimilars, International BioPharm Vol. 23 Num. 6, June 2010

Federal Circuit Issues New Pleading Guidelines for Inequitable Conduct, The Connecticut Law Tribune, Intellectual Property Law Supplement, October 12, 2009

The Lead Compound Concept, Federal Circuit v. SCOTUS Precedent, IPLaw360, August 20, 2009

The Nanotech Researcher’s Dilemma: Patent or Perish?, Small Times, November 2006 

Seminars & Classes

• "Medical Process Claims after Bilski and Promethius," Maximizing Pharmaceutical Patent Life Cycles, American Conference Institute (New York, NY October 7, 2009)
• "Patent Litigation Strategies for Follow-on Biologics," Generic Pharmaceutical Association GphA Annual Meeting (Washington, DC September 16-19, 2009).
• "Bioequivalence in Paragraph IV Patent Infringement Litigation," FDA Boot Camp, American Conference Institute (Chicago, IL July 21 and 22, 2009)
• "Practical Guidelines for Assessing the Doctrine of Equivalence and Invalidity in Patent Opinion Writing," Pharmaceutical and Biotech Patent Opinion Writing, American Conference Institute (Boston, MA Nov. 17-18, 2008) (Atlanta, GA December 8-9, 2008)