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William D. Cramer

Senior Counsel
fax +1 214.659.4070

Bill Cramer is an experienced intellectual property litigator and USPTO-registered patent attorney who advises clients on protecting, enforcing, and maximizing the value of their innovations, brands, copyrights, and trade secrets. His practice spans intellectual property litigation and counseling, including the prosecution and enforcement of patents, trademarks, and copyrights, as well as disputes involving patent infringement, trademark infringement, false advertising, unfair competition, and copyright infringement.

Bill represents both plaintiffs and defendants in complex intellectual property litigation matters in federal district courts across the United States, handling cases at the trial and appellate levels. He also has significant experience in specialized forums, including Section 337 investigations before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), inter partes review (IPR) proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), and appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

As a USPTO-registered patent attorney, Bill counsels individual inventors, startups, and multinational corporations on patent prosecution, patent portfolio management, patent strategy, and global intellectual property protection and enforcement, frequently coordinating with international counsel in foreign patent and trademark offices.

In addition to his litigation practice, Bill provides strategic guidance on a wide range of technology and IP-related matters, including licensing and technology transfer agreements, freedom-to-operate analyses (FTO), trade secret protection, and disputes involving technology contracts and high-tech employment issues.

Before entering the legal profession, Bill built a strong technical foundation by designing and developing state-of-the-art data communications, telephony, and cartography software, and authoring multiple books and articles on computer hardware and software systems. His extensive experience in software, telecommunications, data communications, and computer systems enhances his ability to handle technically complex patent litigation and intellectual property disputes.

Education

J.D., cum laude, Boston College Law School, 1994
B.S., Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas, 1982

Recognitions

Named among Best Lawyers in America® for Litigation – Intellectual Property by Best Lawyers (2023-2027)

State Bar Licenses

Texas, Illinois

Court Admissions

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit
U.S. District Ct., E.D. of Texas
U.S. District Ct., N.D. of Texas
U.S. District Ct., S.D. of Texas
U.S. District Ct., W.D. of Texas
U.S. District Ct., N.D. of Illinois
U.S. District Ct., W.D. of Michigan
U.S. District Ct., E.D. of Michigan

Representative Experience:

  • Patent litigation: Lead counsel representing a major outdoor gear retailer in an ITC Section 337 proceeding involving alleged infringement of patents relating to lithium-ion batteries used in fishing and sporting boats; the case was ultimately settled after the exchange of discovery and deposition of fact and expert witnesses
  • Trademark litigation: Lead counsel representing the licensor of a registered trademark and its licensee filed against a former licensee which had continued to use the mark after cancelling its license; the dispute involved multiple lawsuits in multiple venues, including a trademark infringement case, an unfair competition case, a qui tam case, and multiple attempts by the accused infringer to invalidate the trademark; the cases were ultimately settled on the eve of trial on damages after the court granted client’s summary judgment on liability
  • Copyright litigation: Lead counsel representing homeowners who were building a custom home and were sued by the former designer for infringement of copyrighted architectural works; the matter was settled after mediation
  • Non-practicing entity defense: Lead counsel representing technology, hospitality, and financial services defendants in dozens of patent litigation lawsuits filed by non-practicing entities
  • Trademark litigation: Texas counsel for numerous trademark litigation cases involving the unauthorized use of trademarks owned by The American Automobile Association
  • Copyright/trademark litigation: Represented a medical diagnostics company against a company that attempted to divert customers using a virtually identical website and company name; the defendant vanished and defaulted after the lawsuit was filed

Patent, trademark, copyright, and technology-related litigation and prosecution in the following areas:

  • Agricultural products
  • Air compressors
  • Audio and video codecs
  • Chemical additives
  • Commercial and residential architecture
  • Customer surveys
  • Deepwater drilling fluid
  • Digital photography
  • Disk drive technology
  • Dispersed data storage
  • Engine valves
  • Fiber optics
  • Financial transactions
  • Food storage systems
  • Forward-facing vehicle cameras
  • Gas tank safety
  • Gas and liquid valves
  • Lithium-ion batteries
  • MEMS microphones
  • Mobile GPS-related applications
  • Mobile phone handsets
  • Mobile retail applications
  • Nutraceuticals
  • Online reservation systems
  • Power meters
  • Product packaging
  • Prosthetics
  • Protective gloves
  • Real estate services
  • Remote vehicle telemetry
  • Secured data communications
  • Smart homes
  • Telephony
  • Web-based applications
  • Wireless communications

Patent, trademark, copyright, and technology-related litigation in the following venues:

  • Eastern District of Texas
  • Northern District of Texas
  • Southern District of Texas
  • Western District of Texas
  • Northern District of Illinois
  • Western District of Michigan
  • Eastern District of Michigan
  • District of Delaware
  • Northern District of Oklahoma
  • District of Arizona
  • Northern District of California
  • International Trade Commission
  • Patent Trial and Appeal Board
  • Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
  • Federal Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

The Clark Hill approach is equally pragmatic and growth-minded, which is why we understand our clients’ toughest business challenges. Our multidisciplinary, global team of advisors focuses on smart legal solutions, delivered simply.

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