Overview

Over the course of a legal career spanning five decades, E. Anthony Figg (“Tony”) has become one of the leaders of the intellectual property bar, as well as a co-founder of Rothwell Figg. Based in our Washington, D.C. office, Tony specializes in intellectual property law, with emphasis on the chemical, pharmaceutical, healthcare, and biotechnology industries. His practice focuses on patent litigation and inter partes matters before a wide range of tribunals, appeals, alternate dispute resolution, patent procurement, intellectual property licensing and related contract matters, opinions, and strategic counseling.

Tony has served as lead counsel in a large number of complex, high stakes patent litigations in federal district courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, as well as before the International Trade Commission, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), and arbitral tribunals. Notably, Tony was lead counsel in some of the first cases arising out of the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (also known as the "Hatch-Waxman" amendments) and has handled a large number of such cases over the course of his career and up to the present time. Tony and the firm have become known for both their track record and their success in handling such cases. His practice has included the successful prosecution of several groundbreaking cases involving the interpretation and application of the Hatch-Waxman amendments, often on issues of first impression and often with industry-shaping outcomes.

Tony and the firm also have extensive experience in representing clients in connection with complex biotechnology. He has an active practice in advising and representing clients involved in innovative biopharma research, as well as clients engaged in the development and marketing of biosimilars.

In addition to his accomplishments as an attorney, Tony has been extensively involved in professional organizations, frequently in leadership roles. He is a former Chair of the Section of Intellectual Property Law (IPL) of the American Bar Association (ABA), the largest organization of patent attorneys in the world. He also served a four-year term on the IPL Section's Council and has chaired several of its divisions and committees. He chaired the IPL Section's Patent Law Reform Task Force for several years. He also served on the ABA's Standing Committee on Amicus Curiae Briefs and is a former member of the ABA's Coordinating Committee on Bioethics.

He is a longstanding member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), the Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle (AIPPI), the District of Columbia Bar and its Intellectual Property Law Section, and the Licensing Executives Society. In past years, he served on the Patent Law Working Group of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the Advisory Committee on Intellectual Property of the Franklin Pierce Law School, and the Georgetown University Law School Advisory Committee.

Tony is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) and a fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He also has been inducted into the LMG Life Sciences Hall of Fame.

He is recognized as a Luminary in the D.C. Metro Area by Intellectual Asset Management’s (IAM) Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Professionals (2013-2023), and was selected to the Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers list in the field of Intellectual Property Litigation for more than ten consecutive years. He is included in the Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers Top 100 list (2018-2023). Additionally, since 2008, he has been identified in The Best Lawyers in America® guide in Washington, D.C., in the fields of Litigation – Intellectual Property, Litigation – Patent, Patent Law, and Trademark Law. In 2011, 2013, 2018, and 2019 he was named “Lawyer of the Year” in Washington, D.C. for Intellectual Property Law, Litigation – Patent, Litigation – Intellectual Property, and Patent Law, respectively, by Best Lawyers®. Tony was also selected for The International Who's Who of Patent Lawyers (2010-2020), named a Life Sciences Star by LMG Life Sciences (2013-2023), and ranked as a Patent Star and a Trademark Star in the District of Columbia by Managing Intellectual Property (MIP) IP Stars (2013-2023).

Tony received a J.D. from Indiana University School of Law and a B.S. in Chemistry from Rose Polytechnic Institute (now Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology). He is admitted to the Bar of the District of Columbia, and admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Tony is also registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Honors & Recognitions

Intellectual Asset Management’s (IAM) Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Professionals (2013-2023)
Recognized as a Luminary in the DC Metro Area

Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers (2007-2023)
Ranked for Intellectual Property Litigation
Included in the Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers Top 100 list (2018-2023)

The Best Lawyers in America© in Washington, DC (2008-2024)
Ranked in the fields of Litigation – Intellectual Property, Litigation – Patent, and Patent Law
Named “Lawyer of the Year” in Washington, DC in 2011, 2013, 2018, and 2019 for Intellectual Property Law, Litigation – Patent, Litigation – Intellectual Property, and Patent Law

The International Who's Who of Patent Lawyers (2010-2021)

LMG Life Sciences (2013-2023)
Named a Life Sciences Star

Managing Intellectual Property (MIP) IP Stars (2013-2023)
Ranked as a Patent Star in the District of Columbia and in the U.S. (National)

Newsroom

News

Publications

Tony has authored numerous publications and has lectured extensively in the field of intellectual property law. Included among his publications are:

  • "Biotechnology: Science Fiction Becomes a Legal Reality," The Compleat Lawyer, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1986
  • "Intellectual Property - Special Considerations in the Biotechnology Field," Chemtech, May 1986
  • Case Comment, "Burroughs Wellcome Co. v. Barr Laboratories," Patent World, October 1993
  • "Intellectual Property Protection for Plant Research in the USA: A Cornucopia of Opportunity," Curr. Opinion Biotechnology, 6 (2), 135‑41, April 1995
  • "The Impact of GATT on U.S. Patent Protection Laws," The Biotechnology Report 1995/96, p. 37, Camden Publ., Ltd.
  • "Patent Infringement Issues Unique to Biotechnology," Proceedings of the Joint Educational Program at the Section of Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law and the Section of Science and Technology, American Bar Association, August 1987
  • "Bioscience Patent Prosecution Developments," Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Spring Educational Program, American Bar Association Section of Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law, March 1988
  • "Intellectual Property Protection for Plant Technologies," IX International Congress on Plant Tissue and Cell Culture, Jerusalem, Israel, 1998
  • "Corroboration Requirements When Prior Invention Is Asserted as a Basis of Invalidity Under § 102(g)," Proceedings of the Continuing Legal Education Program in Conjunction with the Ninth Annual National Inventors Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies, September, 1999
  • "Enforcing Biotechnology Patents -- Doctrine of Equivalents," 17th Annual ATCC Biotech Patent & Licensing Forum, September, 1999
  • "Recent Developments in the Law of Inventorship, Best Mode Compliance and Double Patenting," Proceedings of the Continuing Legal Education Program in Conjunction with the Tenth Annual National Inventors Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies, September, 2000
  • "The Intersection of State Street and Biotech Boulevard," Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association, Cambridge, England, July 18, 2000
  • "Patent Litigation: Lessons from Recent Cases," Presented at the Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals Conference Law Seminars International, Atlanta, Georgia, April 23, 2002
  • "Patent Law Perspective on the Report of the Federal Trade Commission on Balancing Competition and Patent Law and Policy," Presented to the ABA Section of Antitrust Law, May 2004

Community & Professional

American Bar Association

Tony is Past Chair of the Section of Intellectual Property Law of the American Bar Association (2005-06), which is the largest organization of intellectual property lawyers in the world. His service in the Section of Intellectual Property Law has been extensive. Tony served a four year term on the Section's Council and has chaired numerous standing and special committees and divisions for more than twenty years. He currently serves as Section Parliamentarian, chairs the Section's Patent Law Reform Task Force, and chairs its Nominating Committee. His activities in the ABA also have extended beyond the Intellectual Property Law Section. For several years, he served as a member of the Standing Committee on Amicus Curiae Briefs. That committee is responsible for approving and insuring the quality of all amicus briefs filed in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and other appellate courts on behalf of the Association. He previously was a member of the ABA's Coordinating Committee on Bioethics.

American Intellectual Property Law Association

Tony has been a longstanding member of the AIPLA and has served on several of its committees.

AIPPI United States

Tony has served on the Executive Committee of AIPPI United States, which is the U.S. group of the Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle, an international association of intellectual property professionals. He has been responsible for drafting several position papers for the U.S. group on questions involving the protection of biotechnological inventions and representing the U.S. group in international debates and discussions of these issues.

Education

J.D., Indiana University Maurer School of Law

B.S., Chemistry, Rose Polytechnic Institute (now Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology) 

Bar & Court Admissions

Bar Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Court Admissions

  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
  • Various Other U. S. Courts of Appeal
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