Testimonials

Ellen Heath, Gentra Systems
Ellen Heath is vice president of chemistry research and development at Gentra, which specializes in developing nucleic acid purification systems for clinical and clinical research laboratories. As someone who knows all of the technology which goes into Gentra products, Heath especially appreciates the ability of Dan Polglaze to understand and communicate well with Gentra's researchers.

"A lot of us who are inventor-type people-we have a lot of ideas and are sometimes tough to pin down," Heath says. "Dan's ability to communicate with all kinds of inventors-to understand their ideas and distill them down to their essence-is terrific."

To Heath's mind, Polglaze is much more than someone who handles patents-he's a strategic partner in her firm's success.

"In our field, people have been crying for ways to automate the purification process," she says. "By hand, it's time-consuming and labor-intensive. Much of our recent work has involved creating automated purification systems. But there was a potential conflict with another patent. Dan very cleverly figured out a way to get patent coverage through the product's computer-controlled system. I was impressed because that idea had never occurred to me."

Bruce Gibis, Lee Communications, Inc.
In Bruce Gibis' business world-the hypercompetitive ad specialty industry-ideas are everything. For Gibis' company, Lee Communications Inc. (LCI), a great idea can multiply annual sales. That's why getting patent protection for LCI is so vital.

Ad specialty is a highly fragmented $20 billion industry which makes products companies use as mini-billboards to advertise their services. There are more than 17,000 distributors of ad specialty products worldwide, including LCI, and an estimated 15,000-20,000 manufacturers. LCI specializes in computer and desktop ad specialty products-everything from customized mouse pads to therapeutic gel balls bearing customer logos.

As a smaller company, LCI can't afford to watch its rights to market specific products fritter away to competitors. Nor can it afford to spend excessively on outside intellectual property counsel. Gibis has found a solution to both in LJP.

"With some attorneys, it's frustrating when they don't understand or listen to what you're saying," Gibis says. "We can't afford to pay attorneys twice for the same work, just because they didn't listen."

Case in point: LCI hoped to market a high-quality brand of water-filled mouse pads. Then, trouble: a competitor sent LCI a cease-and-desist letter, claiming exclusive rights to this product. Gibis feared the worst.

"He talked to some people at the other company, and negotiated a marketing deal with this company that still allows us to compete with our product," Gibis said.

"His attitude is: If something's not right, let's find a way to make it right. Let's not just roll over. I like that."