Robert C. Mattson

Partner

contact

650.666.0514

rmattson@krameralberti.com

Robert has over 20 years’ experience litigating patent matters in the district courts, the ITC, and the USPTO. He also provides strategic counseling on patent issues, with a focus on planning successful, business-oriented outcomes. He was most recently a member of the winning trial team in In re Certain Thermoplastic-Encapsulated Electric Motors II (337-TA-1073) and lead counsel for another team that successfully protected a client’s process for fermenting food-grade MSG. He has also appeared in over 80 inter partes review proceedings at the USPTO’s Patent Trial & Appeal Board.

A skilled trial attorney, he litigates cases involving such diverse technologies as embedded systems, power electronics, automotive parts, mobile phones, and robotics. Mr. Mattson regularly advises clients on the interrelationship between district-court, ITC, and PTAB litigation.

Before joining Kramer Alberti, Mr. Mattson founded his own law firm, which specialized in patent litigation, opinions, and strategic counseling. He also worked in the USPTO as a patent examiner in the fields of speech-signal processing and artificial intelligence, and afterwards, was an equity partner in a large intellectual-property boutique where he was head of the litigation practice group for eight years and served on the management and compensation committees.

Mr. Mattson has spoken at numerous industry events to provide his insights on ITC and district-court litigation strategies. He was formerly an adjunct professor for the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich where he lectured on various subjects, including willful infringement, induced infringement, and opinions of counsel. Additionally, he has represented indigent defendants pro bono in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in coordination with the Federal Public Defender Office.

significant matters
Kyowa Hakko Bio Co., Ltd. et al. v. Ajinomoto Co., Ltd. (Delaware)  Lead counsel in case involving fermentation of food-grade MSG. Obtained early findings during claim construction that rendered competitors’ reissue patent invalid.
Ricoh Company, Ltd. v. Katun Corp., PNA Holdings LLC, General Plastics Industrial Co., Ltd., and Nashua Corp. (New Jersey)  Represented patent owner in case involving aftermarket toner bottles. Obtained judgment of patent infringement and validity. Reported at 486 F. Supp. 2d 395.
Thermoplastic-Encapsulated Electric Motors, Components Thereof, and Products and Vehicles Containing Same, 337-TA-1073 (ITC)  Successfully defended automotive suppliers in investigation involving five patents relating to electric motors. The ITC found no violation of Section 337. All asserted claims were also found invalid in parallel PTAB proceedings, which were affirmed on appeal to the Federal Circuit.
Windshield Wipers and Components Thereof, 337-TA-928, -937 (ITC) Successfully represented patent owner in investigation resulting in findings of patent infringement and validity and the administrative law judge’s recommendation of an order excluding the U.S. importation of the infringing windshield-wiper replacements.
education
Juris Doctor, George Mason University School of Law, Arlington, VA
Law Review

Bachelor of Science, Systems Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
admissions
Virginia
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Supreme Court of the United States
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
U.S. Court of Appeals for Veteran Claims
venue experience
C.D. California
N.D. California
S.D. California
Connecticut
Delaware
N.D. Illinois
Massachusetts
E.D. Michigan
W.D. Missouri
New Jersey
S.D. New York
N.D. Ohio
South Carolina
E.D. Texas
W.D. Texas
S.D. Texas
E.D. Virginia
W.D. Wisconsin
Federal Circuit Court of Appeals
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
U.S. International Trade Commission
Patent Trademark & Appeal Board