If the patent was granted in 1978, it would be impossible for them to get an extension as I explained above.
Patent law is the only field of law one can't practice with a law degree and state bar membership. In order to be certified as a patent lawyer , one needs to qualify in terms of the number of science units one had in college and professional school and pass the patent bar exam.
Two firms that have patent lawyers are Jones -Day and Sidley -Austin. Both have offices in New York.
Sidley Austin occupied several floors of the world trade center until 2001. When the plane hit ,they acertained that the hit occured above their offices. They were told to stay put until further notice . Instead they decided that since the collision was above them ,they should exit immediately via the stairs. None of the several hundred people working there died. Many people followed the advice from authorities to stay put and are obviously no longer alive . Sidley- Austin is one of the most prestigous firms in the country .Its members are graduates of top twenty law schools . Their behavior on 911 shows the correlation between high IQ and common sense.
I also graduated from a top twenty law school.I recently talked to a man I know who is a blue collar worker who said he would never allow a dentist to do any work on a tooth that did'nt hurt.He has only three fillings, no crowns or root canals . I ,on the other hand have a mouth full of dental work , much of it on teeth that did'nt bother me .Either he has more common sense or I grew up in a sheltered environment and did'nt learn that you can't trust most people.