Patenting Remains Relatively Strong

ALBANY, NY (10/05/2009)(readMedia)-- Hoffman Warnick LLC (HW), an intellectual property law firm based in Albany, NY, has released the Tech Valley Patent Indices for Third Quarter 2009. The "Tech Valley Patent Indices" 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.

In the third quarter, "the Tech Valley Patent Index was down significantly compared to last quarter, but surprisingly the other indices remained fairly strong" stated Spencer Warnick, partner at Hoffman Warnick. Warnick added that: "the number of issued patents is surprisingly robust because, just as employment, patent issuances are a lagging indicator of economic vitality. As companies started to cut back at the beginning of this year, you would expect at least some cutting of intellectual property budgets. You see that in the Tech Valley Patent Index, but the other indices remained strong, which is great to see. Another nice sign is that all of the indices are better compared to this quarter last year."

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. 7566653 issued to Chih-Chao Yang and Daniel Edelstein for "Interconnect Structure with Grain Growth Promotion Layer and Method for Forming the Same." The patent issued July 28, 2009. 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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