Finnegan Wins “Americas Firm of the Year” and “ITC Firm of the Year” at the 2026 Managing Intellectual Property Americas Awards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2026

WASHINGTON, DC–Managing Intellectual Property held its annual award ceremony on April 9 in New York City, and Finnegan walked away with the awards for Americas Firm of the Year, ITC Firm of the Year, as well as two Impact Case of the Year awards for two cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit—Eye Therapies v. Slayback and US Synthetic v. ITC.

 “We are honored to have received four awards tonight,” said Finnegan’s managing partner, James Barney. “Finnegan brings unrivaled insight and strategic advantage to complex, high-profile IP disputes, IP counseling, and portfolio and brand management.” The Managing IP Awards are the most comprehensive and widely respected IP law firm awards event in the legal industry, gathering information from thousands of firms, IP practitioners, and their clients through interviews, email and online surveys. The awards cover several IP practice areas and more than 50 jurisdictions.

Finnegan represented Bausch & Lomb’s licensee Eye Therapies, LLC in an appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit from a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decision finding Eye Therapies’ patent directed to a low-dose brimonidine treatment for eye redness (Lumify^®) to be unpatentable. Lumify^® is the number one doctor-recommended redness relieving drop on the market. In a precedential decision, the Federal Circuit agreed with Finnegan’s arguments and found that the Board had wrongly invalidated the patent based on an incorrect claim construction, vacating and remanding the case back to the PTAB. The proceeding settled shortly thereafter.

Finnegan secured a landmark precedential victory for its client US Synthetic Corp. (USS) when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned an unfavorable 35 U.S.C. § 101 eligibility ruling from the International Trade Commission (ITC). The ITC initially ruled that USS’s patent, which pertains to a polycrystalline diamond compact used in rotary drill bits, was directed to an abstract idea, finding that the claimed magnetic properties were merely side effects rather than structural characteristics of the compound. USS appealed and noted that the case appeared to be the first time a composition of matter had been deemed an ineligible abstract idea.

In a precedential opinion, the Federal Circuit reversed the ITC’s ruling under § 101. The Court concluded that the claims are directed to a specific, non-abstract composition of matter and not an abstract idea. The court explained that material properties covered in the claims do not result in patent ineligibility, they instead define the structural characteristics of the claimed product. The precedential decision remanded the case back to the ITC, where the asserted claims had already been found to have been infringed. On December 4, 2025, the Commission issued a final determination finding a violation of section 337 and issued a limited exclusion order of infringing PDC products from entering the United States.

Finnegan dominates the global stage in intellectual property litigation and trials. With more than 60 years of IP experience, Finnegan’s global IP enforcement, litigation, and trials practice is comprised of over 230 litigators who have handled thousands of cases before courts and government agencies across every major jurisdiction. The firm handles cases and proceedings across all forms of U.S. IP litigation, including patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret litigation in courts, including U.S. district courts, the ITC, the PTAB, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as IP litigation in German regional civil courts, UK courts, and the Unified Patent Court. In the last five years, Finnegan has been involved in more than 500 U.S. district court litigations; represented the complainant or the respondent in more than a dozen ITC Section 337 cases; and handled nearly 200 appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  

Our prosecution practice manages global IP portfolios across industries, meeting strategic goals guided by our clients’ interests. Finnegan annually files and prosecutes approximately 3,500 patent applications at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), European Patent Office (EPO), and the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO). Through our integrated jurisdictional practices, we deliver the highest level of service in advancing our clients’ international IP objectives. Through our global trademark and brand management practice, we are responsible for more than 25,000 domestic and foreign trademark applications and registrations, and we regularly manage large trademark portfolios, including portfolios with thousands of registrations/applications. We collaborate closely with our clients’ business, legal, technical, and marketing teams to build robust IP portfolios that can include a balance of layered patent and trade secret as well as trademark and copyright protections.   

Contacts
 
Terra Liddell, Chief Marketing Officer
terra.liddell@finnegan.com

Angela Robinson, Director of Branding and Communications
angela.robinson@finnegan.com

About Finnegan
When your most valuable assets are ideas, innovation, and brand—you need the best to protect them. Finnegan, a premier intellectual property law firm, is trusted by global leaders to protect and advance what sets them apart. With 11 offices across the globe, we bring local insight and global reach to every IP challenge. From high-stakes litigation to cutting-edge patent strategy and innovative brand management, we deliver unmatched depth, agility, and results. If it’s IP, it’s Finnegan. Please visit us at www.finnegan.com or follow us on LinkedIn to see how we’re shaping the future of IP, one breakthrough at a time.