Anthony S. Volpe

Tony draws on his years of in-house and private practice experience to analyze his client's business model and objectives and craft a strategy to achieve the client's goals.

With more than 40 years of experience in all aspects of IP, Tony works with clients in developing strategies that enhance the IP portfolio, extract the best value from a portfolio and avoid the rights of third parties.

Previous Work and Industry Experience

Tony began his career in-house attorney at the Allen Organ Company and later joined the in-house staff of AMP Inc. In the late 1970s, he entered private practice in his home city of Philadelphia. In 1987, he joined Fred Koenig as a founding shareholder of Volpe and Koenig, P.C.

Life Beyond Law

Tony has always believed in giving back to the community that has afforded him so many opportunities. He has served as a trustee of the Bucks County Historical Society and the Mercer Museum. Tony enjoys being a mentor to young attorneys. When he has a free afternoon, you are likely to find him enjoying his grandchildren, as they grow and change almost daily, or engaging in his love of all things automotive.

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Podcasts

Blog Posts

Experience

Tony helps protect clients’ key intellectual property domestically and globally, particularly in the technology areas of:

• Automotive Technologies and Components
• Bicycle Components
• Food Wine and Spirits
• Furniture and Household Items
• Medical Devices
• Nonwoven Products
• Papermaking Equipment and Fabrics
• Personal Transportation and Care Items
• Power and Hand Tools
• Power Systems and Solar Components
• Technology Transfer

Recognition

• Ranked among Band 3 in Chambers USA
• Selected by attorney peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America®, published by Best Lawyers LLC, for Copyright Law and Litigation – Intellectual Property, Litigation – Patent, Patent Law and Trademark Law, (2012–2020)
• Named Lawyer of the Year – Pennsylvania, for Trademark Law by The Best Lawyers in America®, (2020)

• Selected to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers® list, published by Thomson Reuters, (2005-2020)

• Rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell®
• Recipient, Leader of Innovation Medal, American Bar Foundation, (2015)
• Listed among America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators, (2020)
• Selected as a "Patent Star" in Managing Intellectual Property's IP Stars, (2020)
• Selected as a "Trademark Star" in Managing Intellectual Property's IP Stars, (2020)

Professional Affiliations

• Scholar-in-Residence, Legal Studies, Temple University Fox School of Business 
• Fellow, American Bar Foundation
• Philadelphia Bar Association, 2018 Chair, Mid-Size Firm Management Committee
• American Bar Association
• Pennsylvania Bar Association
• American Intellectual Property Law Association
• Federal Circuit Bar Association

Business Mediation

When Tony entered practice in the 1970s commercial litigation was fairly rare and generally followed a lengthy effort by the parties to resolve the matter without court intervention. By the time his practice turned to litigation in the 1980s, commercial litigation had become more of a regular course of doing business. Still, the parties and their counsel generally treated each other with respect and civility. This did not diminish the advocacy or any party's view that they were correct and would prevail. Over the approximately last forty years of business disputes, litigation has become the first choice option for resolving disputes.

Business Meditation seeks to have the parties take a business-centric and thoughtful approach to a non-adversarial alternate dispute resolution process. Unlike arbitration, which often becomes as adversarial and expensive as court litigation, where there is a winner and a loser, Business Mediation seeks to turn that time and energy to an agreed upon solution. The parties may have some dissatisfaction on some level because there is no winner or loser. However, they have the satisfaction of knowing the resolution was negotiated by them and not imposed by a judge or jury, which may engender another round of appellate litigation.

Meditation is even more useful at the outset of a commercial dispute to keep the issue from escalating into a court battle, and the obligation to mediation can be written into the original contract or agreement. This is a reasonable approach that lets the parties know at the outset that they will have some control over at least the initial stages of the dispute.

Selecting the right neutral to mediate can be a major factor in reaching a resolution. While the neutral's skills must include legal and business experience, good listening skills may be the most critical. The parties often are in agreement about most factual events; however, they often draw very different conclusions from them. Hearing what each party thinks is the actual root of the problem often provides a clue as to how the matter may be resolved. Drawing the parties into a discussion of what drove the business relationship off of the rails can lead to a solution that puts that relationship back on the rails and provides a true business solution.