Hosier & Sufrin

Hosier & Sufrin, Ltd. was a Chicago-based intellectual property law firm co-founded in 1984 by Gerald D. Hosier and Barry W. Sufrin. Public records indicate the partnership dissolved around 1989, leading to subsequent litigation between the name partners. The attorneys listed in connection with the firm's most notable litigation, Gerald D. Hosier, Louis J. Hoffman, and Steven G. Lisa, now appear to practice at separate firms: the Law Offices of Gerald D. Hosier, Ltd., Hoffman Patent Firm, and the Law Offices of Steven G. Lisa, Ltd., respectively. The firm operated as a specialized patent litigation boutique.

The firm's practice, particularly through the work of its lead attorney Gerald Hosier, was overwhelmingly focused on plaintiff-side patent enforcement, often on a contingent-fee basis. This is contrary to the provided case list showing a single defensive appearance. The firm and its principal attorneys became nationally known for representing inventor Jerome H. Lemelson and later his foundation, the Lemelson Medical, Education & Research Foundation, LP. This representation involved prosecuting high-stakes patent infringement claims against numerous technology companies, with Forbes magazine declaring Hosier the highest-paid lawyer in America in 2000 with an annual income of $40 million based on this work.

The firm's most prominent and defining engagement was its decades-long, multi-case litigation campaign to enforce the Lemelson patent portfolio. This work centered on foundational technologies such as machine vision and bar-code scanning. In the tracked case, Symbol Technologies, Inc. v. Lemelson Medical, Education & Research Foundation, LP, Hosier & Sufrin attorneys represented the defendant, the Lemelson Foundation. This declaratory judgment action, brought by Symbol and other technology companies, ultimately resulted in a landmark Federal Circuit decision affirming that the Lemelson patents at issue were unenforceable under the doctrine of prosecution laches due to unreasonable and unexplained delays in the patent application process. The ruling invalidated a patent portfolio that had generated an estimated $1.5 billion in licensing revenue.

The principal attorneys have continued their practices at separate firms. Gerald D. Hosier, with a background in electrical engineering, remains a nationally recognized patent litigator. Steven G. Lisa, who began his career working with Hosier, now represents universities, individuals, and small companies in patent licensing and litigation. Louis J. Hoffman, currently of Hoffman Patent Firm in Arizona, also focuses on patent procurement, enforcement, and licensing. There is no evidence of a current, active PTAB or IPR practice associated with the historical Hosier & Sufrin entity.