Meggan F. Duffy concentrates on securing valuable patent rights for a variety of clients in the mechanical, electromechanical, consumer products and medical devices sectors. She also provides opinions and counseling for clients in these industries. Always thinking about how clients can maximize their patent rights, she helps them succeed by listening carefully to their goals and working closely with them to help meet those goals. Ms. Duffy's extensive experience teaching at DePaul University College of Law and as Director of the Firm's professional training makes her particularly effective in representing and communicating with clients.
Recent Client Work:
Successfully counseled office supplies and products company on several patent application processes and freedom-to-practice issues. Advice resulted in two important benefits: protection of company's innovations in lucrative product sectors despite crowded fields of art; and substantial cost savings in their development of several products.
Successfully counseled mechanical devices client on new product design, conducting a cost effective and comprehensive search and review, and providing a thorough opinion.
Secured valuable patent rights early in prosecution for a small, start-up company's successful new product.
Representative Experience:
Clients have benefited from Ms. Duffy's handling of intellectual property matters in these diverse technologies:
Medical Devices: Patent Prosecution and Counseling - Thoracic Occlusion Systems; Applicators and Devices for Applying Sealant to Tissues During Surgical Procedures; Catheters; Breast Pumps and Related Products;
Mechanical: Patent Prosecution and Opinions and Counseling — Banner Mounting Assemblies; Mining Systems and Products; Vacuums and Air Movers and Related Devices; Flow Control Systems and Valves; Gear Systems:
Consumer Products: Patent Prosecution and Opinions and Counseling — Ink Systems for Retractable Marker Products; Retractable Valves for Writing Instruments; Side Knock Mechanisms for Mechanical Pencils; Lead Storage, Advancement and Delivery Systems for Writing Implements:
Electromechanical: Opinions and Counseling - GPS Products and Systems.
Background and Credentials:
Ms. Duffy has successfully handled patent prosecution for clients in numerous technical areas and helped advance their business opportunities through opinions and counseling.
For seven years, Ms. Duffy was an Instructor of Law at DePaul University College of Law, teaching Patent Law, first-year Legal Analysis, Research & Communication, and Intellectual Property Legal Analysis, Research & Communication. While teaching, she was also actively involved in the law school's Center for Intellectual Property Law and Information Technology (CIPLIT), serving as Co-Director of its L.L.M. Program in Intellectual Property Law. Ms. Duffy also continued to practice with the firm on a project basis during that time.
Ms. Duffy joined the firm after earning her J.D. degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1998. She obtained her B.S. in General Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1995.