Overview

Eric focuses on prosecuting and managing patents. He also advises clients on how to stop (or prevent) infringement of their intellectual property.

Eric is an officer and shareholder in Fredrikson & Byron’s Intellectual Property Group. He does a great deal of work helping clients avoid the patents of competitors. When competitors have invalid patents, Eric works with litigators to attack those patents in court or, when appropriate, he asks the Patent Office to reconsider the validity of the patents by initiating Reexaminations or Reviews.

Eric is highly skilled in a wide range of mechanical arts. For example, he has done patent work on press brake tools, turret press tools, sheet metal stamping, material handlers/loaders, grapples and attachments, mobile shears, truck beds, hydraulic systems and components, excavator adapters, extrusion equipment, polymer filtering, floor cleaning vehicles, carpet extractors, vacuums, wheel bearings and other bearing assemblies, agricultural equipment, HVAC components and systems, assembly line technology, automation equipment, window products, privacy glazing products, glass making and other glass technology, aerogels, medical device technology, fire-fighting equipment, log building technology, wake surfing devices, masking films, and consumer products.

Eric has worked extensively on a variety of coating technologies, particularly in connection with thin films and vacuum deposition methods. Examples include glass coatings, such as low-emissivity, solar-control, hydrophilic or photocatalytic coatings; commercial and industrial polymer coatings for concrete and other flooring; materials and ingredients used in forming coatings; privacy glass coatings; coatings for electrolysis anodes; photovoltaic coatings; gemstone coatings; sputter deposition; ion beam processes; flash-lamp annealing; tempering; and other heat treatments. Eric has also worked on numerous inventions involving multi-layer structures, such as laminates (e.g., safety glass), polymer extrusions, lithophanes and various glazing technologies.

Eric also has particular interest in aerospace technology, especially the mechanical components used in this field, as well as products in which flow characteristics are important. He has worked on technologies involving aircraft design, floats for amphibious airplanes, aircraft landing safety warning systems, fire suppression aircraft technology and aircraft bearing systems.

Services

Credentials

Education

  • Franklin-Pierce Law Center (now University of New Hampshire School of Law), LL.M., Intellectual Property, 1999
  • Pepperdine University School of Law, J.D., 1997
  • University of Minnesota, Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, 1994

Admissions

  • California, 1997
  • Minnesota, 1999
  • U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, 1999

Recognition

  • Counsel-to-Counsel Award Winner, The National Law Journal, Twin Cities Legal Departments of the Year, 2015

Civic & Professional

Professional Activities

  • University of Minnesota College of Science & Engineering (CSE), Board Member, 2019-present, Chair of Alumni Engagement Committee, 2021-2023
  • Moundsview High School Annual Physics Fair, Judge, 2020-2022
  • The Works Museum: Technology & Engineering, Volunteer, April and August, 2022
  • Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Scientific & Natural Areas Volunteer, Summer 2021 and 2022

News & Insights

Publications & Presentations

"How to Avoid Five Common IP Pitfalls,” Lexology, July 29, 2022; Fargo INC!, September 2, 2022

Speaker, “Intellectual Property Matters!”, Neighborhood Development Center (NDC) Small Business Workshop, June 2022, May 2021

Moderator, “From Lab to Market: How Cell Preservation Research Became BlueCube Bio,” University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering, January 2021

Presenter, "Patent Analytics in 2019: State-of-the-Art Tools and Strategies," Midwest IP Institute, September 2019

"5 Ways To Enhance Patent Strategy With Data Analytics," Law360, May 2019

Co-Author, “Key IP Legal Trends 2018-19 in Brief – Retail,” The IP Book, 16th Edition, Chapter 10, September 2018

Speaker, “Intellectual Property,” NEON Small Business Ed. Legal Series, June 2018

Speaker, “Intellectual Property Basics: Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights & Trade Secrets,” NEON Small Business Ed. Legal Series, May 2017

“6 Ways to Update Patent Prosecution Protocols Post-Nautilus,” LAW360, July 2014

Speaker, “Reading the Tea Leaves - The Impact of Early PTAB Decisions on Litigation and Prosecution Strategy,” MIPLA Stampede, May 2014

Speaker, “Interviewing Patent Examiners,” 2012 Midwest IP Institute, September 21, 2012

Co-Author, “Strategies for Success in a Demanding Patent Office,” FredNEWS: Intellectual Property, December 8, 2008

Co-Author, “Fredrikson Goes to the Fair: Patent Office ‘Technology Fair,’ That Is,” Fredrikson & Byron’s Intellectual Property Focus Newsletter, December 2003

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