IP AND NOTHING ELSE

A Top Lawyer Since 2020

The Wall Street Journal and Money magazine have recognized Smith & Hopen managing attorney and U.S. Registered Patent Attorney, Anton Hopen, as an expert authority in Intellectual Property law. To Hopen, it is the numbers that matter.

“Intellectual property has been our exclusive focus since forming in 1999,” says Hopen. “We’ve secured over 7,800 patents, over 3,600 trademarks, and conducted over 30 patent trials before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.” When Smith & Hopen first evaluates new technology, they try to ask the hard questions and look for problems early in the process.

The proposed innovation must pass through that filter and not end up as superficial patent grants. “Otherwise, those become merely expensive wallpaper; however, once we have a candidate for IP protection, I am ‘all in’ to protect it,” says Hopen. “Our remarkably high success rate stems from knowing which technologies to patent and which to leave alone. Compared to the national patent allowance rate of 67.9%, our allowance rate is 90.3%.”

IP protection is an unusual type of insurance; it only kicks in when something is highly successful. It rewards the risk-takers who actually succeed. What would be more inequitable than having the inspiration, taking the chance, and working hard to make it happen only to let others casually adopt the innovation or appropriate the goodwill of the branding?

He and Lisa, his wife of nearly 30 years, have raised four children in Palm Harbor and have one grandchild.

Out of more than 112,000 Florida Bar members, Hopen is one of only 132 attorneys board-certified in Intellectual Property. He has secured patents for almost every major university in Florida, Fortune 500 companies, and startup companies. His passion is driven by the reward he experiences when helping business owners grow and succeed.

EDUCATION: B.A., University of South Florida Honors College; J.D., University of Florida