
Practice:
Bar Admissions:
District of Columbia
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 1st, D.C. and Federal Circuits
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Canadian Patent Office
Experience:
Prior to joining Burns & Levinson LLP in January 2006, Mr. Cohen was a partner with the firm Perkins Smith & Cohen LLP.
He has more than 40 years experience as a lawyer dealing with patent, copyright, trademark, unfair competition, licensing/franchising, visual arts, software, databases and publication law, formation and operation of business enterprises and not-for-profit organizations, international trade, litigation/ADR, legal ethics and the administration of justice. He handles acquisition, licensing and litigation of intellectual property rights. He has also served as an expert witness, arbitrator and mediator in intellectual property matters.
Memberships:
- American Bar Association: Antitrust, Business, Intellectual Property, International, and Litigation sections
- American Intellectual Property Law Association
- American Trial Lawyers Association
- Copyright Society
- Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, Board of Directors
- Fédération Internationale des Conseils en Propriété Industrielle
- International Trademark Association
- Licensing Executives Society
- Massachusetts Academy of Trial Lawyers
- Massachusetts Bar Foundation, Board of Trustees (2007 - 2011)
- Rhode Island Trial Lawyers Association
- Rhode Island Bar Journal, Board of Editors
- United States Patent Quarterly Advisory Board, has served since 1987
- Boston Bar Association International Law Section, served as chair
- Boston Patent Law Association, former President
- Massachusetts Bar Association Business Law Section, served as chair
- Massachusetts Law Review, served as Editor-in-Chief
- Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers, served four year term
Additional Information:
- Mr. Cohen has taken mediation and arbitration training through the American Arbitration Association, JAMS and American Intellectual Property Law Association.
- Mr. Cohen is an adjunct professor teaching "Patent Law" at Roger Williams University Law School and as an arbitrator and mediator.
- He also serves as an adjunct professor teaching “Trade Secrets,” "Global Technology Transfer" and "Advanced Topics in Copyright" at Suffolk University Law School.
- Mr. Cohen has served as an examiner with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
Education:
- J.D., with distinction, George Washington University
- Undergraduate, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Awards:
- In 2008, Mr. Cohen was been selected by Best Lawyers in America® as a leader in his field, Intellectual Property Law. Best Lawyers® is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which 16,000 leading attorneys throughout the country cast more than half a million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their specialties. Inclusion is considered a singular honor.
- Massachusetts Super Lawyer in 2008, 2007 and 2006. The selection of attorneys is based on a poll and internal research done by Law & Politics Magazine and reviewed by an independent blue ribbon panel of their peers. Listed attorneys and finalists consist of the top 5% of attorneys in Massachusetts. The listing appeared in the November issue of Boston Magazine and in New England Super Lawyers Magazine. He was also listed as one of the Top 100 Massachusetts Super Lawyers in 2007 and 2006.
Quotes:
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10/30/2008, Groklaw - The Bilski Decision Is In: Buh-Bye [Most] Business Methods Patents - As text & updated 6Xs
Jerry Cohen is noted in the Bilski Decision for filing amicus curiae, End Software Patents.
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9/8/2008, New Hampshire Union Leader - Philbrick pushes 'piracy' case
Jerry Cohen was quoted in this article by Benjamin Kepple.
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7/28/2008, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly - Retirees granted ERISA standing to sue fiduciaries
Jerry Cohen was quoted in this article by Eric Berkman.
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9/19/2007, Weekly Dig - Stalking Feet
Jerry Cohen was quoted in this article by Julia Reischel.
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3/18/2007, Business Week - The Mad Scramble Over VoIP Patents
Jerry Cohen was quoted in this article by Olga Kharif.
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8/16/2006, Pharmaceutical Executive - BNS, Sanofi Sign Away Key Plavix Rights
Jerry Cohen was quoted in this article by Beth Herskovits.
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5/5/2006, IP Law 360 - Superpatents Spark Debate Over IP Issues
Jerry Cohen was quoted in this article by Erin Marie Daly.
Recent Articles and Publications:
Court Signals A Potential End To Race-To-The-Courthouse Forum Shopping In Patent Suits
Intellectual Property Update, March 2008
Balancing patents and trade secret strategies in tech
Mass High Tech, August 3, 2007
Supreme Court Ends Special Treatment for Patent Injunctions
Boston Bar Journal, November/December 2006
Ownership of Intellectual property - The View from 30,000 Feet
Focus [Page 1], Fall 2006
Book Review: The Torture Papers: The Road to Abu Ghraib
Massachusetts Law Review, Volume 89, No. 4, January 1, 2006
Jerry Cohen's review of the book, The Torture Papers: The Road to Abu Ghraib by Karen J, Greenburg and Joshua L. Dratel, was published in the Winter 2006 edition of the Massachusetts Law Review.
Speaking Engagements:
Boston Patent Law Association, 10.16.2008
Location: Boston, MA
Role: Speaker
Jerry Cohen is a speaker at this BPLA seminar discussing patentable subject matter, a cutting edge issue in patent law.
Lessons in Contract Drafting from the School of Litigation, 10.8.2008
Location: New England Corporate Counsel Association, Inc.
Role: Co-Chair
Discussion of what you can do to draft agreements that are more likely to give you leverage in settlement as well as substantive and tactical advantages if you have to litigate or arbitrate a contractually based dispute.
Webcast: Online Liability, 9.18.2008
Role: Featured Presenter
Mark Schonfeld and Jerry Cohen are both featured presenters for this event, sponsored by Thompson West LegalWorks.
Doing Business in China, 8.12.2008
Role: Featured Presenter
Mark Schonfeld and Jerry Cohen conducted this webinar for West LegalWorks. They concentrated specifically on the intricacies of IP law in China.
Recent Developments as a Guide to New Best Practices in IP, 6.18.2008
Location: BNA audio conference
Role: Presenter
Rhode Island Bar Association CLE program, 6.12.2008
Role: Panelist
Topic: "The Ins and Outs of an IP Case"
9th Advanced Forum on Biotech Patents, 9.20.2007
Location: Boston, MA
Role: Featured Presenter
Topic: Evolving Best Practices for Claim Construction in Biotech Patent Application
AIPLA Annual Spring Meeting, 5.9.2007
Role: Featured Presenter
Topic: Trade Secret Law Committee
Mr. Cohen lead an interactive discussion on current law and practice issues relating to trade secret protective orders.
Boston Bar Association International Intellectual Property Meeting, 1.24.2007
Role: Speaker
Topic: Cross-Border IP Infringement Issues
Intellectual Property Litigation Committee & Boston Patent Law Association, 11.10.2006
Jerry Cohen addressed the development of the law of obviousness related to patents. He also lead the discussion on the possible impact of the KSR v. Teleflex case currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Intellectual Property Assets, 6.23.2006
On June 23, 2006 Stephen Chow, Jerry Cohen and Jesse Erlich spoke on "Intellectual Property Assets" at the 2006 Annual Meeting of the Rhode Island Bar Association.
ADR in IP Cases, 5.9.2006
Jerry Cohen spoke on ADR in Intellectual Property cases at the Boston Bar Association on May 9, 2006.