Camille Urban is a member of BrownWinick and is co-chair of the firm's Intellectual Property practice group. Camille practices in the areas of patents, trademarks and copyrights. Because most aspects of these areas of the law are federal or even international in nature, Camille's clients range from individuals to large companies located regionally as well as throughout the globe. Her practice includes engineering and negotiating international and domestic licenses and technology agreements, participating in due diligence and transfer activities relating to mergers and acquisitions and assisting clients in preparing private and public placement documents in addition to preparing and prosecuting patent and trademark applications and registering copyrights. She assists clients in creating strategies to protect and increase the value of their intellectual property both domestically and internationally, and helps clients devise and develop coherent intellectual property portfolios. Camille has provided legal services in a broad range of technical areas including:
- Processes and apparatus used to obtain value-added by-products from various production processes including biofuels production;
- Processes for decreasing net carbon outputs and for creating carbon credits;
- High efficiency wind turbine designs;
- Intelligent building monitoring and control;
- Web-enabled contract management software;
- Web-based services management systems for compliance with Medicare;
- Implements for agricultural input recordation and dispensing related to GPS positioning, crop traits, and weather conditions;
- Agricultural implements for nitrogen application, seed metering, and grain storage;
- Genetically modified and cloned animals for medical use or research and for herd development;
- Apparatus for disposing of biological waste;
- Processes for separation of components from biological fluids;
- Hybrids, inbreds and varieties of various crop-value plants;
- Art licensing and copyright protection; and
- Processes for gasifying by-products for conversion to new energy streams.
Camille also advocates for clients relative to all kinds of intellectual property, including arbitrating and litigating conflicts as necessary in various state and federal courts and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Camille is a frequent guest lecturer on Intellectual Property and Trademark Law at both the University of Iowa - MBA Program located at the John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center in Des Moines and Drake University.
Camille has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® in the areas of Copyright, Patent and Trademark Law and was awarded Best Lawyers® "Lawyer of the Year" 2019 in the area of Trademark Law.
Camille received her B.A. in Chemistry from Iowa State University in 1985 where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, her M.A.T. in Teaching from the University of Iowa in 1987 and completed law school in two years in the accelerated program at the University of Iowa, obtaining her J.D., with high distinction, in 1998. Camille was admitted to the Iowa bar in 1998. She is admitted to practice in the Southern District of Iowa and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Camille is also admitted to practice in the United States Patent and Trademark Office as a registered patent attorney.
Representative Cases
Natural Alternatives v. JM Farms
Obtained summary judgment in Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky for our client JM Farms. The plaintiff brought suit alleging JM Farms breached a license agreement for the use of multiple patents and trademarks. The District Court granted JM Farms’ motion for summary judgment that Natural Alternatives had terminated the license agreement and was not entitled to license fees for any period of time after the termination.
Filtrexx International, LLC v. Soil-Tek, Inc., et. al.
Northern District of Ohio
Represented defendants in a multimillion dollar patent and trademark infringement lawsuit in federal district court for the Northern District of Ohio, where Court granted our motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction.
* Past results are reported to provide the reader with an indication of the type of litigation in which we practice and do not and should not be construed to create an expectation of result in any other case as all cases are dependent upon their own unique fact situation and applicable law.
Memberships/Associations
- Polk County Bar Association
Member
- Iowa State Bar Association
Member; Sections on: Intellectual Law; Litigation
- American Bar Association
Member; Intellectual Property Law Section
- American Intellectual Property Law Association
Member
- Iowa Intellectual Property Association
Member; Board of Directors, 2000-Present; President, 2005
- Iowa Center for Economic Success
Iowa Women's Business Center Strategic Advisory Committee
- Phi Beta Kappa
Publications
- "Can we ignore someone who infringes on our trademark if we want to?"
Business Record Iowa in Partnership with Iowa Association of Business and Industry, November 2014
- "Strategies to Reduce Litigation Angst"
Ethanol Producer Magazine (July 2013)
- "The Madrid Protocol - Protect Your Trademark"
The Legal Monitor (April 2013)
- "Strategies for Collaboration in Innovation"
Ethanol Producer Magazine (October 2012)
- "All employees should sign an invention ownership and confidentiality agreement"
Business Record Iowa in Partnership with Iowa Association of Business and Industry, September 2012
- "The Ethanol IP Evolution"
Ethanol Producer Magazine (February 2012)
- "Intellectual Property: Expense, Revenue or Asset?"
The Legal Monitor (September 2008)
- "Intellectual Property and Ethanol: Seven Steps for Success"
Ethanol Producer Magazine (August 2007)
Previous Speaking Engagements
- i-BEST Education Seminar & Tippling (November 01, 2019)
- Business Essentials: Navigating Company Emergencies (October 24, 2019)
- Legal-ease - Startup Boot Camp - July 13-14, 2017 (July 13, 2017)
- Legal-ease - Startup Boot Camp - April 20-21, 2017 (April 20, 2017)
- Craft Beverage and Hospitality Law Conference (February 27, 2017)
- Licensing is a Team Sport - Coralville (November 17, 2016)
- Licensing is a Team Sport - Des Moines (November 10, 2016)
- Trademarks, Advertising and Copyrights (August 18, 2016)
- Legal-ease - Ames (August 16, 2016)
- Legal-ease - Iowa City (August 15, 2016)
- In-House Counsel Workshop (May 13, 2016)
- Women-Owned Small Business Seminar (December 08, 2015)
- Navigating the Bermuda Triangle - IowaBio Legal Symposium - Coralville (November 19, 2015)
- Social Media Copyright, and Trademark Rights Intersect: Don't Forget to Look Both Ways! (November 16, 2015)
- Navigating the Bermuda Triangle - IowaBio Legal Symposium - Ames (November 03, 2015)
- Pitch & Grow XXIII @ the Innovation Expo (October 21, 2015)
- How to Ask for New Business and Seal the Deal (October 12, 2015)
- Finding Financing for Intellectual Property Development Efforts (April 30, 2015)
- Finding Financing for IP Development Efforts (November 05, 2014)
- Preparing to Raise Capital Workshop - Des Moines (November 04, 2014)
- Our Firm Commitment to YOUR Business Seminar (May 08, 2014)
- Practical Legal Advice Lunch 'n Learn for Business Owners and Entrepreneurs (August 07, 2013)
- Legal Lunch 'n Learn Series (March 05, 2013)
- Welcome to the Shark Tank: How to Avoid Being Eaten for Lunch - Cedar Rapids, IA (October 24, 2012)
- Welcome to the Shark Tank: How to Avoid Being Eaten for Lunch - Cedar Falls, IA (October 23, 2012)
- Warning Bells, Hazards and Traps - Cedar Rapids, IA (September 26, 2012)
- Warning Bells, Hazards and Traps - Cedar Falls, IA (September 25, 2012)
- You're Not Going to Bill Me For This, Right? - Cedar Rapids, IA (August 29, 2012)
- You're Not Going to Bill Me For This, Right? - Cedar Falls, IA (August 28, 2012)