McDermott Will & Schulte, a global law firm

Leads complex patent litigation disputes, with an emphasis on high-stakes trial work

Represents clients in pharmaceutical and life sciences patent matters, including Hatch-Waxman disputes

Handles patent disputes across a broad range of technologies, including medical devices and consumer products

Advises clients on trademark and copyright counseling, licensing, prosecution, and enforcement

Helps companies register, maintain, protect, and license trademarks, service marks, domain names, and other brand assets worldwide

Supports business-focused IP planning for transactions, including strategic alliances, joint ventures, M&A, and complex IP license structures

Advises on data-licensing issues, including for clients operating in the digital health space

Brian W. Oaks focuses his practice on intellectual property law, with a particular emphasis on patent post-grant trials, patent litigation, and patent portfolio development and management.

Brian has extensive experience in front of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), where he has led over 200 post-grant trials, including inter partes reviews (IPRs) and post-grant reviews (PGRs). He is adept at both formulating and executing successful challenges of patents as a petitioner and aggressively and creatively defending patent owners who have had their patents challenged in the PTAB.

In federal courts in Texas and across the country, Brian litigates patent disputes relating to a range of technologies, from internet technologies to complex software and telecommunications applications. He represents both companies seeking to enforce their intellectual property rights and those accused of infringement.

Brian also manages the development of strategic patent portfolios in a broad range of technologies such as computing components, software, wireless and telecommunication networks, optical networking components, electric vehicles, medical and other mechanical devices and business methods.

Brian helps clients identify, protect and leverage clients’ intellectual property assets and manage offensive and defensive assertions of intellectual property rights. Brian’s practice also includes prepares opinions of counsel for his clients in response to such assertions.

During law school, Brian was an articles editor for the Virginia Journal of Law and Technology and was on the editorial board for the Virginia Tax Review.

David Tobin focuses his practice on intellectual property (IP) matters, with a particular emphasis on patent post-grant trials and patent litigation. He has extensive experience litigating complex patent infringement and other IP cases across the country, including in district courts, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and the International Trade Commission (ITC). David represents clients in a wide variety of fields spanning telecommunications hardware and standards, computer hardware and software, e-commerce, data compression, semiconductor manufacturing and design, fossil energy production, renewable energy generation, medical devices, chemical processes and pharmaceutical formulations. He also litigates and provides counseling on trade secret, copyright, trademark and trade dress issues.

David skillfully handles all aspects of a lawsuit for his clients, including pre-suit investigations, e-discovery, taking and defending fact and expert depositions, summary judgment and Markman proceedings, presenting and cross-examining witnesses at trial, and appeal. David has represented both petitioners and patent owners in numerous post-grant trials at the PTAB, including all stages of the case from finding prior art through arguing at hearings. His comprehensive IP practice also covers transactions, including negotiating license agreements.

In addition to his IP practice, David is actively involved in pro bono work. His pro bono docket includes representing veterans before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

During law school, David was the chief articles editor of the Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal.

Robert W. Zelnick is a nationally recognized intellectual property (IP) lawyer with an established record of success. Although he is also a registered patent attorney, for more than two decades Robert has focused his practice on trademark, unfair competition and false advertising matters, where he counsels clients on complex IP issues and serves as lead counsel for major clients in federal trial and appellate courts. According to client feedback in World Trademark Review, as the former head of the Firm’s Global Trademark Practice Group for 10 years, he has “an absolutely superb track record in the courtroom.” Clients also single him out for his “particular thoroughness in his research, his answers to our questions, and the depth of the options he provides us with.” In 2017, Robert was named to The Legal 500’s inaugural Hall of Fame, which recognized fewer than 500 US lawyers across all fields of practice. Robert also serves as an adjunct professor at George Washington University Law School, teaching “Advanced Trademark Law.”

Practice overview:

• Manages all aspects of enforcement of intellectual property rights, with a focus on litigation of trademark, unfair competition, false advertising and right of publicity disputes, often involving internationally famous trademarks and celebrities
• Represents clients in federal trial and appellate courts throughout the United States, and also before the US International Trade Commission and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the US Patent and Trademark Office
• Counsels clients on brand architecture and licensing of trademarks, service marks, trade names and other indicia of corporate identity
• Develops risk-management strategies and protocols, particularly for new and outside-the-box marketing campaigns
• Advises on global trademark portfolio management and restructuring to ensure strategic and tax-managed ownership of trademarks worldwide
• Reviews advertising copy and counsels on parameters of copyright, fair use, comparative advertising, rights of publicity and privacy, and unfair competition

Robert writes and speaks frequently on intellectual property matters, and has served as a testifying expert in connection with trademark issues. He served as an intern to the Honorable Eric G. Bruggink of the US Court of Federal Claims in Washington, DC, in 1989. Robert earned his bachelor’s degree, with honors, in biology from Lafayette College and his JD, with honors, from George Washington University Law School where he is currently an adjunct professor and teaches “Advanced Trademark Law.”