OUR HISTORY
1909 - Co-Founder Francis O. Richey (August 15, 1878) enters private practice as a patent and intellectual property attorney.
Mr. Richey graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Electrical Engineering and earned his law degree in 1906 from National University in Washington D.C. Mr. Richey spent three years with the U.S. Patent Office as an examiner prior to moving to Elyria, Ohio and entering private practice in 1909 as a Patent Attorney. Mr. Richey, in addition to procuring many early patents in the automotive, telephone, lighting and electrical industries, was an accomplished litigator with several reported federal district and federal circuit cases and argued a patent case before the United States Supreme Court.
Mr. Richey was a founding member of the Cleveland Intellectual Property Law Association CIPLA in 1918.
1923 - Co-Founder Blythe D. Watts (1889 - 1991) joins Mr. Richey in private practice in Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr. Watts graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1921 with a degree in chemical engineering and a law degree. Mr. Watts was a member of Alpha Chi Sigma, an honorary chemical engineering society. Mr. Watts, in addition to procuring many early patents in the automotive, telephone, lighting and chemical industries, was an accomplished litigator with several reported federal district and federal circuit cases and argued a patent case before the United States Supreme Court.
Mr. Watts was the President of the Cleveland Intellectual Property Law Association (CIPLA) from 1949 - 1950.
1926 - Richey and Watts argue patent case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
I. T. S. RUBBER CO. v. ESSEX RUBBER CO. 272 U.S. 429 (argued April 13, 1926, decided Nov. 22, 1926)
I. T. S. RUBBER CO. held that a patent applicant who is granted a patent based on a
specific limitation may not enlarge the scope of their claims by invoking the doctrine
of equivalents against another party in a patent infringement case.
Full text of the case:
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/272/1929
1929 - Helen J. Slough Juergens, (1908 - 1999) the first known Ohio female patent attorney, joins Watts and Richey in private practice.
Mrs. Slough-Juergens attended Ursuline College and graduated with her law degree from the Cleveland School of Law of Baldwin Wallace College in 1929. She was one of the first female members of the Cleveland Bar Association.
When asked about her career as a patent attorney in a male dominated field, Mrs. Slough Juergens, a wife to Harold and mother to son Robert, commented "You know, I found out I have to work twice as hard as any man, and I found you have to know twice as much, but fortunately neither one was difficult." Mrs. Slough Juergens retired from private practice in 1997 at the age of 89.
1950 - James T. Hoffman (1922-2014) joins Watts Law, which between the years 1996-2006, was known as Watts Hoffman LPA. Mr. Hoffman was the President of the Cleveland Intellectual Property Law Association (CIPLA) from 1957-1958.
1958 - Thomas E. Fisher (1927-2005) joins Watts Law, which between the years 1978-1996, was known as Watts, Hoffman, Fisher & Heinke LPA.
Mr. Fisher was the President of the Cleveland Intellectual Property Law Association (CIPLA) from 1975 - 1976.
1960 - Lowell L. Heinke (1932-2014) joins Watts Law, which between the years 1978-1996, was known as Watts, Hoffman, Fisher & Heinke LPA.
Mr. Heinke received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering with honors from Case Institute of Technology in 1954 and his law degree from George Washington University in 1959. Mr. Heinke was also a Patent Examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Heinke was the President of the Cleveland Intellectual Property Law Association (CIPLA) from 1980-1981.
1963 - Daniel Sammon (1934 - 1991) joins Watts Law. Mr. Sammon had a successful career enforcing patents, trademarks, and copyrights as well as acting as Watts’ chair of the litigation department. Mr. Sammon spent a few years as a patent examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office before entering private practice. Tragically, Mr. Sammon passed away during the height of his practice. Mr. Sammon graduated from Case Institute of Technology with a B.S. in 1957, his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University in 1960, and his Master of Laws, LL.M in 1961 from George Washington University.
1965 - James A. Watterson (1932-2016) joins Watts Law. Mr. Watterson was the President of the Cleveland Intellectual Property Law Association (CIPLA) from 1986-1987. A multifaceted intellectual property attorney, Mr. Watterson was highly skilled at procuring patents and trademarks, as well enforcing the patents as
a first chair trial attorney. Mr. Watterson was a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office prior graduating from George Washington University Law School, where he was a member of the Law Review and The Order of the Coif. Mr. Watterson received his undergraduate degree in industrial engineering from Case Institute of Technology and served two years as a lieutenant in the United States Air Force. Mr. Watterson was often referenced as the "Dad patent attorney" in the comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes, authored by his son, Bill Watterson.
2006 - Watts Hoffman LPA merges with Tarolli, Sundheim, Covell & Tummino, LLC.
2009 - Watts team members John Yirga and George Pinchak argued and successfully appealed International Seaway Trading Corp. v. Walgreens Corp. Corp., 589 F. 3d 1233 (Fed. Cir. 2009) affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded International Seaway Trading Corp. v. Walgreens Corp ., 599 F.Supp2d 1307 (S.D.F.L.2008). The Seaway decision changed the law involving the test used for U.S. design patent validity and is the seminal case for design patent anticipation cited frequently by U.S. Patent Office examiners. The design patents at issue included several patents, reflected in the adjacent image, and were filed and prosecuted by Yirga and Pinchak.
2017 - Watts team members John Yirga , George Pinchak, and Samantha Smart, as lead trial attorneys, successfully defended their client’s patent and patent applications in the first ever patent derivation proceeding instituted by the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board. See Andersen Corporation v. GED Integrated Solutions, Inc . DER2017 00007; DER2018 0008; DER2019 0003; Andersen Corporation v. GED Integrated Solutions, Inc ., Fed. Cir. Appeal No. 19-1907; and Fed. Cir. Appeal No. 19 1695. A derivation is a complex trial proceeding that determines ownership rights in a U.S. patent or U.S. patent application.
2023 - Watts Law LLC separates from Tarolli, Sundheim, Covell & Tummino, LLC with all the original members and attorneys of Watts Hoffman, the Watts team moves to their permanent home in the historic Lemko Building in Cleveland, Ohio. The Lemko Building, and front entrance to the Watts Law office, was the famous location for the shooting of the 1978 movie The Deer Hunter, starring Christopher Walken, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, and John Cazale.