Jackson Walker partners Sara Hollan Chelette and Amanda Zimmerman also represented Summit Energy Services. The case involved a contested patent for technology used in casing oil and gas wells.

U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett ruled the design patent was invalid due to a lack of ornamental design of the centralizer; its design was primarily functional.

Chris Rourk spoke to Texas Lawyer about the ruling.

“The decision was that the asserted patent is invalid, and we believe that the judge ruled correctly based on the facts and the law,” Rourk said.

About John

For more than 17 years, John Jackson has represented a wide variety of clients in intellectual property and cybersecurity/data privacy matters in federal and state courts throughout the country, and in the International Trade Commission. Mr. Jackson earned certification as a Certified Information Privacy Professional through The International Association of Privacy Professionals. The CIPP credential, offered since 2004, gives privacy professionals the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of privacy laws and regulations and how to apply them. John received his B.B.A. degree from Davenport College and his J.D. degree from the University of Illinois College of Law.

About Chris

Christopher J. Rourk has extensive experience with complex legal project management to help clients protect their intellectual property in diverse technology fields, including the semiconductor, software and telecom fields. He has handled large portfolio intake and management for trademark and patent prosecution matters in response to requests for proposals, has prepared and filed more than 600 patent applications, has prosecuted in excess of 300 patents to issuance, and manages client domestic and international patent and trademark portfolios. He has also assisted with numerous intellectual property transactional matters, including licensing, mergers and acquisitions, funding transactions, and joint ventures. Chris received his B.S.E.E. degree from the University of Florida, his M. Eng. Degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and his J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law Center.