Patent Indices Remain Consistent Despite Recession

ALBANY, NY (01/07/2009)(readMedia)-- Hoffman Warnick LLC (HW), an intellectual property law firm based in Albany, NY, has released the Tech Valley Patent Index for Fourth Quarter 2008, the 2008 Annual Report and the 2008 Annual Quarterly Average Report. The "Tech Valley Patent Index" and the Annual Reports include data for: the Capital Region (Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga and Rensselaer counties), Tech Valley, Tech Valley without IBM and GE, and the Capital Region without GE.

With regard to the Fourth Quarter, "We're up compared to the same time last year, and seem to be weathering the recession," stated Spencer Warnick, partner at Hoffman Warnick. Warnick added that: "the annual reports also indicate that 2008 was a good year compared to previous years despite the recession."

The "Patent of the Quarter" is chosen to illustrate firsthand the creativity of Tech Valley inventors. This quarter, the POQ is awarded to: US Patent No. 7456636 issued to Oliver Patterson and Huilong Zhu for "Test Structure and Method of Defect Detection Using Voltage Contrast Inspection." The patent issued November 25, 2008. The patent is assigned to IBM, which is a client of Hoffman Warnick.

To obtain a pdf of this quarter's Patent Index, please e-mail hwemail@hoffmanwarnick.com or visit www.hoffmanwarnick.com

About Hoffman Warnick LLC: Hoffman Warnick LLC is an intellectual property law firm focusing on biotechnology, nanotechnology, computers and software, electrical, mechanical, chemical, and materials engineering. Hoffman Warnick is committed to providing the highest quality services including: domestic and international property rights procurement, dispute resolution, and licensing.

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