Patent attorney sues former employer over wrongful termination for not filing applications

Bloomberg picked up the story of patent attorney Steven Trzaska suing L'Oreal after being terminated for not filing patent applications.  The suit was filed in federal district court in Newark on
16 April 2015.  Bloomberg noted:

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A lawyer formerly in charge of applying for patents in cosmetics company L’Oreal SA’s U.S. office claims he was fired in December for refusing to make filings for dubious inventions just so the company could fill an annual quota. L’Oreal pledged to fight the allegations.

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See post

Fired L’Oreal Lawyer Says Patent Push Was Only Cosmetic

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From the New Jersey Law Journal

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Two weeks later, according to the suit, Trzaska was called into a meeting with the company’s head of human resources for research, Diane Lewis, who offered him 15 weeks of severance if he would leave the company. He did not accept, but on Nov. 25, 2014, he received a call from Thomas Sarakatsannis, general counsel of L’Oreal USA, who offered him 40 weeks of severance if he would leave, the suit alleges. Trzaska again declined, according to the suit, but on Dec. 8, he was told he was being terminated immediately.

Trzaska was told at the time of his dismissal that his position was no longer needed, but the same position was advertised soon thereafter, the suit alleges. The stated reason for dismissal was a pretext for the actual reason for his discharge, which was his refusal to sign patent applications for inventions that he did not believe to be patentable, and his refusal to supervise such conduct by patent attorneys and patent agents under his supervision, the suit claims.

A patent attorney or patent agent is legally and professionally responsible when reviewing a patent application “to make a good-faith determination whether the subject matter in an invention disclosure is potentially patentable,” according to the suit.

L’Oreal’s exposure in the case is “heavy” because Trzaska, 52, earned roughly $400,000 per year and could have reasonably looked forward to another 15 years of work, said Gerard Jackson, the Cherry Hill attorney representing Trzaska. Furthermore, jobs for lawyers in Trzaska’s speciality are scarce and his age makes it harder for him to get hired, Jackson said.

Link. http://www.njlawjournal.com/id=1202724003373/Suit-Claims-LOreal-Forced-Lawyers-to-File-Junk-Patents#ixzz3Y2ssVpgW


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The ABA Journal noted


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The quota in 2014 was 40 patent applications in the U.S. research division and 500 applications worldwide, according to details of the suit covered by the New Jersey Law Journal. The company then put “patent pending” claims on products in an effort to persuade consumers and shareholders its products were innovative, the suit alleges.

Trzaska’s suit says the patent quotas put him at risk of violating rules barring lawyers from bringing frivolous proceedings and making false statements to a tribunal. His suit, filed in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, based on diversity grounds, alleges violation of New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act.

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Link: http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/alleged_patent_quotas_spur_whistleblower_suit_by_in_house_lawyer_who_says_h

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Background of Trzaska:

Widener University School of Law

JD, Jurisprudence

1986 – 1989

Activities and Societies: Moot Court Multiple American Jurisprudence Award Winner