Partners Ben Fernandez and Mark Selwyn have been recognized among "the finest law firm writers" of 2017 as announced yesterday by the Burton Awards, a nonprofit program, which is run in association with the Library of Congress, presented by lead sponsor Law360, and co-sponsored by the American Bar Association. Selwyn and Fernandez were presented with the "Law360 Distinguished Writing Award" on May 22, and were chosen from the nominations submitted by the nation's top 1,000 most prestigious and largest law firms.

Fernandez and Selwyn were selected based on their article, "Design Patent Post-Grant: Is Anticipation Easier to Prove Than Obviousness?," published by Bloomberg BNA's Patent Trademark & Copyright Journal. The article introduces and compares the standards for design patent anticipation and obviousness, explores the interplay between anticipation and obviousness at the PTAB, and summarizes practical takeaways from the current design patent inter partes review landscape.

Law360, a LexisNexis company, serves as the lead sponsor of the Burton Awards and the distinguished writing awards.

"Clear, compelling writing is an essential tool for all lawyers," Law360 General Manager Scott Roberts said. "Law360 is proud to be associated with these awards, which recognize the best of the best writers in the legal profession. We salute all of the winners and commend them on demonstrating these talents and sustaining such high standards of written excellence."