Jennifer Johnson Ph.D.

Associate

Jennifer Johnson practices patent litigation and appeals in a range of biotechnology-related fields, such as plant molecular biology, pharmaceuticals, and immunology.  Dr. Johnson's experience includes arguing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, drafting briefs, conducting and defending depositions, working with expert witnesses, and preparing witnesses for trial.

In addition to her litigation practice, Dr. Johnson advises clients on a variety of patent matters, including freedom-to-operate, infringement, and validity opinions.

Highlights

• Eli Lilly and Co. v. Wockhardt Ltd. (S.D. Ind.). Was a member of the district court litigation team that successfully represented Eli Lilly and Company in an ANDA litigation for its blockbuster drug Cymbalta^® against multiple generic drug manufacturers, resulting in orders and judgment maintaining Cymbalta’s^® market exclusivity through the end of its patent life.
• Member of the appellate teams in the panel and en banc rehearing in Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Eli Lilly and Company involving the written description requirement under 35 U.S.C. § 112.
• Lead attorney in an appeal from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
• Member of the appellate team in Eli Lilly and Company v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. extending the 30-month regulatory stay.
• Member of the team that obtained summary judgment of no infringement and invalidity on Syngenta's behalf in the Monsanto v. Syngenta case relating to genetically engineered corn.
• Pro bono activities include obtaining asylum for an Ethiopian political activist and working on a case to increase a veteran's disability benefits.
• Research at U.C. Berkeley focused on the sequence requirements for viral gene expression and the subcellular localization of viral proteins.
• Worked in legal department of Rosetta Inpharmatics, LLC, where she drafted patent applications related to novel gene sequences.
• Taught courses in plant biochemistry, virology, and general plant biology, 1997-2000.
• Adjunct professor in patent law at Howard University, 2011.

Professional Recognition

• Giles R. Rich American Inn of Court Award, 2008
• Order of the Coif

Professional Activities

• Giles S. Rich American Inn of Court (associate historian reporter, 2010-2011; and assistant historian reporter, 2009-2010)
• California Bar Association
• American Intellectual Property Law Association
• Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia (co-editor of WBA Newsletter Raising the Bar, 2005-2008)

Select Publications

• Coauthor. "ANDA Litigation: Strategies and Tactics for Pharmaceutical Patent Litigators," American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property Law, May 30, 2012.
• Coauthor. "Will Patent Reform Significantly Increase the Federal Circuit's Caseload?" BNA's Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal, Jan. 6, 2012.
• "The Experimental Use Exception in Japan: A Model for U.S. Patent Law?" Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal, 2003.
• Coauthor. "Sequence Elements Controlling Expression of Barley Stripe Mosaic Virus Subgenomic RNAs in Vivo," Virology, 2003.
• Coauthor. "Characterization and Formation of a Nuclear Viroplasm Containing Polymerase-Associated Proteins of Sonchus Yellow Net Rhabdovirus," Journal of Virology, 1988.
• Coauthor. "Rhabdoviruses," Encyclopedia of Virology, 1999.