Jennifer Hoekel Comments on Pet Patent

In the November 29, 2009 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Senniger Powers attorney Jennifer Hoekel is quoted in the article "Cat Litter Box Leads to Court Battle for St. Louis Pet Company." The article discusses a lawsuit filed by Alfa-Pet, a small local company, against the national chain Petco for allegedly infringing on Alfa-Pet's U.S. patent 7,258,077 for a litter box liner. The case illustrates the problems a small company can encounter when trying to protect a patent, but as Ms. Hoekel states in the article, "There's no reason to get a patent if you're not going to defend it." Ms. Hoekel suggests that one possible outcome of the case would be for Petco to buy a license to sell the liners and share royalties with Alfa-Pet.

Ms. Hoekel's practice is concentrated principally in intellectual property litigation.