Michael J. Brandt

Member

Michael J. Brandt

Overview

Michael J. Brandt specializes in the practice of intellectual property law and focuses in particular on patent prosecution, litigation, and client counseling matters relating to mechanical and electromechanical technologies, among others. He has significant experience in prosecuting patent applications before the United States Patent & Trademark Office on behalf of both domestic and international clients, and advises clients on the development and management of their intellectual property rights.

Michael also represents clients in patent litigation in the federal courts, where he has experience with pre-suit investigations, fact and expert discovery, patent claim construction, legal briefing and motion practice, pre-trial preparation, trials, and appeals.

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Michael joined Leydig while attending Chicago-Kent College of Law and became an associate after graduation. While in law school, he was president of the school’s Intellectual Property Law Society and a judicial extern for the Honorable James F. Holderman, then Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Michael also received awards for achieving the highest grades in his Intellectual Property Legal Writing and Patent Litigation Seminar courses.

Before law school, Michael was a patent examiner at the United States Patent & Trademark Office where he examined patent applications relating to electromechanical devices. Michael graduated with honors from the University of Illinois, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in General Engineering.

Education

  • Chicago-Kent College of Law, J.D., 2011
    • Intellectual Property Law Certificate
  • University of Illinois, B.S. in General Engineering, with honors, 2006
    • International Studies Minor with Focus on Spanish Language and Culture
    • James Scholar

Admissions

  • California, 2023
  • Illinois, 2011
  • Registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Courts

  • 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 Eastern District of Wisconsin

Honors

  • Named in the Illinois Super Lawyers list, Intellectual Property (2023-2024)
  • Selected as a Global Fellow by the Federal Circuit Bar Association (2019–2020)
  • Recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Star (2018-2021)
  • Selected by peers as an Emerging Lawyer in Intellectual Property Law – Leading Lawyers Network (2015-2018)
  • Overall and intellectual property law subcategory winner of the Santa Clara Centennial Writing Competition for paper, “Not So Nisus: Mitigating Reputational Effects on Patent Prosecutors That Result from a Finding of Inequitable Conduct

Professional Affiliations

  • The Howard T. Markey Intellectual Property Inn of Court
  • Federal Circuit Bar Association
  • Orange County Intellectual Property Law Association

Articles, Publications & Lectures

  • Profiled in Michael Brandt: Clients Profit From His Early Patent Law Trial Experience, Emerging Lawyers Magazine, November 2016
  • “How Post-Grant Proceedings Have Impacted Patent Litigation,” Chicago Bar Association, Chicago, Illinois, April 6, 2016
  • “Update on Inter Partes Review Proceedings,” Leydig, Voit & Mayer, Ltd., CLE Presentation, Chicago, Illinois, October 15, 2015
  • The Importance of Apportionment in Calculating Damages for Patent Infringement, Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, March 16, 2015, at 5
  • Implementation of Litigation Holds Can Avoid Liability Over Spoliation, Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, June 6, 2014, at 5
  •  The Boundaries of Discoverable Information, Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, March 20, 2014, at 4
  • “What’s the Standard with Standard Essential?,” The Richard Linn American Inn of Court, Chicago, Illinois, March 13, 2014
  • “Electronically Stored Information and Litigation Holds: You Gotta Know When to Hold ‘Em,” Leydig, Voit & Mayer, Ltd., CLE Presentation, Chicago, Illinois, January 16, 2014
  •  Trade Secret Owners Lack Federal Protection, Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, January 16, 2012, at 5
  • “Legal Ethics in the 21st Century,” Santa Clara University School of Law, Santa Clara, California, September 29, 2011
  • “A Night at the Design Patent Museum,” The Richard Linn American Inn of Court, Chicago, Illinois, October 14, 2010

Languages

  • Spanish

Education

  • Chicago-Kent College of Law, J.D., 2011
  • Intellectual Property Law Certificate
  • University of Illinois, B.S. in General Engineering, with honors, 2006
  • International Studies Minor with Focus on Spanish Language and Culture
  • James Scholar

Admissions

  • California, 2023
  • Illinois, 2011
  • Registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Courts

  • 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 Eastern District of Wisconsin