Michael Joffre, Ph.D.

Overview

Michael Joffre is a director in Sterne Kessler’s Trial & Appellate Practice Group. Mike is co-chair of the firm’s appellate practice and focuses on intellectual property disputes before trial and appellate courts. He has argued and won cases throughout the country, including in Texas, California, Wisconsin, Delaware, New Jersey, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), and the Federal Circuit. He has also represented clients before the U.S. Supreme Court at both the certiorari and merits stages.

Mike is a skilled litigator, adept at handling cases involving a variety of technologies and products, including microprocessors, telecommunications networks, mechanical devices, consumer products, and computer software. He also draws on his strong scientific background to counsel pharmaceutical companies on matters related to Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs).

Prior to entering law school, Mike worked as a research scientist in cosmology at the University of Chicago and Fermilab. Following law school, he served as a law clerk for Judge William C. Bryson, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, 2004-2005. He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and a B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Representative Matters

• Limelight Networks Inc. v. Akamai Techs., Inc., No. 12-786 (U.S. Sup. Ct. 2014) (Represented Limelight; obtained reversal of Federal Circuit decision, which had dramatically broadened the law of indirect infringement.)
• St. Clair Intellectual Property Consultants, Inc. v. Toshiba America Inc., No. 16-1355 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (Represented St. Clair; obtained summary affirmance on appeal that case was not exceptional)
• Certain Audio Processing Hardware and Software and Products Containing Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-949 (U.S.I.T.C. 2016) (Represented Dell; defended Dell against claims of infringement and was the first party ever to successfully seek use of the ITC’s 90-day pilot program; then, obtained favorable settlement on eve of hearing.)
• Stragent, LLC v. Intel Corp., No. 6:11-cv-421-TBD-JDL (E.D. Tex. 2014) (Represented Stragent; acted as appellate counsel during district court trial to ensure all matters of law were correctly preserved; successfully defended against claims that the case was exceptional.)
• Ricoh Co., Ltd. v. Quanta Computer, Inc., No. 06-cv-462-bbc (W.D. Wis. 2010) (Representing Ricoh; obtained reversal on appeal of unfavorable summary judgment ruling in patent infringement case brought by Ricoh against Taiwanese maker of optical disc drives; then, on remand, obtained $14.5 million jury verdict for patentee.)

Education

• J.D., Harvard Law School, magna cum laude
• Ph.D., Astrophysics, University of Chicago
• B.S., Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Clerkships

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit