Eli is joined by the legend of the patent bar, the virtuoso of Federal Circuit decisions – Tom Irving. They discuss the rise of the pharmaceutical patent practice, the creation and current state of the Federal Circuit, why and how Tom mentored 1000s of patent attorneys, best practices for patent prosecution, and much more!
Chief Judge Moore’s efforts to oust Judge Newman
How Tom ended up practicing patent law
Why there are so many patent attorneys from and in Utah
Joining Finnegan, Henderson in the 70s
How general patent practice firms getting into patent law spurred the growth of the pharma patent practice
Working on the first Hatch-Waxman litigation
Stories about helping pharma start-ups build multibillion dollar patent portfolios
Advice for building valuable patent portfolios
Why pharma patents generally manage to survive PTAB proceedings
The cost of drugs
How Tom predicted issues raised by Salazar v. AT&T Mobility LLC
Whether the Federal Circuit should issue more en banc decisions
Should the Federal Circuit be responsible for uniformity in decisions?
Being law firm partners with Judge Kara Stoll
Being mentored by PJ Federico and others
Advice for mentoring others
Who should consider retiring
Tom’s retirement plans in 2054
Tom Irving on Litigating 1st Hatch-Waxman Case & Mentoring 1000s in Patent Field