Christopher S. Schultz
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Christopher is a patent attorney and lead trial counsel with a demonstrated record of success litigating intellectual property cases for his clients. Christopher has counseled clients in intellectual property law for over twenty years and has litigated patent, trade secret, and trademark cases in federal district court, the PTAB, the International Trade Commission (ITC), and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
A former patent examiner with an electrical engineering degree, Christopher frequently works on matters involving complex technologies and life sciences, including software, computer networking, wireless telecommunications, and medical devices.
Christopher is a frequent guest speaker on patent litigation and is often quoted in leading industry periodicals on recent developments in patent law. He also lectures on patent litigation at the Practicing Law Institute in New York City.
Christopher is active in pro bono work and was awarded the 2021 Boston Patent Law Association Pro Bono Award for his work with the New England Innocence Project.
Client Work / Representative Experience
- Lead counsel for Viken Detection in three inter partes reviews of three patents in suit. All challenged claims were held invalid by the PTAB.
- Lead counsel for Hydrow, Inc. in a case brought in the District of Delaware in which Hydrow moved for preliminary injunction against iFIT for design patent and trade dress infringement of the shape of Hydrow's distinctive rowing machine. The case settled with iFIT agreeing to redesign certain aspects of its Nordictrack rower design.
- Lead counsel for Propel Orthodontics in a bet-the-company case. A competitor sued Propel to prevent Propel from selling its industry-leading orthodontic device. Christopher defeated a motion for a preliminary injunction at the district court and the subsequent appeal to The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Case reported here.
- Lead counsel for Sig Sauer, Inc. in an inter partes review in which all independent claims of a gun accessory were held invalid.
- Lead Counsel for Propel in inter partes review filed to invalidate patent asserted against Propel. The PTAB found all claims invalid. Case reported here.
- Lead Counsel for client Petromac. Obtained a denial of institution of an IPR petition filed against a patent covering Petromac’s industry leading product, a device that carries sensor equipment through a wellbore.
- Lead counsel for inMusic Brands, secured three non-institution decisions on three inter partes review (IPR) petitions seeking to invalidate inMusic’s patents related to electronic drum kit technology.
- Lead Counsel for Starent Networks in a complex patent, trade secret, and copyright case involving wireless telecommunications infrastructure technology in which the plaintiff alleged 20 counts against Starent and eighteen of its current or former employees. Prior to settlement, all but four claims and four defendants were dismissed through motion practice, and the court granted Starent's motion for summary judgment of noninfringement on one of the patents-in-suit. Case reported here.
- Lead counsel for client Gtech defending a major Gtech product line accused of infringement. Christopher briefed and argued the Markman hearing and obtained a stipulation of non-infringement after the Court’s Markman ruling precluded the possibility of infringement.
- Starent Networks in a case involving a patent that described a way for mobile devices to connect to the Internet. Played a lead role in successfully opposing the plaintiff's motion for preliminary injunction, and in Starent's claim construction and motion for summary judgment of noninfringement, which was affirmed by the Federal Circuit.
- Lead counsel with the New England Innocence Project in a landmark pro bono case in which client Arthur Davis was granted a new trial after 33 years of incarceration. Mr. Davis was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in 1986. Eight years of investigation, motion practice, and DNA testing culminated in a motion for new trial filed in 2017, which was granted in November 2018. The Commonwealth has sought review by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. Case reported here.
Publications, Presentations & Recognitions
Christopher’s articles, publications, and speaking engagements include:
- “AI-Assisted Inventions Could Spur New Patent Litigation Wave,” Bloomberg Law, August 2022
- “Apple Supreme Court Patent Loss Could Echo Across Industries,” Bloomberg Law, June 2022
- “Strategies at the PTAB for Dealing with NPEs,” Global IP Management Forum, Guest Speaker, June 2022
- 4D Meets AI Conference, Guest Speaker, Life Science Nation, September 2020
- "Eligibility Ruling Provides ‘Fertile Ground’ for Patent Lawyers," Bloomberg Law, March 2020
- "Halo and Opinions," SAS Forum on Non-Practicing Entities (NPE) Litigation, September 2019
Boards, Memberships & Certifications
- American Bar Association
- Boston Patent Law Association
- PTAB Bar Association
Awards & Recognitions
- BPLA Pro Bono Award (2021)
Previous Work
Prior to becoming an attorney, Christopher was a patent examiner in the electrical engineering art. He also served as a full-time intern for the Honorable Randall R. Rader at the U.S. Court of Appeals to the Federal Circuit.
In his pro bono work, Christopher works on matters with the New England Innocence Project.
Life Beyond the Law
Outside of work, Christopher enjoys spending time with his wife and five children.
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Practices
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Education
University of New Hampshire, Franklin Pierce School of Law, JDSyracuse University, BS