Admitted to Practice | Washington, 2006 | | U.S. Patent and Trademark Office | | U.S. District Court Western District of Washington, 2008 | | U.S. District Court Eastern District of Washington, 2008 |
| Ben Byer focuses his practice on patent litigation. He has litigated nationwide over a broad range of technologies, including image processing, e-commerce, Internet-based customer service, electro-optical systems, Internet chat, speech recognition, laser devices, commercial fishing products, servohydraulic control systems, and automotive products. In addition, he has previous experience prosecuting patents related to software and electronics devices. Ben has a diverse technical background that includes electrical engineering, computer architecture, and atomic physics research. Selected Experience Defense of Microsoft in patent infringement suit involving speech recognition interface. (Ongoing) Assertion of patent infringement claims on behalf of ARB Corp., designer and manufacturer of equipment for off-road vehicles. (Ongoing) Represented crash sled patent holder in a patent infringement, breach of contract, and unfair competition litigation against former contractor. Won partial summary judgment of infringement; case settled. (W.D. Wash. 2011) Lead counsel to industry leader in patent infringement suit relating to the delivery of support and customer service over the Internet. Obtained dismissal without prejudice. (S.D.N.Y. 2011) Represent national retailer of patent, copyright, and trademark infringement suit involving various thermoplastic rubber toys. Obtained voluntary dismissal with prejudice of all claims, including court ordered monetary sanctions and attorneys’ fees against plaintiff and its counsel. 2011 WL 2292326 (W.D. Wash. 2011) Represented Rawlings, a major sporting goods manufacturer, in litigation arising from competitor's use of trademark in advertising and promotional materials. After the court entered a preliminary injunction ordering competitor to stop and issue corrective notices, the case successfully settled. (2011) Represented barcode reader patent holder in a patent infringement litigation against competitive machine vision manufacturer. Won partial summary judgment dismissing patent infringement counterclaim; case settled. (2010) Additional Qualifications
- Associate, Merchant & Gould P.C., Seattle, 2006-2008
- Senior Research Assistant, Physics Department: Penning Trap Mass Spectrometer, University of Washington, Seattle, 2003
- Research Assistant, Electrical Engineering Department: ACME Lab, University of Washington, Seattle, 2003
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Professional and Community Activities
- Federal Bar Association
- American Intellectual Property Law Association
- Washington State Patent Law Association
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Education J.D., Lewis & Clark Law School, 2006
- Best Oral Advocate, First Year Moot Court Competition
Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law, Semester Law Program (Tokyo, Japan), 2006 B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Washington, 2003
- Dual Specialization: Digital Systems (VLSI); Electronic Circuits and Devices
- Dean’s List
B.S., Physics, University of Washington, 2003 | |