Erise is pleased to announce it has been ranked among the best performing IP law firms in the United States – ranking 24th – in Patexia’s 2021 Patent Litigation Intelligence Report. The firm was also recognized among the top 50 most active defense firms in the country in the same Patexia report, ranking 44th.

In addition, Erise ranked higher than any other law firm in Kansas City, including its BigLaw peers in Patexia’s best performing defense law firms (54th).

Over a three-year period from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2020, Patexia evaluated 2,841 law firms, 9,131 unique patents in 10,552 patent cases, 11,786 companies and 12,780 attorneys. Patexia evaluated overall activity and success to develop a weighted average to determine rankings.

Founded in 2010 to bring efficiency and transparency to intellectual property by leveraging the power of data, technology and experts, Patexia is the largest network for IP professionals and routinely provides these independent assessments for rankings of IP firms in the U.S.

Erise is pleased to announce partner Eric Buresh was recognized by Patexia, the world’s largest network for intellectual property professionals, as one of the top 100 most active patent attorneys representing defendants in patent litigation.

Buresh currently ranks 66th with a 33.6% defendant activity score, which is based on the attorney’s number of unique cases and unique patents.

Over a three-year period from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2020, Patexia evaluated 2,841 law firms, 1,090 district court judges, 11,786 companies and 12,780 attorneys. Patexia evaluated overall activity and success to develop a weighted average to determine rankings.

Buresh focuses his IP practice on patent infringement matters in district courts across the nation. He leads teams in appeals at the Federal Circuit and handles cases through trial at the International Trade Commission (ITC).

Founded in 2010 to bring efficiency and transparency to intellectual property by leveraging the power of data, technology and experts, Patexia is the largest network for IP professionals.

Erise is pleased to announce it was listed among the largest law firms in Kansas City, according to the Kansas City Business Journal’s 2021 Law Firm List, which ranks firms by headcount.

The firm, which is currently No. 38 on the list, moved up two spots from last year. The 2021 Law Firm List recognizes the city’s largest 70 law firms.

Learn more about Kansas City Business Journal’s lists here.

Erise associate Hunter Horton recently discussed his intellectual property career with Patent Education Series, including how a presentation from an attorney during his sophomore year of undergrad at Missouri University of Science and Technology changed his career path.

Hunter, who has been in the IP profession for approximately five and a half years, shared his favorite things about working in IP law. These included analyzing a variety of technically complex projects; diving deep into a single technology within a large, general field to become an “expert” on that invention; and the ability to do both while maintaining a work-life balance.

Hunter concluded by sharing tips for anyone unsure about a career in IP law, advising that “anyone looking at a career in IP law [should] never stop improving your knowledge and skillset. IP law evolves quickly, and it is imperative to stay ahead of the curve and adapt to the shifting market trends. Pay attention to how policy shapes the law and this will keep you at the forefront of your field.”

Hunter provides clients with comprehensive intellectual property strategies to meet their business goals. He focuses his practice on patent litigation and specializes in advising clients in high-technology matters.

Read the full Patent Education Series Q&A here.

Contact Hunter Horton at (913) 777-5617 or hunter.horton@eriseIP.com for more information.

Erise is pleased to announce it has welcomed two new associate attorneys, Joe Craig and Adam Wright, and junior technical advisor Justin Grimes to its Kansas City office.

Learn more about each of the firm’s newest additions below.

Craig is an intellectual property attorney with experience in patents, copyright, trademarks and trade secrets. He focuses on issues related to the creation, protection and monetization of software and related technology.

Prior to his legal career, he worked as a technology consultant and software developer. His technology background provides him with a unique perspective to better assist clients in complex intellectual property matters. He earned his legal degree from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and his undergraduate degrees in computer science and finance from  Washington University in St. Louis. With a background in biochemistry, Wright understands how to take seemingly complicated matters and make them understandable to his clients. At Erise, he will work with clients to file patent applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Wright has deep experience drafting patent applications – both provisional and nonprovisional; reviewing and analyzing prior art for noninfringement, invalidity, and freedom to operate opinion letters; and drafting motions and responses to office actions for the USPTO, Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) and federal district courts. He earned his legal degree from the University of Missouri School of Law and his undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of Missouri.

Grimes is a mechanical engineer with a background in manufacturing processes and experience with 3D CAD/CAM systems; he also has prior experience programming in Python. At Erise, he will aid the IP prosecution team with filing patents at the USPTO. He draws on his background to provide the firm’s clients with key technical guidance.

Prior to joining Erise, Grimes spent two summers interning with Cardinal Health, a medical device manufacturer/distributor. In this role, he worked with a research and design team designing medical catheters. In addition to lab work, he also designed some of the test fixtures using SolidWorks. Grimes earned his degree in mechanical engineering, with emphasis in manufacturing processes, from Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Erise is pleased to announce Robin Snader has been elected a shareholder, effective January 1. With his promotion, the intellectual property law boutique grows its number of shareholders to 10 between its Overland Park, Kansas, headquarters and Denver office.

With degrees in mathematics, computer information and science engineering, Snader possesses a strong technical understanding of technology that comes into play regularly in his representation of clients’ patent prosecution needs.

Prior to entering the legal industry, Snader was a researcher at the University of Illinois, culminating in a doctoral degree in the field of Computer Science with a focus on computer security and wireless networking. He remains active in the field, continuing to conduct research and publish new work in a variety of venues.

Erise associate Cliff Brazen recently discussed his intellectual property career with Patent Education Series and offered up advice for others who are considering a career in IP.

Brazen told Patent Education Series that he began pursuing IP law after realizing an engineering career wasn’t for him. Both of his parents are attorneys and he decided to take an introduction to law class to learn more about their profession and ended up really enjoying it.

“Pretty shortly thereafter I decided on law school,” he said. “At first, because I knew I did not want to be an engineer, I kept my options open and was not committed to IP law from the start. But pretty quickly I learned that IP law let me get the best of both worlds.”

For those considering a career in law, not just IP, Brazen offered up the following, “While money is important, you will be spending a lot of time with your coworkers. For me, it was important that I really enjoyed the people I worked with and that I fit in with the culture. Doing that has definitely had a positive benefit on my mental health and helped me avoid attorney burnout.”

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board is considering a request it received sent by Erise shareholder Adam Seitz on behalf of Garmin, Law360 reported.

In the request, Garmin is asking the PTAB’s Precedential Opinion Panel “to hold that the timing of U.S. International Trade Commission investigations shouldn’t be used to deny parallel patent challenges, especially since the ITC can’t invalidate patents,” Law360 wrote.

In May 2020, the PTAB ruled in Apple v. Fintiv that six factors would be considered to deny IPR institution if there was parallel litigation, but the POP request argues that “ITC proceedings would never be able to meet four of the six factors outlined in Fintiv, and would virtually never be able to meet the other two.”

Erise shareholders Michelle Marriott and Eric Buresh were successful at the Federal Circuit on behalf of client Ubisoft in a patent case that originated in 2013.

The three-judge panel affirmed a February 2019 decision by a Delaware magistrate judge, who awarded Ubisoft summary judgment.

The plaintiff “sued Ubisoft in 2013, alleging that the ‘Just Dance’ series of games infringed its patent on a system of controlling virtual environments in response to audio signals,” Law360 reported.

Erise is pleased to announce that Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers has recognized seven of its shareholders in its latest annual guide.

The guide, which is published by Thomson Reuters, named Adam Seitz, Eric Buresh, Jennifer Bailey, Marshall Honeyman, Michelle Marriott, Jason Mudd and Megan Redmond as Super Lawyers.

Redmond is listed by Super Lawyers for the first time after being recognized on the Rising Stars list from 2011 to 2018. She was recognized for Intellectual Property Litigation.

Seitz has been honored for 11 straight years (eight by Super Lawyers and three on the Rising Stars list) in Intellectual Property. For Buresh and Honeyman, it’s their eighth and third years straight, respectively.

In Intellectual Property Litigation, it marks the seventh straight year for Mudd, the third consecutive for Marriott and the second straight for Bailey that they were included on the Super Lawyers list .

Up to 5 percent of attorneys in each state are named as Super Lawyers, and up to 2.5 percent are named Rising Stars. The selection process includes peer nominations, third-party research and an evaluation by a panel of attorneys.

The lists, which are published nationwide in Super Lawyers magazines and in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers across the country, serve as a resource for attorneys and consumers seeking legal counsel.

Super Lawyers 

Eric Buresh, 2013-2020, Rising Stars 2009
Intellectual Property

Jennifer Bailey, 2019-2020, Rising Stars 2010 – 2016
Intellectual Property, Intellectual Property Litigation

Marshall Honeyman, 2005, 2018-2020
Intellectual Property

Michelle Marriott, 2017-2020
Intellectual Property Litigation

Jason Mudd, 2016-2020, Rising Stars 2014 – 2015
Intellectual Property Litigation

Megan Redmond, 2020, Rising Stars 2011-2018
Intellectual Property Litigation

Adam Seitz, 2013-2020, Rising Stars 2010 – 2012
Intellectual Property