Andrew J. Heinisch is a shareholder in the firm's Intellectual Property Practice and a registered patent attorney. Andrew has a wide range of U.S. and foreign corporate clients, from publicly traded companies to small closely held businesses. A substantial portion of Andrew's work relates to opining as to the scope, enforceability and validity of patents. He has provided services in supporting and lead roles for several intellectual property litigations. Andrew's work for his clients primarily includes patent application drafting and prosecution, intellectual property due diligence, validity and infringement opinions and licensing. As a full-service intellectual property lawyer, he also performs and supervises a full range of trademark services including clearance, prosecution and international enforcement.

Andrew has professional experience in a wide range of technologies, including:

In addition, Andrew is an experienced presenter and lecturer, and has repeatedly appeared on an educational television program entitled Legally Speaking discussing patent, trademark and copyright issues. He supports the profession through periodically teaching a continuing legal education clinic on intellectual property topics for business attorneys. Andrew also conducts pro bono service, including his recent representation of a prisoner in a civil rights lawsuit. 

Representative Matters and Experience

• Developing a comprehensive patenting strategy with engineering teams and preparing 15 new patent applications to cover different aspects and technological developments of a new product launch
• Evaluating third-party patent portfolios and developing design alternatives with engineering design teams and foreign counsel to minimize patent infringement risks U.S. and world-wide
• Directing trademark enforcement and trademark invalidity proceedings against a client's former distributor in foreign countries
• Securing summary judgment of patent infringement against a client's former distributor for second-sourcing a similar product, and using the ruling to secure a favorable settlement 

Affiliations/Memberships

• Registered patent attorney with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office with several appearances before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences and the Trademark Trials and Appeals Board
• The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (both trial and general bars)
• The Central District of Illinois
• State Bar of Illinois
• State Bar of Wisconsin
• American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
• Winnebago County Bar Association
• DeKalb County Bar Association
• Seven years military service (National Defense and Humanitarian Service Medal)

Education

• J.D., University of Illinois College of Law, 1997
• B.S.A.E., University of Illinois (Agricultural Engineering), 1994