Susan Cahoon has chaired the firm's Litigation practice group and is the firm's General Counsel. She joined the firm in 1971 and was admitted to partnership in 1977. Ms. Cahoon has spent all of her career as a litigator. Her diverse experience includes patent infringement litigation, complex commercial disputes and securities litigation. She also is trained as a mediator and as an arbitrator. Ms. Cahoon has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® for more than 10 years. In 2011, she was listed for Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation and Intellectual Property Law. She is listed in the 2009, 2010 and 2011 editions of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business for General Commercial Litigation. In 2009, 2010 and 2011, Ms. Cahoon was named one of the Top 100 Georgia Super Lawyers and a Top 50 Women Georgia "Super Lawyer" and recognized in the areas of Intellectual Property Litigation and Business Litigation in 2009 and again in 2010 and 2011 for Intellectual Property Litigation by SuperLawyers magazine. Ms. Cahoon has been listed for several years in the Practical Law Company's Which Lawyer? and was named a "recommended lawyer" in Georgia for Dispute Resolution in 2009. She was recognized as a 2011 "Legal Elite" for General Practice/Trial Law by Georgia Trend magazine. Ms. Cahoon received the Emory College of Arts & Sciences Alumni Award of Distinction in recognition of her contributions to her profession, to the community and to her college alma mater and she began a six-year term as a Trustee of Emory University in 2009. She has also been named to the Lawdragon 3000 Leading Lawyers in America and recognized in The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers for 2009 and The International Who's Who of Patent Lawyers for 2011. In 2008 and 2011, Ms. Cahoon was recognized by Benchmark: Litigation as a Georgia "Litigation Star." She speaks and reads French and reads Spanish. Ms. Cahoon is AV® rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Professional & Community Activities American Bar Foundation, Fellow American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow American Law Institute, Member Emory University, Board of Trustees USO Council of Georgia, Vice President Georgia Bar Foundation, Fellow Lumpkin American Inn of Court, Master Bencher American Bar Association, Torts and Insurance Practice and Litigation Sections, Past Committee Chairs American Inns of Court Foundation, Former Trustee Litigation, the Journal of the ABA Litigation Section, Former Associate Editor Industries Health & Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Pharmaceuticals; Chemical Experience Oklahoma Med. Research Found. v. Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc., The firm served as lead counsel on behalf of Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in a patent infringement suit brought in the Northern District of Oklahoma against Alexion Pharmaceuticals. The patents related to complement-inhibition technology and their use in a drug marketed by Alexion to treat a rare, debilitating and life-threatening disease. After replacing OMRF's previous counsel in the matter and soon after claim construction briefing was complete, we obtained a settlement. It included payment to our client as well as public acknowledgement that individuals affiliated with OMRF were the true inventors of the technology at issue. Oklahoma Med. Research Found. v. Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No. 07-163 (N.D. Okla. filed Mar. 15, 2007). Biopolymer Engineering Inc. v. Immunocorp, The firm served as lead counsel for Biotec Pharmacon, ASA, a Norwegian pharmaceutical company, in patent infringement litigation initiated by patent owner Biothera, a Minnesota corporation, in the District of Minnesota in Minneapolis. The 14 patents involved in the litigation relate to, among other things, beta glucan compositions for immunotherapy. The District Court granted summary judgment of non-infringement as to 12 of the 14 patents, and the case subsequently settled.
Biopolymer Eng'g, Inc. v. Immunocorp, No. 05-00536 (D. Minn. filed Mar. 14, 2005). Molnlycke Health Care Group AB v. Ossur & Medline, Served as lead counsel on behalf of Molnlycke Health Care Group AB in a patent infringement suit against two competitors in the Northern District of Georgia involving silicone-based wound dressings. The court entered a favorable claim construction ruling for our clients, and the case settled while summary judgment motions were pending after the manufacturer of the accused products removed them from the U.S. marketplace.
Molnlycke Health Care Group AB v. Ossur & Medline, No. 06-1027 (N.D. Ga. filed Apr. 28, 2006). Barry W. Thomas v. Motorola, Inc.; Barry W. Thomas v. Cingular Wireless LLC, et al.; Barry W. Thomas v. Cox Communications, Inc., et al.; Thomas v. Adelphia Communications Corp., et al.; Thomas v. Alltel, et al., The firm served as lead counsel on behalf of a number of defendants, including Motorola, AT&T, and Cox Communications in two parallel patent infringement actions in the Western District of North Carolina and the Eastern District of Texas regarding technology involving wireless telephone handset equipment, and digital cable or satellite set-top boxes. After a favorable claim construction ruling for our clients in the North Carolina matter, the plaintiff agreed to dismiss its claims for infringement with prejudice in both North Carolina and Texas. (Judge Ward).
Thomas v. Motorola, Inc., No. 05-00493 (W.D.N.C. filed Nov. 28, 2005); Thomas v. Cingular Wireless LLC, et al., No. 05-00495 (W.D.N.C. filed Nov. 28, 2005); Thomas v. Cox Commc'ns, Inc., et al., No. 07-0231 (E.D. Tex. filed June 6, 2007); Thomas v. Adelphia Commc'ns Corp., et al., No. 05-00497 (W.D.N.C. filed Nov. 28, 2005); Thomas v. Alltel, et al., No. 05-0506 (W.D.N.C. filed Dec. 6, 2005). Smith & Nephew Inc. v. Synthes (U.S.A.), Represented Smith & Nephew in a patent infringement suit against Synthes Corp. in the Western District of Tennessee. After a three-week bench trial, the court found Smith & Nephew's patents to be valid and infringed. The court entered a permanent injunction in September 2006 enjoining Synthes from continuing to sell infringing bone repair devices. This is one the first permanent injunctions entered in a patent case after the Supreme Court's eBay opinion. After briefing and argument in the Federal Circuit, the parties reached a confidential settlement of the case.
Smith & Nephew Inc. v. Synthes (U.S.A.), 466 F. Supp.2d 978 (W.D. Tenn. 2006). Genetic Technologies Limited v. Beckman Coulter, Inc. et al., Represented Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. in a patent infringement action filed by Genetic Technologies Limited ("GTG"). The plaintiff sued nine defendants in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin alleging patent infringement of its patent relating to methods of analysis of non-coding DNA sequences. Several large companies had previously been involved in litigation with GTG over this patent. As a result of licenses GTG negotiated with those defendants, GTG sought millions of dollars in past damages and future license fees from Pioneer. Because of intensive defensive efforts and factual investigation, we approached GTG regarding settlement. These discussions resulted in a favorable settlement of the matter, the terms of which are confidential.
Genetic Technologies Limited v. Beckman Coulter, Inc. et al., No. 3:10-cv-00069 (W.D. Wisc. filed Feb. 11, 2010). Karl Storz Endoscopy-Am., Inc. v. Stryker Inc., Represents Smith & Nephew Endoscopy-Andover in a patent infringement litigation brought by KarlStorz Endoscopy-America Inc. that includes several patents directed to systems for controlling operating room equipment. Case pending.
Karl Storz Endoscopy-Am., Inc. v. Stryker, Inc., No. 07-02702 (W.D. Tenn. filed Nov. 2, 2007). Trademark litigation services for a Fortune 500 brewery, Represented a Fortune 500 brewery to secure a judgment as a matter of law that there was a likelihood of confusion between our client's mark and the defendant's mark. We prevailed on summary judgment on their unfair competition counterclaims and then successfully defended against an appeal and a petition for certiorari. *Experience gained by attorney prior to joining Kilpatrick Townsend Publications 10 December 2009, Intellectual Property Innovations Class: The Changing Landscape of Life Sciences Patents - A Look at Recent Federal Circuit and Other Cases that Impact Your Patents, Podcasts 01 May 2009, Protecting the Validity of Your Pharmaceutical Patents After KSR
Source: 2009 BIO International Convention, Articles 31 December 2008, Fed. Circ., KSR and Pharmas: The First Year and a Half
Source: Law 360, Articles 01 January 1996, Representing the Franchisee in Disputes with the Franchisor: Trying to Hit the Target with Blanks
Source: American Bar Association, Articles News 05 January 2012, Six Kilpatrick Townsend Attorneys Named to the Fifth Annual Edition of Benchmark Litigation, News Releases 15 December 2011, Kilpatrick Townsend Attorneys Named 2011 "Legal Elite", News Releases 06 September 2011, Kilpatrick Townsend Earns Record-Breaking Recognition in Annual Best Lawyers in America 2012, News Releases 13 June 2011, Kilpatrick Townsend Again Earns Highest Recognition From CHAMBERS USA 2011, News Releases 02 March 2011, Kilpatrick Townsend Once Again Achieves Top Recognition in 2011 Georgia Super Lawyers, News Releases 12 August 2010, Kilpatrick Stockton Earns Record-Breaking Recognition in Annual Best Lawyers in America 2011, News Releases 01 July 2010, Kilpatrick Stockton's Keith Harper Named to Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America 2010 Guide, News Releases 14 June 2010, Kilpatrick Stockton Again Earns Highest Recognition From CHAMBERS USA 2010, News Releases 04 March 2010, Kilpatrick Stockton Ranked Number One in Five 2010 Georgia Super Lawyer Categories, News Releases 26 August 2009, Kilpatrick Stockton's Susan Cahoon Elected to Emory University's Board of Trustees, News Releases 04 August 2009, Kilpatrick Stockton Earns Record-Breaking Recognition in Annual Best Lawyers in America 2010, News Releases 15 June 2009, Kilpatrick Stockton Once Again Earns Highest Recognition From Chambers USA, News Releases 08 April 2009, Kilpatrick Stockton Attorneys Named to 2009 International Who's Who of Business Lawyers, News Releases 02 March 2009, Kilpatrick Stockton Ranked Number One in Five Georgia Super Lawyer Categories, News Releases 20 February 2009, Miles Alexander Receives the Atlanta Bar Leadership Award, News Releases |