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Overview

Nathan is a registered patent attorney, representing clients in a full range of intellectual property matters including patent, trade secret, trademark, domain name, unfair competition and copyright matters.

He provides business and legal guidance relating to patent and trademark portfolio management, corporate intellectual property policies and technology development and acquisition. Throughout his practice, Nathan has guided startup entrepreneurs, investors, mid-cap companies and large multinational corporations in developing strategies for acquiring, protecting, licensing and enforcing intellectual property rights worldwide.

Nathan has extensive experience preparing and prosecuting patent applications, obtaining patent protection on inventions, conducting infringement evaluations, analyzing patent validity and preparing freedom to operate opinions. His experience spans a wide range of technologies, including computer software, computer networking and Internet technologies, antivirus software, automotive technologies, consumer packaging, industrial machinery, motion capture systems, building and construction products, water treatment systems, aircraft tracking and control systems, medical devices and diagnostics, military special ops equipment, and optics technologies. Nathan’s broad experience has included:

  • Management of international patent and trademark portfolios for both domestic and foreign corporations.
  • Obtaining patents and trademarks to expand the scope of protection and limit competition for various manufacturers. Designing patent portfolios to protect the products clients manufacture and sell.
  • Drafting and prosecuting hundreds of patent and trademark applications for clients in a variety of technologies. 
  • Representing companies in the consumer products industry in freedom to operate analyses, design-around efforts and obtaining protection for new products prior to market entry. 
  • Drafting and negotiating complex software development agreements and software license agreements on behalf of developers and customers.
  • Analyzes open source licensing issues and advises clients on matters involving open source works.

Additionally, Nathan has deep knowledge and experience relating to technology-related transactions, including drafting and negotiating complex agreements related to software development, software licensing, software as a service (SaaS), service level obligations, software maintenance and support services, reseller arrangements, cloud computing and hosting, and content and data licensing.

Nathan regularly writes and speaks on intellectual property issues and, for the last eleven years, has also been a lecturer on intellectual property law for the College of Engineering at Kansas State University.

Prior to his legal career, Nathan focused on engineering, including internships with Caterpillar Inc. and AGCO Corp. He also participated in three international championship student design teams.

Industries

Services

Recognition

  • Missouri Lawyers Weekly, “Up & Coming,” 2017
  • Kauffman Foundation’s KC Connector Project, “Top Connector,” 2017

Education

  • J.D., University of Missouri School of Law
  • B.S., Kansas State University
    • Biological and Agricultural Engineering
    • ASAE National Student Engineer of the Year

Admissions

  • Missouri
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri
  • Kansas
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Professional Memberships and Certifications

  • American Bar Association
  • American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
  • Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association
  • The Missouri Bar
2024 Pro Bono Contributor
Experience
  • Management of international patent and trademark portfolios for both domestic and foreign corporations.
  • Obtained patents and trademarks to expand the scope of protection and limit competition for various manufacturers. Designed patent portfolios to protect the products clients manufacture, as well as the machinery and methods used to produce those products.
  • Drafted and prosecuted hundreds of patent and trademark applications for clients in a variety of technologies.
  • Represented several companies in the consumer products industry in freedom to operate analyses, design-around efforts and obtaining protection for new products prior to market entry.
  • Represented clients in patent and trademark infringement cases in federal court.
  • Prosecuted inter partes and ex parte reexaminations for multinational companies.
  • Protected internationally recognized trademarks for multiple publicly traded and privately held clients.
  • Drafted and negotiated complex software development agreements and software license agreements on behalf of developers and customers.
  • Counseled clients on Internet law issues, including development, hosting, terms of use and privacy policies.
Community Leadership
  • Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Centurions Leadership Program, 2015-2017
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City
  • University of Missouri Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic