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“Brendan McCommas is a fantastic lawyer and should be recognized for the excellence of his advice and for his project management skills in managing a team of Husch Blackwell service providers.”

General counsel and chief compliance officer, investment firm

Overview

With an extensive background in complex patent and technology-intense matters, Brendan represents clients in commercial and intellectual property litigation.

Brendan previously served as the Chief of Staff to the Undersecretary and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), where he was the principal advisor to the Director, helping oversee almost 13,000 employees and manage a $3.3 billion budget. In his role at the USPTO, he participated in briefing and argument preparation for numerous cases at the Federal Circuit and Supreme Court. Recent cases include WesternGeco v. Ion Geophysical, Oil States v. Greene’s Energy Co. and SAS Institute v. Iancu, among others. In addition, Brendan helped manage major policy projects, including the USPTO’s 2019 Section 101 Guidance and numerous rules governing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

Currently, Brendan focuses on the technology, manufacturing and transportation industries in complex intellectual property disputes involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, licensing and trade secrets. He has experience at every level of intellectual property litigation, including federal district court, the PTAB and the International Trade Commission (ITC). His goal is always to win at every level for clients—but he also knows when it’s in a client’s best interest to settle a case.

After his time at the Department of Commerce and USPTO, Brendan served as Special Assistant to the President and Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing at the White House. In this role, he advised Cabinet-level secretaries, senior White House advisors, and the President of the United States on trade, manufacturing and intellectual property issues. Brendan is known for his inside view of how rules and laws are made provided by his front row seat in the U.S. government at the White House and Department of Commerce. He enjoys his practice area partly because intellectual property rules are continually evolving, and his background gives him an edge in predicting where the law is likely to shift next. It also gives him a talent for understanding matters from both the client’s and the court’s perspectives so that he knows the best way to present an argument to a judge.

Clients appreciate Brendan’s understanding of their intellectual property itself: he has extensive experience with cases involving high-tech products, and he holds a degree in electrical engineering.

“Brendan McCommas is a fantastic lawyer and should be recognized for the excellence of his advice and for his project management skills in managing a team of Husch Blackwell service providers.”

General counsel and chief compliance officer, investment firm

Industries

Services

Education

  • J.D., University of Virginia School of Law
    • Virginia Journal of Law and Technology, Editorial Board
  • M.A., Georgetown University
    • English
  • B.S., Grove City College
    • Electrical Engineering

Admissions

  • Texas
  • District of Columbia
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Professional Memberships and Certifications

  • American Bar Association
    • Section of Intellectual Property Law
  • American Intellectual Property Law Association
    • Co-Vice Chair, Litigation/Policy Subcommittee, 2022–present
  • Intellectual Property Owners Association
  • PTAB Bar Association
    • Panelist, Annual PTAB Bar Association Conference, Patent Eligibility at the PTAB: Practical Considerations for Practitioners, March 2022
2023 Pro Bono Contributor
Experience
  • Worked with the Department of Justice and the Solicitor General's office on briefing and argument for various cases before the Supreme Court including Western Geco v. Ion Geophysical, Iancu v. Brunetti, Helsinn Healthcare v. Teva, among others.
  • Edited numerous Federal Circuit briefs and participated in moot arguments related to intellectual property litigations including In re Tropp, Realtime Data v. Iancu, and In re Macor, among others.
  • Participated in the review of decisions regarding PTAB appeals before the Precedential Opinion Panel, including Proppant Express v. Oren Techs, IPR2018-00914, and GoPro v. 360 Heroes, IPR2018-10139.
  • Represented a company before the PTAB in multiple Inter Partes Review proceedings including preparing petitions, expert reports, motions, and claim constructions and briefing expert for deposition for FPUSA v. M-I LLC, LLC (PTAB, IPR2016-00213 and IPR2016-00295, all claims instituted, PTAB Judges Tartal, DeFranco, and Goodson).
  • Coordinated with trial team and reviewed district court filings and Federal Circuit briefs for M-I LLC v. FPUSA, LLC, (W.D. Tex., 2015, Judge Ezra) and M-I LLC v. FPUSA, LLC (Federal Circuit, 2015, Judges Prost, Bryson, and Hughes).
  • Represented a Fortune 500 company in multi-million dollar trade secret litigation in the northern district of California (Judge Davila).
  • Represented a company in 337 litigation over biotechnology patents.
  • Reviewed complaint and strategized for settlement, answer, and discovery in Uniloc USA, Inc. et al v. ADP, LLC EDTX-2-16-cv-0074 (Judge Shroeder).
  • Reviewed complaint and answer, and strategized for settlement in Azure Networks, LLC v. Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. et al EDTX-6-15-cv-00028 (settled favorably, Judge Shroeder).
  • Defended a client over copyright infringement in Washington, D.C. federal district court Dvir. v. Los Angeles Blade (D.D.C. 2021, Judge Boasberg).
  • Reviewed filings and advised on expert selection for defending a patent attorney in malpractice litigation, Michael Sandefur v. Gary Price (Indiana state court).
  • Provided contract and IP counsel for a company regarding contracts worth over $200 million.
  • Drafted patents and opinion letters for major companies in the artificial intelligence and image analysis industries.
  • Represented a startup food company with over $200 million in Series D funding in expanding their IP assets; provided counsel to the company on trade secrets law.
Outside the Office

Brendan is a D.C. native and a huge fan of local sports teams, including the Washington Capitals, Baltimore Orioles and Washington Wizards. He also enjoys reading history and biographies, listening to podcasts, and spending time with his Boston Terrier, Rocky. He is an active member and enjoys serving at Mclean Presbyterian Church.