About the Virtual Patent Agent Office 

Mission Statement

Office Procedure and Confidentiality & Security

About Dr. Pernia, Patent Agent

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Mission Statement

WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU!

We can help you! . . .	If you have an invention or innovative technology and need assistance applying for and obtaining a United States Patent.
We can help you! . . .	If you are trying to access the U.S. patenting process from outside the United States.
We can help you! . . .	If you merely have a question about inventions, technologies and the patenting process in the United States.
We can help you! . . .	If you are looking for a Patent Practitioner who will keep you informed, and involve you in the patenting process.
We can help you! . . .	If you are trying to decide if your invention or innovative technology is patentable.
We can help you! . . .	If you have a pending patent application and are trying to decide whether rejected patent claims are salvageable.

Digitizing the Patent Agent Office substantially reduces the Office's overhead costs, which allows us pass the cost reduction on to our Clients in the form of lower fees. This is a savings for you, the Client. Because our communications with Clients and other Patent Practitioners are accomplished primarily electronically, our overhead is reduced by: not having the large space and furnishing requirements of a physical law office; and avoiding the copying, postage and courier costs of a physical law office. Additionally, digitizing the Patent Agent Office substantially facilitates our ability to quickly and easily communicate with Clients. This saves both your time and ours.

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Office Procedure Statement

The Virtual Patent Agent Office

Confidentiality & Security:

The Virtual Patent Agent Office takes the issues of Confidentiality and Security very seriously. When necessary or required by a client, the Virtual Patent Agent Office utilizes "secured socket layer" technology and encryption to provide the security environment of the Office.

Upon registration, a Client may be assigned: (1) a Client Key code (password) linked to a specific Client Profile, and (2) a secured Electronic Client File Partition where that Client's encrypted file are temporarily held for review by the Client. The Office's Security Management System uses the Client Key code and specific Client Profile to direct a Client to the Client's Secured Electronic File Partition, and to prevent access to all others.

Client Key codes are held separately from the Web Server which hosts The Virtual Patent Agent Office. In addition to all files being encrypted by the Virtual Office Web server for transmission on the Web, a client's files can be locally encrypted as well. In which case, not even the Web server's computer personnel have access to the content of a Client's locally encrypted files.

Further in this situatiuon, any document prepared for a Client is available only for a short period of time in the Client's Electronic File Partition for the Client to down-load. After down-loading, the Client may review and edit the document on his/her own computer, and re-transmit the document back to the Virtual Office. Documents transmitted by Clients to The Virtual Patent Agent Office, are down-loaded and removed from the server. Therefore, even if documents transmitted to and from the Virtual Office are not locally encrypted, they are not maintained on the server.

SHERMAN D. PERNIA, Ph.D., J.D.

Education:
- Bachelor of Arts in Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1976.
- Doctor of Philosophy in Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1984.
- Doctor of Jurisprudence, South Texas College of Law, Houston, 1997.

Training:
- Aviation Electronics Technician (Class A) School, US Navy, Memphis, TN, 1964.
- Post-doctoral Position, Shriner's Burns Institute, Metabolism Research Unit, 1985-86.

Certifications/Licenses:
- Texas State Bar (Bar No. 24004856), 1998
- Certified Mediator, State of Texas, 1998.
- Patent Agent (Reg. No. 34,404), US Patent &Trademark Office, 1990.
- 2nd. Class Federal Communication Commission License, 1970.

Present:
Patent Agent and Attorney at Law
Principal, Sherman D. Pernai, Esq., P.C.: Developer and Manager of The Virtual Patent Agent Office, an information and communications service on the World Wide Web focused on the practice of patent law before the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), and providing access to the US patent process to inventors and businesses worldwide.

Primary responsibilities are patent prosecution and litigation support, but also include client development, licensing and technology transfer. Patent prosecution: draft specification, claims, administrative pages and other materials for filing Applications for U.S. Letters Patent. Maintain patent application dockets and file wrappers; respond to Office Actions from the USPTO, draft petitions and other documents for filing and prosecution of patent applications, including continuation, divisional and CIP filings, and filings in the PCT. Litigation support in the areas of patent and trademark infringement.

Technology Development Consultant
Work with academic departments and small businesses to identify programs or products embodying technologies ripe for commercial development; and develop and implement mechanisms for the protection, further R&D and commercialization of these properties. Utilize and integrate the expertise of a patent practitioner, research scientist and technology promoter to facilitate transferring technologies out of the laboratory and into the commercial arena, including: patenting, funding development, marketing and negotiating proprietary rights, joint ventures and licensing agreements to commercialize proprietary technologies.

Other Legal Experience:
(1991-1996) Agent "of Counsel" with two large law firms in Houston, TX, to provide patent prosecution support to the firms' intellectual property sections, particularly in the biotechnology fields and related fields.

Academic Experience:
(1987-1994) Program Development Manager for Sealy Center for Molecular Science; Research Assistant Professor, School of Medicine of the University of Texas Medical Branch, Dept. of Human Biological Chemistry & Genetics; Coordinator, Biomolecular Synthesis Facility; and Coordinator, Departmental I.P. Development Program.
(1985-1986) Staff Scientist Shriner's Burns Institute, Galveston, TX. Senior Research Associate in the Metabolism Research Unit & Mass Spectroscopy Lab.
(1983-1984) Graduate Research Assistant, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA., and lab coordinator for Dr. C. Leo Ortiz, received Ph.D. degree in Biology.
(1981-1982) Research Assistant, Biology Department, Yale University, New Haven, CT, for Dr. Robert Wyman of the Neurophysiology & Biophysics Research group.
(1978-1980) Graduate Student & Teaching Assistant, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, in Biology for Dr. C. Leo Ortiz.

Other Technical Experience:
- Long-distance telecommunications electronic technician.
- Electronics Systems Technician in civilian and military Aero-Space Industries.
- Aviation Electronics Technician in the U.S. Navy.
Responsibilities included: installation, maintenance, repair and operation of electronic communication, navigation, countermeasures and weapons equipment and systems, including all ancillary electrical, mechanical, pneumatic and hydraulic support systems; communications systems field installation; telecommunication systems maintenance and troubleshooting; electronic systems component production and testing.

Publications:
Keith, E.O., S.D. Pernia, R. Condit & C.L. Ortiz (1979) Metabolism and recycling of glucose in northern elephant seals. 3rd Bienn. Conf. Biol. Marine Mamm. Seattle.

Pernia, S.D. & C.L. Ortiz (1979) Protein loss during prolonged fasting in the northern elephant seal. 7th annual MBS Symp., Atlanta.

Keith, E.O., S.D. Pernia & C.L. Ortiz (1980) Intermediary metabolism and bioenergetics of northern elephant seals during starvation. 64th Annual FASEB. Anaheim.

Pernia, S.D., A. Hill & C.L. Ortiz (1980) Urea turnover during prolonged fasting in the northern elephant seal. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 65B:731-734.

Pernia, S.D. & C.L. Ortiz (1981) Urea metabolism during prolonged hypophagia in the northern elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris. 9th Ann. MBS Symp. Albuquerque.

Pernia, S.D. & C.L. Ortiz (1983) Protein turnover during prolonged fasting in northern elephant seal pups. 5th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals. Boston.

Pernia, S.D. (1984) Protein turnover and nitrogen metabolism during long term fasting in northern elephant seal pups. Doctoral dissertation.

Calhoun, K.H. & S.D. Pernia (1987) Amino acid concentrations in tumor and adjacent normal tissue in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Head & Neck Oncol. Res. Proc. 2nd Internat. Conf.

Carraro, F., S.D. Pernia, D.K. Layman, F. Jahoor, C. Stuart & R.R. Wolfe (1988) Effect of exercise on protein synthesis in normal volunteers. FASEB 72nd Annual Meeting, Las Vegas.

Pernia, S.D., D.P. Costa & C.L. Ortiz (1989) Glomerular filtration rate in weaned Elephant seal pups during natural long term fasts. Can. J. Zool., 67:1752-1756.

Pernia, S.D., W.R. Redin and D.H. Carney (1989) Synthetic Thrombin-receptor peptide enhances healing of full-thickness dermal excisions. American Society Cell Biol. Houston.

Pernia, S.D., D.L. Berry, W.R. Redin & D.H. Carney (1990) A synthetic peptide representing the thrombin receptor-binding domain enhances wound closure in vivo. SAAS Bull., Biochem. & Biotech. 3:8-12.

Carney, D.H., W.R. Redin, S.D. Pernia, R. Mann, P. Hayward, M. Robson & K. Glenn (1990) Enhancement of wound healing by a Thrombin-based peptide, p508/530. 3rd International Symposium on Tissue Repair. Miami.

Redin, W.R., S.D. Pernia & D.H. Carney (1991) Full Thickness wound healing models to quantify dermal repair. Abstract, American Association of Laboratory Animal Technicians, San Antonio.

Pernia, S.D., W.R. Redin & D.H. Carney (1991) Assessment of enhanced closure of full-thickness wounds in rats treated with TRAP508 peptide: Contraction vs. re-epithelization. Abstract, U.C.L.A. Symposia on Wound Healing, Keystone.

Carney, D.H., R. Mann, W.R. Redin, S.D. Pernia, D.L.Berry, J.P. Heggers, P.G. Hayward, M.C. Robson, J. Christie, C. Annable, J.W. Fenton II & K.C. Glenn. (1992) Enhancement of incisional wound healing and neovascularization in normal rats by thrombin and synthetic thrombin receptor-activating peptides. J. Clin. Invest. 89:1469-1477.

Manuscripts:
Carney, D.H., W.R. Redin, S.D. Pernia, W.S. Warner & J. Stiernberg, Acceleration of Full- Dermal Wound Healing in Normal Rats by the Thrombin Receptor-Activating Peptide, TRAP- 508.
Pernia, S.D. The Electronic Office in an International Practice of United States Patent Prosecution Law: Getting There and Back Safely.

Invited Papers/Lectures:
Guest Lecturer, Law Office Management, South Texas College of Law, Affiliate of Texas A&M University, Spring 1998, Fall 1996.
Pernia, S.D., The Virtual Law Office in Experiencing Internet Travel, CLE Seminar, S. Tex. Coll. Law (1997 & 1998).

Examples of Current and Past Memberships:
- Aerospace Medical Association
- American Bar Association
- American Intellectual Property Law Association
- American Physiological Society
- American Academy for the Advancement of Science
- Association of University Technology Managers
- Communication Workers of America
- Houston Intellectual Property Law Association
- Society for Marine Mammology
- Texas Bar Association
- The Wound Healing Society (Charter Member)

Examples of Art Fields from a Selection of Issued and Published Patents:
- 5,175,209: Porous wafer for segmented synthesis of biopolymers
- 5,196,334: Urogenital sinus derived growth inhibitory factor
- 5,294,533: Antisense oligonucleotide antibiotics complementary to the macromolecular synthesis operon, methods of treating bacterial infections and methods for identification of bacteria
- 5,298,422: Myogenic vector systems
- 5,315,965: Aquatic fur-bearing mammal and bird vivarium
- 5,523,217: Fingerprinting bacterial strains using repetitive DNA sequence amplification
- 5,578,458: Mutation detection by competitive oligonucleotide priming
- 5,582,989: Multiplex genomic DNA amplification for deletion detection
- 5,658,961: Microbiological fire-fighting formulation
- 5,839,430: Combination inhaler and peak flow rate meter
- 6,101,476: CD-ROM software protection system
- 6,328,046: Self-Anchoring Beach Umbrella
- published: A constant seal-tightness syringe
- Allowed: Electrical gastro-intestinal tract stimulator