Directors Bemben and Fitzsimmons Join Co-Chairs of Sterne Kessler’s Award-Winning PTAB Practice

Washington, D.C. (February 29, 2024) – Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox has announced that Directors Richard M. Bemben and Jason A. Fitzsimmons have been named co-chairs of the firm’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) practice. They join Directors Eldora Ellison, Ph.D., and R. Wilson “Trey” Powers III, Ph.D. in leading the practice.

Bemben holds degrees in computer and electrical engineering and is a director in the firm’s Electronics Practice Group. His practice focuses on post-grant proceedings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and related patent litigation. Over the last decade, he has been counsel in over 130 PTAB proceedings—including inter partes reviews, post-grant reviews, and covered business method reviews. He has also been counsel in more than a dozen related Federal Circuit appeals. In 2023, Patexia ranked Bemben as the 2nd Best Performing PTAB Attorney Representing Patent Owners over the five-year period from July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2023. Patexia also ranked him within the Top 50 Best Performing PTAB Attorneys Overall (representing Petitioners or Patent Owners) during the same period.

Fitzsimmons is a director in the firm’s Mechanical & Design Practice Group. He specializes in conducting post-grant proceedings at the USPTO and has been counsel in over 100 PTAB proceedings, providing him with a deep understanding of every stage of proceedings at the PTAB—from pre-institution strategies through argument at oral hearing. He is keenly aware of the challenges faced by both patent owners and petitioners and has unique experience managing and developing strategies for complex, multi-patent proceedings. In 2023, Patexia ranked Fitzsimmons in the Top 50 Best Performing PTAB Attorneys Overall (representing Petitioners or Patent Owners) and in the Top 50 Best Performing PTAB Attorneys Representing Patent Owners.

Bemben and Fitzsimmons served on the editorial team and contributed articles to Sterne Kessler’s recently released “2023 PTAB Year in Review: Analysis & Trends” report and led the related webinar. The annual publication synthesizes key events and decisions that occurred last year at the PTAB and provides detailed analysis to serve as a helpful reference for those who practice before or adjacent to the PTAB.

Post-Grant Proceedings Excellence at Sterne Kessler
Sterne Kessler has industry-leading experience in all proceedings before the PTAB and the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU), including inter partes review (IPR), post grant review (PGR), covered business methods reviews (CBM), reexamination, derivation proceedings, and interferences. As the first “PTAB Firm of the Year” — the firm literally wrote the book on PTAB litigation for which Bemben and Fitzsimmons are contributing authors. Most recently, Sterne Kessler was named Post-Grant Firm of the Year for the United States at the 2023 Global IP Awards by leading intellectual property publications Intellectual Asset Management and World Trademark Review. The firm and many individual attorneys also received top rankings in the Patexia 2023 PTAB Intelligence Report, and the firm is ranked a top tier firm for PTAB litigation in Managing IP’s 2023 IP Stars guide.

About Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox

Based in Washington, D.C. and renowned for more than four decades for dedication to the protection, transfer, and enforcement of intellectual property rights, Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox is one of the most highly regarded intellectual property specialty law firms in the world. Its team of attorneys, registered patent agents, technical specialists, and law clerks include some of the country’s most respected practitioners of IP law tackling innovations across a broad spectrum of industries. The firm’s practitioners hold over 50 masters and over 60 doctorate degrees in science or engineering and represent Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, start-ups, inventors, venture capital firms, and universities in a client service driven environment that is welcoming, inclusive, and intellectually stimulating. Visit the firm online at sternekessler.com.