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Specialties

I am a patent, trademark, and copyright attorney with the BrownWinick law firm.  It is my job to help clients find the best way to protect their intellectual property.  My time is spent on a variety of tasks ranging from protecting a client's trademarks to protecting a client's inventions.  If you need help understanding what types of intellectual property you own and the best way for protecting it, please let me know.

My Approach

I learned the best way to help a client protect his or her intellectual property is to listen, understand, and ask questions.  I look not only at the client's immediate needs, but the needs the client may have in the future.  Once I understand these needs I strive to develop strategies for protecting the client's intellectual property.  Sometimes the strategy resembles a shield, other times a sword, more often than not; a mixture of both.

More About Me

I became a patent attorney because I love learning new things and enjoy working with creative people.  In fact, working with innovative people was my motivation for going back to law school.  Before law school I worked as a licensed professional engineer in the power industry.  Prior to that, I completed a bachelor's degree in biology, a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, and a master's degree in engineering mechanics.  I graduated with honors from the Washburn University School of Law and thereafter worked for a top 5 patent law firm in Washington D.C.

My Specialties

  • Patent Law
  • Trademark Law
  • Copyright Law

Patents vs. Trade Secrets: What You Should Know

04-19-2023 A patent can be an excellent way to protect an invention. Machines, processes, compositions of matter, and manufactures can all be protected by a patent. Having a strong patent gives the patent owner a virtual monopoly on his or her invention for 20 years. Patents, however, are not the only way to protect an invention. Depending on the...
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USPTO Terminates Global Patent Prosecution Highway with the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent)

03-11-2022 What is the GPPH? The Global Patent Prosecution Highway (GPPH) is an examination regime that enables expedited patent protection in foreign countries. Under the GPPH, participating patent offices have agreed that when an applicant receives a final ruling from a first patent office that at least one claim is allowed, the applicant may request fast...
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USPTO Announces COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Program for Certain Trademark/Service Mark Applications

06-16-2020 The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently announced a new COVID-19 prioritized examination program for certain trademark and/or service mark applications.  To qualify, the applications must cover a product that is subject to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for use in the prevention and/or treatment of COVID-19...
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The United States Patent and Trademark Office Announced a New COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program

05-13-2020 The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced a new COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program. Under this new pilot program, the USPTO will grant requests for prioritized examination to patent applicants that qualify for small or micro entity status without payment of the typical fees associated with other prioritized...
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COVID-19 Will Spawn a Slew of New Patent Filings

03-26-2020 Currently, we are inundated with information about COVID-19, which is short for coronavirus disease 2019. Coronaviruses are relatively large spherical viruses having projections extending from their outer surface. Once attached to a host cell, the host cell cleaves, allowing the genetic material of the virus to enter the host cell. Once inside,...
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Granting of Waivers by The United States Patent and Trademark Office for Abandoned or Canceled Patent and Trademark Applications

03-26-2020 The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) considers the effects of the Coronavirus outbreak to be an “extraordinary situation.” As such, the USPTO has taken steps to reduce certain costs associated with reviving cancelled or abandoned patent and trademark applications. Filing responses and paying fees associated with patent...
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Claiming Color as Part of a Trademark

09-19-2019 A trademark is a symbol used in commerce to identify a source of goods and services. This symbol often takes the form of a logo, word(s), and/or phrase. Trademark protection comes from using a trademark in commerce. However, trademark protection may be enhanced by filing the trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). A...
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Beware of the Copyright Troll!!!

04-20-2018 For the last five years many people have received letters alleging they infringed another party’s copyrights. The story for these people is almost always the same. They found an image they liked on the internet, noticed it wasn’t marked with a copyright notice, assumed it was free to use, and copied the image. What they didn’t know is that almost...
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Is My Software Patentable?

03-3-2017 Is my software patentable? Maybe!!! Does it solve a problem rooted in computer technology? Does it improve the performance or functioning of a computer? Does it solve a technological problem by applying well understood operations in non-conventional and/or in non-generic ways? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then it is possible...
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BrownWinick Attorneys Named to 2024 Best Lawyers® List

08-17-2023 BrownWinick is pleased to announce that 33 lawyers have been included in the 2024 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. BrownWinick would like to congratulate the following attorneys named to the 2024 The Best Lawyers...
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Assistants

Ali Burken, Assistant - 515-558-8862

Katlyn Noftsger, Paralegal - 515-2486637

Undergraduate

University of Nebraska

B.S., Biology, 1989;

B.S., Mechanical Engineering, 1994

Graduate

University of Nebraska

M.S., Engineering Mechanics, 1997

Legal

Washburn University School of Law

J.D., with Dean's Honors, 2006

Admitted

Kansas, 2006;

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 2007;

Iowa, 2014

Memberships & Associations

  • Polk County Bar Association
    Member
  • Iowa State Bar Association
    Member; Intellectual Property Law Section
  • American Bar Association
    Member