Kurt Rylander

Managing Attorney

(360) 750-9931

Kurt wants the best for his clients. With nearly thirty (30) years of practice under his belt, his broad experience serves his clients well. He handles all areas of IP representation and business litigation. He secures new client IP in the preparation and prosecution of applications for patents, trademarks, and copyrights. He collaboratively develops client strategies to optimize IP return in licensing and acquisition transactions. He develops client IP portfolios to help attract next stage funding and for due diligence. He brings client litigation results in IP, commercial, and business lawsuits. He regularly appears in State and Federal courts. He advises businesses on the IP aspects of business transactions.

Picture of Kurt presenting at Camp InventionPrior to opening his firm, Kurt practiced in Washington DC for a number of years handling Federal lawsuits against Federal agencies and private entities, including the Department of Treasury, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy, and against Fortune 500 companies. He was honored as an associate to appear on the brief for an amicus curiae to the U.S. Supreme Court in Adarand Constructors v. Pena (1995), during the process of which Kurt was personally sworn in before all nine Justices as a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States of America. As an associate he also second chaired a trial in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York against the Associated Universities, Inc. related to a hazardous waste cleanup at Brookhaven National Laboratory securing a seven (7) figure jury verdict for his client.

With three decades of courtroom experience, including eight (8) years of criminal felony defense, Kurt tried numerous jury trials to verdict as lead trial attorney and appeared in court thousands of times. He has represented plaintiffs and defendants in cases for patent infringement, trademark infringement, copyright infringement, and unfair competition, as well as business and shareholder litigation, government contract cases and general litigation in Federal courts. He regularly appears in State and Federal appellate courts and recently secured a notable victory before the Federal Circuit in the precedential patent suit, Campbell Pet Company v. Miale et al.,  F.3d  (Fed. Cir. 2008).

Hearsay Magazine March 2011

His 20 plus years patent prosecution experience covers a wide breadth of technology and his practice includes both domestic and international applications and prosecution. He has conducted successful patent appeals before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) (now known as the Patent Trial and Appeal Board). He is one of a limited number of patent practitioners to handle a Section 146 civil action in District Court to review (and successfully reverse) a priority interference decision by the BPAI. He has prosecuted trademark applications and successfully handled trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. He regularly handles copyright registration applications with the Library of Congress Copyright Office.

Kurt has spoken at the U.S. Capitol for the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, broadcast on CSPAN, and conducted seminars for public and private entities. He has authored and co-authored numerous articles, which have been published by the New York University School of Law and the American Bar Association, among others.  He is frequently asked to conduct continuing legal education seminars. He is a regular guest lecturer at Washington State University on Negotiation and the Law.

In 2013, Kurt received the surprise honor of a special Meritorious Service Award  by the Clark County Bar Association and appeared on the cover of The Hearsay magazine. In 2011, Kurt received the honor of the President’s Award for services to the Bar. He served as President of the Clark County Bar Association from 2010-2011. He served as Editor-in-Chief of The Hearsay magazine from 2011 through 2012.  In 2010, the Federal Judges of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington honored Kurt by choosing him to serve on the 2010 Magistrate Judge Review Panel. He recently served as Trustee of the Federal Bar Association for the Western District of Washington. He has served as a Ninth Circuit Lawyer Representative from the Western District of Washington, attending for the court the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conferences in Honolulu, Hawaii, Huntington Beach, California, and Sun Valley, Idaho.

Kurt has been a proud sponsor of the angel and seed investor groups, Keiretsu Forum NW and the Clark County PubTalk, and a member of the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network.

He has a black belt in ju jutsu, is a marathon runner and an occasional triathlete. He last completed the 2010 Reykjavik Marathon in Iceland.  He also is an avid tennis player competing in USTA tournaments.

ARTICLES AND PUBLICATIONS

Innovation searches you should be aware of, Vancouver, Business Journal (2016)

Kurt Rylander Up Close, Vancouver Business Journal (2013)

A Rose By Any Other Name, Vancouver Business Journal (2013)

Inconceivable!, Vancouver Business Journal (2013)

Patents on a Purse StringVancouver Business Journal (2012)

Common Product Development MistakesVancouver Business Journal (2012)

Innovation Financing Security, Vancouver Business Journal (2011)

Stealth Expert, Intellectual Property Today (2008)

Inventors’ Rights Act of 1999 Gives Inventors New Weapon, WSTLA Trial News

Protecting Your Invention, Vancouver Business Journal (2000)

Scanwell Plus: Challenging Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Awards, ABA Public Contract Law Journal (1998)

Saving a Disappearing Exemption to CERCLA Liability, New York University Environmental Law Journal (1995)

A Review Of Federal Laboratory Credentials, American Environmental Laboratory (1995)

Is This The End Of Federal Minority Contracting?, The Federal Lawyer (1995)

SPEAKING AND PANEL PRESENTATIONS

See Kurt’s speaking engagements in action:

Title Is Everything I Love These Clauses Top 10 Most Common Mistakes

Lecturer, IP Law for Business Majors, Business Administration Class, Oregon State University (2014)
Corvallis, Oregon

Featured Speaker,  Legal Ethics related to IP Trolling, CCBA CLE  (2013)
Vancouver, Washington

Featured Speaker, IP Law, Graphic Design Class (2013)
Clark College, Vancouver, Washington

Featured Speaker, IP Academy, Keiretsu Forum NW (2013)
Seattle, Washington

Featured Speaker, Capital Access Series: Protecting IP, Keiretsu Forum NW (2013)
Seattle, Washington

Featured Speaker, Q&A with IP Lawyer, Graphic Design Class (2012)
Clark College, Vancouver, Washington

Featured Speaker, IP Academy, Keiretsu Forum NW (2012)
Washington State University-Vancouver

Featured Speaker, IP Academy, Keiretsu Forum NW (2012)
Portland State University Business Accelerator

Featured Speaker, IP Update, Clark County PubTalk (2012)
Fort Vancouver National Trust Historic Reserve

Featured Speaker, IP Academy, Keiretsu Forum NW (2011)
Portland State University Business Accelerator

Panelist, One World Business Roundtable (2010)
Vancouver Business Journal Sponsored Roundtable with Russian Federation delegation

Chair and Panelist, Ethical Dilemmas for the Practicing Lawyer (2009)
Washington State Bar Association CLE
(evaluated “bright, intelligent, engaging & knowledgeable”)

Panelist, Business Development Basics (2009)
Lewis & Clark Law School Graduate Fellows Program

Chair and Presenter, Litigation Bootcamp (2009)
Washington State Bar Association CLE
(evaluated “good”, “excellent”, “great”)

Panelist, Lincoln on Professionalism (2009)
Washington State Bar Association CLE
(evaluated “5+ on a scale of 1-4″).

Panelist & Moderator, Ethical Dilemmas for the Practicing Lawyer-In House Counsel (2008)
Washington State Bar Association CLE

Panelist & Moderator, Interview with U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman (2008)
Clark County Bar Association CLE

Presenter, Civil Practice in the Federal & State Courts of Washington (2008)
Clark County Bar Association CLE

Presenter, Law Firm Practice Management (2007)
Clark County Bar Association CLE

Panelist, Ethical Dilemmas for the Practicing Lawyer-Using Experts (2007)
Washington State Bar Association CLE

Presenter, Corporate Record Keeping for Fun and Profit (2006)
Clark County Bar Association CLE

Presenter, Overview of Intellectual Property (2005)
Clark County Bar Association CLE

CASES KURT HAS HANDLED

Patent Cases

Trademark Cases

Copyright Cases

Trade Secret Cases

Government Contract Cases

Business/Commercial Cases