Personal Representation to Ensure Justice: Malissa Eng

Protecting Intellectual Property

Malissa Eng

Several years ago, the United States Patent & Trademark Office began a pro bono project to assist low-income inventors with filing patent applications. The local project is administered by LegalCORPs, a nonprofit that matches volunteer lawyers to those in need. This past year, Malissa Eng assisted a client seeking help with a U.S. patent application for his invention for a vehicular rearview mirror. He had designed a way to ensure that the mirror does not become an obstacle to a person’s vision while driving.

After agreeing to handle prosecution for that application, Malissa learned that the client had not only one patent application, but five others, all currently pending. Three of those pending applications related to his mirror invention; the other three related to a posture-improving garment. Malissa recruited others in the firm’s Patents Group, including paralegal Sarah Munson and patent agent Greg Zinniel, who readily agreed to help by taking on all six cases. So far, the team has secured one patent for their client and hopes to secure the others for this remarkable and appreciative client.

“My experience working on pro bono projects has been very rewarding. By collaborating with these creative inventors, we ensure that they’re able to share their contributions with the world, while protecting their intellectual property rights.” – Malissa Eng