John D. Murnane

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John D. Murnane — Venable LLP (New York)

Specialty / focus. Murnane's practice is centered on patent and trade secret litigation in the life sciences and chemistry areas. His most visible work is Hatch-Waxman/ANDA litigation for brand pharmaceutical companies — Otsuka (JYNARQUE/tolvaptan), Amgen (Sensipar/cinacalcet, litigated against more than 20 generics), and Sanofi-Aventis/Bristol-Myers Squibb (Plavix). He also handles biotech and molecular-biology subject matter (Columbia University's sequencing-by-synthesis nucleotide patents against Illumina) and, over a long career, a broad range of chemistry, materials, and mechanical technologies (enzymes, Lyocell fiber processing, hydrocarbon gas processing, helicopter engines, faucets). Venable's own bio describes him as a patent and trade secret litigator in "a variety of fields," with patent counseling, opinion, licensing, and prosecution-supervision work as part of the practice. There is no indication of a standards-based (e.g., Wi-Fi/SEP) practice.

Side preference. The tracked appearance in this dataset is plaintiff-side, as lead counsel for Otsuka in Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. v. Lupin Ltd. et al., and that is consistent with a career that leans toward representing patent owners — primarily branded pharmaceutical companies asserting Orange Book patents. He is not, however, exclusively a plaintiff-side lawyer: publicly reported matters include defense-side work (e.g., defending Novo Nordisk against American Home Products, and Dillard's in a patent license dispute), so he should be characterized as a mixed-side patent litigator whose recent and most prominent matters are patentee-side. There is no evidence of NPE/PAE plaintiff work.

Firm context. He is a partner at Venable LLP in New York. Court filings from 2018–2020 identify his firm as "Venable | Fitzpatrick," reflecting Venable's combination with Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto; the merger is a matter of public record but the sources reviewed do not confirm the specific terms of his move. He has appeared in federal district courts nationwide, before the ITC, the Federal Circuit, and the PTAB. He is a past president of the New York Intellectual Property Law Association and was an adjunct professor at Fordham (1989–1993) and Hofstra (1986–1989).

Notable cases, outcomes, and PTAB activity. In Otsuka v. Lupin (D. Del. No. 21-cv-900), he led Otsuka's team through a three-day bench trial before Judge Andrews; the court held on July 31, 2024 that Lupin's ANDA process did not infringe the '730 and '735 patents and that the '735 method claims were obvious. The Federal Circuit affirmed on May 21, 2026 (No. 24-2297, nonprecedential) — an adverse result for his client. He represented Columbia University in the PTAB proceedings and Federal Circuit appeal concerning nucleotide analogs and sequencing-by-synthesis (Trustees of Columbia Univ. v. Illumina); he argued the March 2019 PTAB oral hearing in the consolidated IPRs (IPR2018-00291 et al.), and the Federal Circuit affirmed the Board's obviousness holdings in February 2021 — also an adverse outcome. On the favorable side, Venable received LMG Life Sciences' 2019 Hatch-Waxman "Impact Case of the Year" award for Novartis Pharmaceuticals v. Breckenridge Pharmaceutical, a matter in which the firm's press materials tie him to the Hatch-Waxman practice (his individual role is not documented in the sources reviewed). He appears in IPR/PGR proceedings with some regularity (e.g., IPR2020-00988 and related Columbia IPRs), including as counsel of record and arguing counsel; he is a registered patent attorney (Reg. No. 29,836).

Bar / education. J.D., George Washington University Law School (1979; some directories list 1980); B.S. cum laude, University of Notre Dame (1975); admitted in New York (1980), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the Federal Circuit, and other federal courts.