Profile
Eric J. Maiers is Co-Chair of the Chicago Intellectual Property & Technology Department. He is an intellectual property strategist who has purposefully developed diverse experience so that he can be clients’ go-to advisor on virtually all intellectual property matters, including all aspects of prosecution, clearance, portfolio management, litigation and transactions. Eric has managed worldwide patent and trademark portfolios ranging from just a few assets to hundreds of patents and thousands of trademarks. He has litigated in numerous Federal District Courts, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the International Trade Commission (ITC), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Eric takes a practical yet aggressive approach to IP strategies with the goal of delivering both value and results. His clients include airlines, retailers, eCommerce platforms, consumer electronics manufacturers, tech companies, tool and hardware companies and apparel companies.
Concentrations
- Patent, trademark copyright, and trade secret litigation
- Patent, trademark and copyright prosecution
- Client counseling in all areas of intellectual property
- Intellectual property transactions, including licensing agreements and analysis for IP due diligence matters
- Industries of focus:
- Aviation
- Consumer Electronics
- Retail and eCommerce
- Technical areas of experience
- Business methodology, particularly in eCommerce and other Internet-related areas
- Internet of Things (IoT)
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning
- LED and other lighting products
- Electrical circuits, both analog and digital, including memory controllers, temperature sensors, and amplifiers
- Computer software, including file system level software, operating system level software, application level software, application programming interfaces, graphical user interfaces, client/server applications and video codecs
- Computer hardware, including rack server design and hard drive design
- Networking systems, including both network hardware and software
- Semiconductors and their methods of fabrication
- Cellular phone hardware, software, and communication protocols
Capabilities
Experience
- Managed trademark portfolio and enforcement program for major airline.
- Managed trademark and patent porfolios and enforcement programs for multiple national retailers and eCommerce platforms.
- Provided IP support for multi-billion dollar bond offering.
- Obtained early, favorable settlement in defense of patent infringement suit relating to mobile music identification technology. Tune Hunter, Inc. v. LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc. (E.D. Tex. 2009)
- Obtained dismissal of patent infringement suit through a pre-answer motion for summary judgment. Furnace Brook, LLC v. Aéropostale, Inc., Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc., and Levi Strauss & Company.
- Obtained dismissal of patent infringement suit through a motion for summary judgment of non-infringement, followed by a per curiam affirmation by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Wi-LAN Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc., et al.
- Obtained outright dismissals of two petitions for inter partes review before the PTAB. Universal Remote Control, Inc. v. Universal Electronics, Inc.
Recognition & Leadership
- Listed, Leading Lawyers Network, 2022-2025
- "Emerging Lawyer," 2015-2021
- Listed, World Trademark Review, Illinois, Enforcement and Litigation, "WTR 1000," 2023-2025
- Listed, Managing IP Magazine's World IP Handbook and Survey, "IP Stars: Chicago Patent Stars and Trademark Stars," 2017-2024
- Team Member, a U.S. News - Best Lawyers "Law Firm of the Year" in Trademark Law, 2020, 2022
- Listed, The Legal 500 United States,
- Intellectual Property - Trademarks: Non-Contentious, 2024
- Intellectual Property - Trademarks Litigation, 2019
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, Illinois State Bar Association
Credentials
- J.D., DePaul University College of Law
- B.S., Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Iowa
- Illinois
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office