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J. Buchanan
Partner at MacMillan, Sobanski & Todd, LLC
J. Matthew Buchanan is a Partner at MacMillan, Sobanski & Todd, LLC, based in Toledo, Ohio. He is a registered patent attorney specializing in strategic portfolio development and management. His extensive experience encompasses both U.S. and international patent prosecution, and he emphasizes a comprehensive approach that goes beyond merely filing applications.
Professional Background
- Current Position: Partner at MacMillan, Sobanski & Todd, LLC since August 2020.
- Previous Roles:
- Founding Partner at Buchanan Van Tuinen LLC (2008 - 2020).
- Of Counsel at Dunlap, Codding & Rogers, P.C. (2005 - 2008).
- Associate at Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione (2000 - 2005).
Education
- B.S. from The Ohio State University (1988 - 1992).
- M.S. from the Medical College of Ohio (1992 - 1995).
- J.D. from The University of Toledo College of Law (1995 - 2000).
Areas of Expertise
Buchanan's practice includes:
- Domestic and international patent prosecution.
- Patent knowledge management.
- Competitive intelligence monitoring.
- Design and implementation of patent systems.
He focuses on aligning patent strategies with organizational goals to avoid unnecessary portfolio expansion while enhancing effectiveness, particularly for startups and established companies seeking innovative approaches to portfolio management.1
Highlights
PatentedHistory for March 3rd - Invented in Toledo
I love learning the technology taught by old patents, but actually enjoy the stories behind them even more. My PatentedHistory posts are an effort to share those stories with, well, anyone willing to read or listen to them, frankly.
In researching and writing these posts, I generally don't pay attention to location unless it's truly an aspect of the story (first patent to list an inventor "of North Dakota" rather than "of Dakota Territory," for example). But, without question, patents connected to my hometown of Toledo, Ohio hold a special place in the PatentedHistory effort. I tag these posts with #InventedInToledo.
My hope is that everyone, not just folks from Toledo, will enjoy these particular stories. There's good reason for everyone interested in invention and innovation to learn a little bit about Toledo's history.
Why?
Simple - it's nothing short of incredible.
Toledo has an amazing history of world-changing innovation. Residents of most cities similar in size to Toledo can point to a few companies that have introduced well-known products in the past, but Toledo's history goes way beyond that. Several Toledo companies literally created new industries while others introduced innovations that radically and permanently changed the course of their industries. Toledo has played a critical role in the development of everything from bicycles to interchangeable mufflers and from vacuum cleaners to medical devices. And, to state the obvious, Toledo has been the home of multiple technological revolutions in the glass industry.
Here's a preview of a few future #InventedInToledo stories:
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Thanks in large part to a lightweight wire wheel made by Toledo-based Gendron Iron Wheel Company, Toledo was once known as the “Coventry of America” after Coventry, England, then the center of the British bicycle industry.
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In the early 1900s, Toledo became the center of the fountain pen industry when the Conklin Pen Manufacturing Co. introduced a unique self-filling pen; Mark Twain famously endorsed the Conklin Crescent Filler as "a profanity-saver: it cannot roll off the desk."
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Three seemingly unrelated industries — medical devices, cosmetics and paint-spraying equipment — are connected by innovations in fluid dispersion from Toledo’s own DeVilbiss family.
So, if you're interested in the PatentedHistory posts but have no connection to Toledo, I hope you won't turn away when you see the #InventedInToledo tag. If you're a student of innovation history, I think you'll find them fascinating.
And if you're ever in Toledo, give me a call. I've got some old buildings to show you.
#invention #innovation #history #Toledo #toledoohio
The PatentedHistory newsletter kicks off on Wednesday, March 1st!
You can sign up for the newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/iltPS1
The newsletter will be sent nearly each weekday (we'll likely miss one from time to time!). Newsletters on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays will include a brief note (one or two paragraphs) about an interesting historical story related to an old U.S. patent. These stories are generally not about the patent itself, or the invention it describes, but rather focus on the inventor, their city or town, a company, industry, or even something more tangentially related to the patent, like a famous piece of art created by the inventor's great-granddaughter or a failed business of the inventor's father or mother. Friday editions will include a longer article that often expands on details of a story from an edition published earlier in the week.
I hope you'll subscribe!
