Kinney & Lange Newsletter

Kinney & Lange has a newsletter "K&L IP News", which features coverage on a variety of intellectual property law topics. You can download your free copy of the latest issue here (PDF format).

Kinney & Lange Welcomes its Fall 2009 Associates

Kinney & Lange is pleased to welcome its newest associates - Brian Craggs, Matt Dushek, John McIntire, and Catherine Shultz.

Dave Fairbairn is 2008 Super Lawyer

Kinney & Lange congratulates its 2008 Super Lawyer David R. Fairbairn. Minnesota Law & Politics surveyed 18,000 randomly selected Minnesota attorneys regarding those members of the Minnesota State Bar whom they considered to be Super Lawyers. The Minnesota Law & Politics Selection Committee evaluated the nominations received and made the final selections.  Only five percent of the total lawyers in the state are selected for inclusion on the Super Lawyers list.  This is Dave's sixth consecutive year of being named a Super Lawyer.

Kinney & Lange Wins $44 Million for Client

Kinney & Lange represented SPX Corporation in a binding arbitration proceeding involving infringement by Snap-on, Inc. of three basic patents owned by SPX on digital waveform displays for automotive engine analyzers. The dispute originated in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois before U.S. District Court Judge John F. Grady, who decided many of the issues raised by the pleadings, including deciding all claim construction issues during over 20 days of Markman hearings on multiple patents. Eventually, the parties agreed to try all remaining issues to a mutually-selected arbitrator. The trial to the arbitrator occurred in two phases over 19 days: phase one comprised several counts arising out of SPX's hiring of the former president of Sun Electric (which was acquired by Snap-on in 1992) and phase two related to Snap-on's infringement of the three SPX patents. By agreement of the parties, the Arbitrator selected the "last final offer" of the parties that was closest to the appropriate damages award for the combined phases of the arbitration (sometimes referred to as "baseball arbitration"). Snap-on's last final offer was $3 million in its favor and SPX's last final offer was $44 million in its favor. The Arbitrator found for SPX and awarded it $44 million.