Rising Star: Finnegan’s Erika H. Arner

Finnegan partner, Erika H. Arner, was named to Law 360’s annual list of intellectual property lawyers under 40 to watch for 2011.  Ms. Arner was recognized for her work representing Bernard Bilski and Rand Warsaw “in the landmark Bilski case before the U.S. Supreme Court that led to a decision upholding patent eligibility of business methods and overturning a lower court’s restrictive test for process patenting,” says Law 360.  Ms. Arner is based out of the firm’s Reston, VA office and focuses her practice on “patent portfolio management strategies” and represents clients “in high-profile disputes over patentable subject matter,” including Research Corp. Technologies and Cyber Source Corp.  “People can often lose sight when the dollar amounts get so high in patent litigation that the basis of the patent system is to encourage patent innovation, and Section 101 of the Patent Act is where it all starts,” she said. “There’s a lot of push and pull over the policy of what should be patentable and why. Disputes are always coming up and there is a lot of work near the edge of the boundaries. I think this is the area where I belong.”