Mark J. Patterson

Mr. Patterson is an experienced patent practitioner and trial attorney. His primary practice involves the writing and prosecution of patent applications in the electrical, electronic, and computer software arts including business methods; patent, trademark and copyright counseling, including preparing validity and infringement opinions; licensing; and litigation in all areas of intellectual property law. He has assisted clients in obtaining over 200 U.S. patents. From 1973 to 1977 Mark Patterson worked for Motorola, Inc. as a senior electronics design engineer in the design of portable radio communications equipment and related integrated circuits. His technical background also includes computer programming experience in Fortran, Basic, RPG, PL-1, and IBM Assembly Language. Mark Patterson has represented clients in Federal and state courts throughout the country and in the United States of Appeals. He serves as a legal consultant and testifying expert witness in patent and trade secret litigation involving mechanical and electronic technologies, and in other disputes involving intellectual property issues.

• J.D., with Honors, Florida State University College of Law, 1980
  • Elected to the Order of the Coif
  • B.S., Electrical Engineering, Cornell University, 1973
  Representative Matters
  Mr. Patterson has successfully prosecuted hundreds of U.S. Patents and Trademarks.
  Bar Admissions
  • Florida
  • Tennessee
  • Registered Patent Attorney (USPTO)
  Professional Memberships
  • Tennessee Bar Association
  • Nashville Bar Association
  • International Trademark Association
  • American Intellectual Property Law Association
  • Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association
  Publications
  • Contributing author to MacLean, Tennessee Legal Forms Computer Law and Patent Forms, West Publishing Co., St. Paul, MN
  Presentations
  • CLE Panelist on "Recent Developments in Copyright Law", Nashville Bar Association, 2002
  • Panel Member - Use of Expert Witnesses in Patent Cases, Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association, 2002
  • Panel Member - Ethical and Legal Aspects of Patents, Copyrights, Trademark and Trade Secrets, Professional Development Seminars, 2002
  • Annual Convention of the Post Card and Souvenir Distributors Association, 1991, 1995, 2001
  • Williamson County Bar Association CLE Seminar on Intellectual Property Issues in Commercial Transactions, 2000
  • Belmont University Peer Learning Forum, Patent Protection for Business Methods, 2000
  • Tennessee Bar Association CLE seminar on the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, 2000
  Other Activities
  • Named by National Law Journal as one of 2012 Tennessee's Top Lawyers
  • Adjunct Professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Law, 1986-present
  • Guest lecturer for graduate students, Vanderbilt University School of Engineering, Management of Technology program, 1995-2001
  • Named by BusinessTN Magazine as one of Tennessee's Top 150 Lawyers, 2008-2010
  • Voted to the Thomson-Reuters Mid-South Super Lawyers List, 2006-2010
  • Named by Nashville Post as one of the 101 Top Attorneys in Nashville, 2011
  • Peer voted to list of Best Lawyers in America, 2011