Thomas P. Canty

Shareholder

Thomas P. Canty

Overview

Mr. Canty is a founding member of Leydig’s Frankfurt office, which advocates for the intellectual property interests of European-based clients doing business in the United States.  A focus of Mr. Canty’s practice is helping clients build U.S. patent portfolios by obtaining targeted and robust patent protection for their key technologies.  He also advises clients on how to avoid liability from third party patents, performing freedom-to-operate investigations and finding solutions to potential infringement situations. For contentious matters, he implements and helps coordinate multi-jurisdictional strategies for achieving beneficial results.

Prior to becoming a lawyer, Mr. Canty studied engineering and worked in the automobile industry as an engineer and project manager.  After later earning a law degree at Boston University, he began his legal career at a major New York IP law firm with a focus on patent litigation.  He moved to Frankfurt in 1999 and has practiced there ever since.

Education

  • Boston University, J.D., cum laude, 1996
  • University of Rochester, B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 1988

Admissions

  • Registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
  • New York

Professional Affiliations

  • American Intellectual Property Association (AIPLA)
  • Licensing Executives Society (LES)
  • German Association of Intellectual Property Experts (VPP)
  • Deutsche Vereinigung für Gewerblichen Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht (GRUR)

Articles, Publications & Lectures

  • “Aktuelles aus den USA,” co-author with E. Swanson, Mitteilungen der Deutschen Patentanwälte, (regular column on recent developments in U.S. patent law)
    • November 2013
    • May 2013
    • July/August 2012
    • January 2012
    • July/August 2011
    • March 2011
    • September 2010
    • July/August 2010
    • July 2009
    • November 2008
    • October 2007
  • “Effects of U.S. Patent Reforms for European Practitioners” VPP Regional Conferences, Stuttgart, March 2013; Jena, June 2012; Mannheim, January 2012.
  • “First to File or First to Publish? Understanding the Grace Period and Other Controversial Provisions in the U.S. Patent Reforms,” Licensing Executive Society (LES) LES FITGroup, Hamburg, February 2013.
  • “AIA: The Interactions with Per and Foreign Prior Art” IP Summit 2012, Brussels, December 2012.
  • “Market Share or Sharing the Market” European Industrial Research and Management Association (EIRMA) SIG-II Meeting, Toulouse, November 2012.
  • “U.S. Patent Litigation” Pharmaceutical and Biotech Strategies and Litigation Conference, Barcelona, September 2012.
  • “U.S. Patent Reform: What it means to the European Practitioner” IP for IP Seminar, Copenhagen, June 2012
  • “The New U.S. Post-Grant Review vs. European Opposition” presented at Forum Institute for Management, U.S. Patent Law Reform, Munich, April 2012
  • “U.S. Patent Reforms under the America Invents Act (AIA),” presented at VPP national conference: special seminar on U.S. patent law, Mainz, October 2011, also at VPP regional conference, Mannheim, January 2012
  • “Added Subject Matter in U.S. Patent Practice,” presented at annual Swiss national joint conference of Association of Swiss In-house Patent Attorneys (VIPS) and Association of Swiss and European Independent Attorneys (VESPA), Zurich, October 2011
  • “Patent Eligibility of Business Methods in the U.S.” European Industrial Research and Management Association (eirma) SIG-II Meeting, Prague, June 2011
  • “Inter Partes Reexamination: A Shift in the Conventional Wisdom,” VPP Rundbrief, March 2010
  • “Defending Against the Non-Practicing Patent Holder” presented at VPP regional conference, Stuttgart, May 2010
  • “Inter Partes Reexamination: A Shift in the Conventional Wisdom,” presented at VPP national conference, Muenster, October 2009
  • “Multi-Jurisdictional Patent Litigation,” presented at Forum Institute for Management, Munich, January 2009
  • “Die U.S. Reexamination-/Reissue-Verfahren,” presented at Forum Institute for Management, Meisterklasse EPÜ, Munich, November 2007
  • “Obviousness: Auswirkungen der US-Supreme Court Entscheidung im Fall KSR v. Teleflex,” presented at VPP national conference, Augsburg, October 2007
  • “Trends and Developments in U.S. Patent Law,” presented at Forum Institute for Management, IP Gipfel 2007, Heidelberg, July 2007
  • “Patent Enforcement and Patent Infringement in the U.S.A.,” presented at Wissinfo Seminar, Freiburg, May 2006
  • “Die CAFC Phillips v. AHW Corp. Entscheidung und wie ein U.S. Gericht den Fall Spannschraube entscheiden würde,” co-author with E. Swanson, VPP Rundbrief, December 2005
  • “Die CAFC Phillips v. AHW Corp. Entscheidung und wie ein U.S. Gericht den Fall Spannschraube entscheiden würde,” presented at VPP national conference, Weimar, October 2005

Languages

  • German

Education

  • Boston University, J.D., cum laude, 1996
  • University of Rochester, B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 1988

Admissions

  • Registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
  • New York