Robert Katz

Practice Areas

Rob has benefited firm clients in the areas of utility patents and industrial designs. He has drafted and prosecuted to issuance numerous and significant utility patents in the U.S. and in foreign countries. These clients include Fortune 500 companies as well as many individual inventors and small companies who rely on strong patent protection in their marketplaces. The patents have been directed primarily to mechanical and electromechanical devices, and to software and computer-related inventions. Many patents drafted and prosecuted by Rob have been successfully enforced with some having served as the cornerstone for the successful sale of companies.

Rob has also provided advice and prepared opinions regarding the patentability of inventions, patent infringement, patent validity, and trade secret protection to help clients properly assess the advantages and disadvantages of certain intellectual property and business decisions.

In patent and trademark litigation matters, he has assisted clients in enforcing and defending intellectual property related claims at the district court and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and in the International Trade Commission.

Career

Both nationally and internationally, Rob is considered one of the premier practitioners in the field of industrial designs, leading the way in the procurement and enforcement of design patents. On behalf of the firm’s clients, he has helped procure more than 11,000 design patents in the U.S. and more than 32,000 design patents/registrations outside the U.S., and has helped to successfully enforce over 200 design patents. Leaders from foreign design patent offices have consulted with him regarding industrial design policies, and he has served as an expert in design patent litigations. He also prepared and filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of IDSA (Industrial Designers Society of America).

Professional Memberships

Rob holds leadership positions in several professional organizations, including ABA, AIPLA, FICPI and INTA. He is the past Chair of INTA’s Designs Committee and Vice President of FICPI’s U.S. Section. For the ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law, he currently serves as Liaison to FICPI. He also serves as a member of the Industrial Designs working group of the AIPLA Special Committee on Legislation. He is a former Chair of the Industrial Design Section for both FICPI and AIPLA, and also a member of IDSA and IPO.

Education