LAW . TECHNOLOGY . PATENTS

STEVEN W. SMYRSKI - PRACTICE AND EXPERIENCE

Mr. Smyrski has over fourteen years of experience in all phases of intellectual property, including patent prosecution and litigation, technology license drafting and negotiation, enforcement and infringement avoidance strategies, patent portfolio evaluations, infringement/validity analyses and opinions, and design around of U.S. patents.  Mr. Smyrski has personally drafted over 250 original U.S. patent applications in such diverse fields as telecommunications hardware and software, semiconductor design, fabrication, and inspection, medical devices, signal processing components, computer hardware and software, neural networks, and business methods.

Mr. Smyrski has also litigated a variety of intellectual property disputes, including asserting and defending over ten patents for a large telecommunications manufacturer, asserting patents covering graphics accelerator chips, pursuing patent, antitrust, and state law claims against a racing car clutch manufacturer, and petitioning for a writ of certiorari before the United States Supreme Court.  Mr. Smyrski has acted as lead outside intellectual property counsel in the $950 million acquisition of the printing division of a computer printer manufacturer, assessing the scope of the target’s intellectual property portfolio and negotiating licensing terms, has rendered opinions regarding the scope of certain patents, and has acted as counsel to parties engaged in patent interferences.  Mr. Smyrski presides as a Moot Court judge in the annual Pepperdine Intellectual Property Moot Court competition.

Mr. Smyrski’s practice is directed to assisting clients in strengthening their patent positions in the marketplace through obtaining patent protection across various technologies, using an extensive knowledge of licensing and litigation strategies and tactics.  His practice includes developing patent portfolios by preparing and filing patent applications, performing due diligence investigations of intellectual property matters, and reviewing products and processes to assess infringement risks.  Mr. Smyrski’s practice also includes copyright and trademark counseling and prosecution services, primarily in the high technology industry. 

Prior to founding Smyrski Law Group, A P.C., previously Smyrski & Livesay, LLP, Mr. Smyrski served as Senior Counsel for the Intellectual Property Group of Pillsbury Winthrop, formerly Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro, an international general practice firm.  Mr. Smyrski began his legal career as an associate at Poms, Smith, Lande & Rose, a patent and intellectual property firm in Los Angeles.  Prior to law school, Mr. Smyrski was an engineer for over eight years for two Southern California defense contractors, Hughes Aircraft Company and Northrop Corporation.

EDUCATION

Purdue University (Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, 1982);

University of Southern California (Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, 1986);

Southwestern University School of Law (Juris Doctor, 1992).

MEMBERSHIPS
State Bar of California (bar #162617);

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (registration #38,312)

Registered to practice before:

United States Supreme Court;

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals;

Federal Circuit Court of Appeals;

U.S. District Court, Central District of California;

U.S. District Court, Northern District of California;

U.S. District Court, Southern District of California

Contact Information

Steven W. Smyrski

Smyrski Law Group, A P.C.

3310 Airport Avenue, SW

Santa Monica, CA  90405

Phone:  310.397.9118

Fax:      310.397.9158

steve@smyrski.com