Clifton McCann is an experienced patent attorney who focuses on the strategic development and defense of patent rights in the chemical, biological, and mechanical arts.  As first- and second-chair trial and appellate counsel he has an undefeated record in patent infringement litigation, with awards and settlements ranging into eight figures.
 
Mr. McCann uses his 25-plus years of experience to help clients stay focused on the business and practical aspects of patenting, which in turn allows informed decisions on patent procurement, enforcement, and defense based on realistic estimates of cost and the likely impact of patent protection on market share, industry leverage, profits, and business value.  Mr. McCann provides validity and infringement opinions, exploits patent rights, defends against patent infringement challenges, and, when necessary, litigates patent rights in the federal district courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

Mr. McCann has had responsibility for the following representative matters:

• Lead counsel for defendants, major paper shredder manufacturer and customers of manufacturer (large office supply chain-stores), in patent infringement case involving lubricant products, brought by non-practicing entity.
• Lead trial counsel for patentee Ecolochem (now part of GE) in Ecolochem, Inc. v. Southern California Edison Co., a patent infringement case involving water purification.  Four-week trial resulted in judgment of validity and willful infringement, with damages and attorney-fee award.  Successfully argued related appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  Client received 8-figure settlement after defendant’s petition for certiorari was denied.
• Lead counsel for accused infringer Red Devil, Inc. in Sashco, Inc. v. Red Devil, resulting in summary judgment of non-infringement of patents for caulk products.
• Counsel for patentee medical device manufacturer in patent litigation regarding pipettes, resulting in successful defense against summary judgment motion and favorable settlement.
• Trial co-counsel for patentee in patent infringement case concerning coin-operated arcade games.  One-week trial resulted in jury verdict of liability and a favorable settlement that included award for past damages.
• Counsel for large pharmaceutical company in patent validity challenge under Hatch-Waxman paragraph IV matter against generic drug manufacturer, resulting in settlement favorable to client.
• Patent damages counsel in litigation between two leaders in the semiconductor chip industry, which resulted in multi-year cross license allowing the parties to practice each other's technology.
• Trial counsel for owner of famous MENSA mark , resulting in defendant international drug development company’s abandonment of federal trademark application and cessation of use of ADMENSA on drug discovery software and services.
• Lead counsel in successful defense of validity challenge of "Invisible Fence" dog retaining system in patent reexamination proceeding brought by national retailer.
• Lead counsel for Fortune 50 client in effort to obtain patent protection for immune disease therapy after successful appeal to U.S. PTO's Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences.

Representative Clients

Mr. McCann represents high-tech manufacturers, consumer product manufacturers, service providers in the engineering field, water purification companies, startup companies, and a wide variety of other owners of valuable patent and trademark rights.

Activities

Mr. McCann is active in intellectual property law organizations and has held the following leadership positions:

• Chairman of the Committee on Federal Intellectual Property Litigation of the American Bar Association
• Chairman of the Markman Patent Claim Interpretation Subcommittee of the American Bar Association
• Chairman of the Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law Section of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia
• Executive Board Member of the Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law Section of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia
• Member, Board of Trustees of the Foundation of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia

Mr. McCann writes and lectures on patent and intellectual property law, with focuses on patentability, patent damages, and patent law developments pertinent to the chemical and water purification fields.  He is an editor of Venable’s IP Buzz.

Before joining Venable, Mr. McCann was a managing partner of Lane, Aitken & McCann, a patent boutique listed in Martindale-Hubbell's Bar Register of Preeminent Law Firms.  Mr. McCann studied chemistry and biology at Northern Illinois University, obtained J.D. from Catholic University of America while employed as business analyst, and received an LL.M. in patent law and trade regulation from George Washington University, a lead law school in the intellectual property field.