Amster Rothstein & Ebenstein
Firm overview:
New York-based IP boutique firm Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein works with clients to craft business-strategic patent portfolios and execute offensive and defensive patent prosecution strategies, draft and negotiate technology licences, and counsel on overlapping areas of law, including antitrust and allegations of anticompetitive practices. “A very good firm,” says a client who instructs Amster Rothstein on chemicals, biologics and pharmaceutical patent prosecution.
The firm’s lawyers have filed for patents on superconductors, semiconductor chips, bioengineered cell lines, surgical probes, offshore drilling platforms, windmills, computer programs, digital communications equipment, and complex machinery.
In dispute resolution, the firm launches vigorous litigation campaigns on behalf of clients. Amster Rothstein has more than 20 attorneys registered to practice before the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and over 90% of its attorneys have technical degrees. The firm advises on post-grant Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) proceedings, and matters in the district and appellate courts.
Team overview:
In September 2025, the firm announced that Richard Mandaro would succeed Anthony Lo Cicero as its next managing partner. Mandaro’s practice spans litigation, licensing and portfolio management across all facets of IP law.
“On life sciences prosecution, I would certainly call Gary Gershik or Brian Amos,” says a client. “They are really outstanding patent practitioners, primarily on the prosecution side of the house.”
Gershik co-chairs the Biotech, Medtech & Pharma Practice Group, and focuses on worldwide patent procurement and enforcement. He represents academic institutions, startups and Fortune 500 companies, in biotechnology, chemistry and pharmaceutical arts. Gershik coordinates IP and regulatory strategy, rendering patentability, validity, infringement and freedom-to-operate opinions. He has drafted and prosecuted hundreds of patents in the US and abroad, and has extensive litigation experience before the Federal Courts and USPTO.
Former research neuroscientist and fellow co-chair of the group Amos represents universities, research institutions and corporations in cultivating patent portfolios worldwide, in biotechnology, AI applied to diagnostics & medical procedures and other technologies. Amos works with scientists, in-house counsel and Technology Transfer Offices, to protect discoveries through patents and commercialise IP through licensing.
Key matters:
- Granting of a patent for BlueHalo
Amster Rothstein is the law firm associated by the USPTO with the granting of a patent for the System and Apparatus for a High-Power Microwave Sensor using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to BlueHalo of Huntsville, Alabama in January 2026.
The patent abstract states: “The unmanned aerial vehicle may include a central body, at least one electric motor, and a barometric pressure feedthrough. The central body may include a first enclosure housing a plurality of low voltage components, a voltage feedthrough connector, and a second enclosure housing a plurality of high voltage components.”
BlueHalo is a prominent defence technology company specialising in space superiority, directed energy, and AI-driven C-UAS (Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems). Following BlueHalo’s acquisition by AeroVironment in 2025, the combined company renamed as AV continues to develop advanced defence products.
- Prime Time Toys v Spin Master
An example of Amster Rothstein’s work before the PTAB is the team’s representation of Prime Time Toys against patent owner Spin Master.
Spin Master’s patents relate to “soft-projectile launching devices”; the company asserted the patents against Prime Time Toys and others back in 2022.
In her former role as director of the USPTO, Kathi Vidal reversed a PTAB decision denying institution and remanded the case back to the board for trial in July 2024. Vidal has since returned to private practice as an IP partner at Winston & Strawn.
Amster Rothstein partners Kenneth George and Brian Comack represent the petitioner Prime Time Toys.
Clients:
BlueHalo, Prime Time Toys
