Jim Veltrop’s practice includes the evaluation of patent, trademark and trade secret claims and the provision of opinions regarding infringement and validity. He is extensively involved in the product development process, including assisting clients in navigating around the intellectual property rights of competitors and in designing their own patent strategies. He counsels clients regarding patent, Hatch-Waxman and antitrust issues raised by the development and marketing of new and generic drug products.

Jim also offers strategic advice regarding patent litigation. He has extensive experience litigating a wide range of intellectual property cases and other types of complex litigation, including supply-contract and other commercial disputes in the chemical industry. He has litigated major lawsuits and appeals alleging, for example, patent infringement, breach of license agreements and other contracts, interpretation of the Hatch-Waxman Act, trade secret misappropriation, trademark infringement and dilution, unfair and deceptive trade practices, illegal restraints of trade, attempted monopolization and various business torts. 

Clerkships

• Law clerk to the Honorable Judith Rogers, District of Columbia Court of Appeals (1986-1987)

Experience

• Vibram S.p.A. v. FILA U.S.A., Inc., No. 11-CV-11192-PBS (D.Mass.) (patent infringement) 

• Tyco Healthcare Group LP v. Pharmaceutical Holdings Corp., No. 07-1299 (SRC) (D.N.J.) (patent infringement and antitrust counterclaims) 

• Pfizer Inc. v. Actavis Group, No. 06-CV-8209 (S.D.N.Y.) (trade dress infringement) 

• Adams Respiratory Therapeutics, Inc. v. URL/Mutual Pharmaceutical Cos., No. CV-06-4418 (E.D. Pa.) (patent infringement) 

• Cushion Technologies, LLC v. Fila USA, Inc., No. 2:06-CV-347 (E.D. Texas) (patent infringement) 

• INEOS Americas LLC v. The Dow Chemical Company, No. 06-CV-7152 (S.D.N.Y.) (breach of contract) 

• Purepac Pharmaceutical Co. v. FDA, No. 03-CV-2282 (D.D.C.) (Hatch-Waxman exclusivity rights) 

• Arthur Blank & Co. v. Moore North America, Inc., No. 02-CV-2282 (W.D. Tenn.) (patent infringement, antitrust) 

• Rexon Industrial Corp. v. Ryobi Technologies, No. 302-CV-1264 (D. Conn.) (patent infringement) 

• The Stanley Works v. Black & Decker, No. 399-CV-1087 (D. Conn.) (trademark infringement and dilution) 

• The Ensign-Bickford Co. v. Walsh, No. 399-CV-1264 (D. Conn.) (trade secret misappropriation) 

• Therma-Tru Corporation v. The Stanley Works, No. 97-CV-70166 (E.D. Mich.) (patent infringement)

Honors

• “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers 
• “Best Lawyers in America” by Best Lawyers
• “New England Super Lawyer” by Super Lawyers
• Who's Who Legal: Patents 

News

• Eight Axinn Partners Named to Best Lawyers 2019
• Seven Axinn Partners Named to the 2018 List of Best Lawyers in America
• Who's Who Legal Recognizes Seven Axinn Attorneys
• Managing Partner, Jim Veltrop Named Lawyer of the Year
• Six Axinn Partners Named to the 2017 List of Best Lawyers in America
• Axinn Partners Named to the 2016 List of Best Lawyers in America
• Matt Becker, Jim Veltrop, John Briggs, Steve Axinn and Fran Morrison Named to the List of 2015 Best Lawyers in America
• Axinn Earns Tier 1 in "Best Law Firms"
• Axinn Honored With Litigation Department of the Year
• Axinn Assisted Actavis in Resolving Ten-Year-Old Dispute with Pfizer
• Firm Gears Up For High Stakes Drug Lit
• Jim Veltrop Featured in IP360
• Cantor Colburn's Michael Cantor plugs Jim Veltrop in IP Law 360
• Axinn Represents INEOS in U.S. Litigation
• Axinn Serving as Patent Counsel for ADHD and Pain Relief Medications
• Axinn Represents URL/Mutual Companies in Launch of Guaifenesin Products
• Axinn Defends Fila in Marshall, Texas Patent Action
• Axinn Represents Sport Brands International/FILA in Connection with Launch of Various Products
• Axinn Represents R.R. Donnelly in Patent and Antitrust Litigation
• Axinn Represents Purepac Pharmaceutical Company in Metformin Launch
• Axinn Represents Stanley Works in Patent Litigation
• Stanley Defends Its Colors, Trade Turfs
• Axinn Defends Ryobi Technologies, Inc.
• View More ›

Thought Leadership

• The Impact of a Brand Generic Launch on the Recovery of Patent Damages, IPL Newsletter, Summer 2005
• "Schering" Overruled: Risk of Settling Patent Suits Reduced?, New York Law Journal, April 7, 2005
• Understand Foreign Pre-Merger Filings, New York Law Journal, 1999
• Invention is the Mother of Litigation, The Connecticut Law Tribune, October 1997
• Trade Secret Misappropriation A Federal Crime, Intellectual Property Today, June 1997
• Dual Antitrust Enforcement in the United States: Positive or Negative Lessons for the European Community?, P.J. Slot & A. McDonnell, 1993
• Common Law and Civil Law Approaches to Investigation and Discovery in the Enforcement of Competition Laws, Due Process and Anticompetitive Practices ICC Institute of Int'l Business Law and Practice (1994)
• Contributor, B. Hawk, United States, Common Market and International Antitrust: A Comparative Guide, (Author of EU vertical restraints chapter; contributor to 1990, 1992, 1993 & 1994 Supps.)

Education

• JD, cum laude – Harvard Law School (1986)
• MA, summa cum laude – Missouri University (1983)
• AB, summa cum laude – Missouri University (1981)

Admissions

• Connecticut
• Multiple federal district and appellate courts, including the US Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit
• US Patent and Trademark Office