Kyle E. Conklin is a director in Sterne Kessler’s Mechanical & Design Practice Group. He counsels clients at all stages of the patent cycle, helping them enforce patent rights, navigate the existing patent landscape, and obtain patent protection.

Kyle’s enforcement work focuses on U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Section 337 Investigations and federal district court litigation. With his engineering background, Kyle understands complex technology and can distill that technology into easy-to-understand concepts for trial.

He also represents both patent owners and third parties in post-grant proceedings at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, including inter partes reviews (IPR) with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), and reexaminations with the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU). Many of these post-grant proceedings are involved in concurrent district court and ITC litigation.

At the procurement stage, Kyle drafts and prosecutes patent applications. He develops specific patent strategies that take into account his clients’ commercial products, competitors, and markets.

Kyle has litigated and prosecuted patents in a variety of mechanical and electro-mechanical technologies, including construction equipment, industrial food processing equipment, medical devices, lithography systems, fiber-optic distribution systems, consumer products, oil and gas equipment, health-monitoring systems, physiological sensors, surgical devices, dental products, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), hard disk drives, and industrial equipment.

Kyle is a contributing author of Patent Office Litigation, Second Edition. Published in 2017, the book provides a fresh and comprehensive exploration of patent office litigation proceedings, including how the proceedings interact with other aspects of patent procurement and enforcement, while delivering practical analysis and advice. This second edition is the follow up to the first version of the book published in 2012 by Thomson Reuters Westlaw that focused on the contested proceedings that were introduced under the America Invents Act that year.

Kyle received his B.S. in mechanical engineering from Baylor University and his J.D., summa cum laude, from the Texas Tech University School of Law.

ITC Investigations

  • In re Certain High-Performance Gravity-Fed Water Filters and Products Containing the Same, 337-TA-1294 (counsel for Complainant, Brita LP in an ITC investigation involving water filters)
  • In re Certain Non-Invasive Aesthetic Body-Contouring Devices, Components Thereof, And Methods Of Using Same, 337-TA-1219 (counsel for Complainant, BTL Industries, Inc. in an ITC investigation involving magnetic body contouring machines)
  • In re Certain Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems and Components Thereof, 337-TA-1141 (counsel for Complainant Juul Labs, Inc. in an ITC Investigation involving electronic nicotine delivery systems)
  • In re Certain Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems and Components Thereof, 337-TA-1139 (counsel for Complainant Juul Labs, Inc. in an ITC Investigation involving electronic nicotine delivery systems)
  • In re Certain Road Construction Machines and Components Thereof, ITC Investigation No. 337-TA-1088 (counsel for Respondents Wirtgen GmbH, Wirtgen America, and Joseph Vögele AG in an ITC investigation involving road construction equipment)
  • In re Certain Road Milling Machines and Components Thereof, ITC Investigation No. 337-TA-1067 (counsel for Complainant Wirtgen American in an ITC investigation involving road construction equipment)

District Court Litigation

  • Wirtgen America, Inc. v. Caterpillar, Inc. (D. Del.) (counsel for plaintiff in litigation involving road construction equipment)
  • Provisur Technologies v. Weber, Inc. (W.D. Mo.) (counsel for defendants in litigation involving industrial food processing equipment)

  • J.D., Texas Tech University School of Law, summa cum laude
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Baylor University

  • District of Columbia
  • Maryland
  • United States Patent & Trademark Office

Related News & Insights

From Kyle E. Conklin

In the News

February 28, 2024

Jury Awards Wirtgen $12.9M Against Caterpillar in Milling Machine Lawsuit

Equipment World

Firm News

February 27, 2024

Sterne Kessler and Patterson IP Law Team Up to Secure $12.9M Wirtgen Win Over Caterpillar

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox

In the News

February 27, 2024

Caterpillar Owes Deere $13 Million in Road-Milling Patent Trial

Bloomberg Law

In the News

February 26, 2024

Caterpillar to Pay Wirtgen $12.9M in Damages After Patent Battle

Construction Briefing

In the News

February 28, 2023

Brita Lands Win at ITC Against Water Filter Rivals

Law360

In the News

July 23, 2019

Caterpillar Hit With Import Ban In Latest Round Of ITC Battle

Law360

In the News

July 17, 2019

PTAB Upholds Wirtgen Patent in Loss For Caterpillar

Law360

In the News

July 12, 2019

PTAB Revives Part Of Wirtgen Patent In Rare Rehearing

Law360

In the News

April 22, 2019

Caterpillar Can't Ax Road Milling Machine Patent At ITC

Law360

Books and Chapters

February 17, 2017

Patent Office Litigation - Second Edition 2017

Thomson Reuters Westlaw Multiple Authors

Articles

July 9, 2014

The Supreme Court's New Definiteness Standard and Its Effect on Medical Device Patents

Bloomberg BNA Medical Devices Law & Industry Report Kyle E. Conklin