Matt Jakubowski is a multi-faceted patent attorney with extensive experience in IP portfolio management, patent preparation and prosecution, IP agreement drafting and negotiation, and patent litigation. Matt is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and serves as the firm’s treasurer and CFO. He counsels clients in a wide range of intellectual property matters, including, IP portfolio management, freedom-to-operate opinions, cybersecurity, litigation, agreement drafting and negotiations, and due diligence projects. Matt has broad experience in patent preparation and prosecution in various technologies, including alternative fuel systems, polymer composites, medical products, consumer products, and alarm monitoring software. Matt has extensive experience with IP-related disputes and litigation, including patent litigation. His representative patent litigation cases have involved technologies from a variety of fields, including automotive telematics, display systems, data processing systems, computer software, monitoring systems, textile chemical treatments, automotive glass, encryption technology, online and mobile financial service apps and computer systems, and health and wellness consumer products. Matt has experience assessing a client’s current cybersecurity and data privacy protocols and developing a comprehensive incident response plan to ensure compliance with applicable laws. In addition to his deep experience with IP enforcement, litigation and portfolio management matters, he has an active practice counseling clients on patent freedom-to-operate projects and the negotiation and preparation of different types of agreements, including license agreements, joint venture agreements, and development and supply agreements. Matt received a Juris Doctor from Wayne State University Law School. He graduated with honors from the University of Michigan with a degree in chemical engineering. He also holds an MBA from Wayne State University. In his spare time, Matt has coached his three children in Destination Imagination and Grosse Pointe Park Little League Baseball for several years. He describes coaching as a very rewarding and fun experience. Matt also enjoys boating on Lake St. Clair during the summer months with his wife and children. They have even boated to Cedar Pointe on several occasions!

Matt Mietzel’s comprehensive experience provides him with an intuitive ability to advise his clients on the management and protection of their intellectual property through even the trickiest of legal situations. Matt has extensive experience in preparing and prosecuting domestic and international patent applications, primarily in the mechanical and electromechanical arts. Beyond patent prosecution, Matt also has experience in the preparation of validity and infringement opinions, trademark prosecution, licensing, IP due diligence, and litigation matters. “In my practice, I find that compared to other patent attorneys, I have more of a genuine understanding of my clients’ problems and struggles, enabling me to advise them authentically and work with them on a deeper level.” – Matt Mietzel Prior to joining Brooks Kushman, Matt was an engineer in the automotive industry for over seven years. Whereas some engineers work solely in manufacturing or design, Matt gained experience in manufacturing, design, and research and development. Matt also has a deep understanding of the business needs of his clients, having earned a master’s degree in business administration. These experiences provide Matt with a strong foundation for advising clients on the management and protection of intellectual property. Matt was also a patent agent at a technology corporation where he learned first-hand about client expectations and how best to service clients. During his three years in that role, he prepared and prosecuted patent applications, led innovation workshops and patent design-around efforts, developed patent portfolio management strategies, and was involved in technology licensing matters. Matt has also served as acting in-house patent counsel for a Fortune 500 company managing a range of intellectual property matters. The combination of these diverse experiences provides Matt with an excellent understanding of the many aspects of intellectual property prosecution and intellectual property management. Outside of the office, Matt enjoys time with his family, hiking, and travelling.

James Proscia is a talented IP attorney with over 20 years of patent prosecution experience and degrees in chemistry, biotechnology, electrical engineering and physics. Jim, serving as the Chair of Brooks Kushman's Applied Physics Practice Group and Co-Chair of the Chemistry Practice Group, brings over 20 years of patent prosecution experience to the table. His degrees in chemical physics, physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, and biotechnology, coupled with his diverse expertise across a broad range of industries, make him a reliable and proficient professional. Jim's specialization lies in working with universities, where he represents technology transfer departments to protect and monetize their inventions. His unique background as a former adjunct professor and researcher equips him with deep knowledge of both sides of this relationship. He excels in collaborating closely with professors and scientists to draft and prosecute patent applications, leveraging his diverse educational background to work effectively on a wide range of technologies. Jim has substantial experience in various sub-fields of physics, including solid-state physics, optics, electricity and magnetism, mechanics, and atomic and molecular physics. His expertise extends to optical systems, medical resonance imaging, and image processing, as well as circuit design. He has drafted patent applications in areas related to photonic emission, Brillouin light scattering, the photoacoustic effect, single photon sources for scalable quantum optical circuits, parity-time (PT) symmetric wireless telemetric sensors and systems, and multi-spectral scattering-matrix tomography. His expertise also extends to solid-state physics, electricity and magnetism, mechanics, atomic and molecular physics, and optical communication. In addition to his physics expertise, Jim has a strong technical background in organic chemistry and has collaborated with clients in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries on small-molecule therapeutics, drug formulation and delivery technologies, and chemical process technologies. His patent prosecution and opinion work encompass medical and diagnostic devices and biotechnology. Specific examples include methods for treating diseases, diagnostic assays, biomarkers, pharmaceuticals, diagnostic agents, blood analysis methods, food processing techniques, and biofuel technologies. With nearly 20 years of laboratory experience before transitioning to patent law, Jim conducted extensive research in semiconductor films and modeled the optical properties of multilayer films. ‎Jim applies his considerable technical experience to the procurement of patents, both ‎foreign and domestic, and to assist in client counseling and patent portfolio management. His deep understanding of an inventor’s work language allows him to draw out the essential information required to obtain patents with excellence. In addition to preparing and prosecuting patent applications, Jim consults clients on developing patent portfolio strategies and preparing freedom to operate opinions, particularly in relation to the chemical and electrical arts. Jim has graduate degrees in chemical physics (Harvard), physics (Harvard), biotechnology (Johns Hopkins), and electrical engineering (Ohio University). His completed graduate courses include quantum mechanics, electromagnetic theory, statistical mechanics, and signal processing. Prior to joining Brooks Kushman, Jim worked as a research scientist and technical specialist at a large automotive OEM for ten years. Over his career, he was awarded fourteen patents in thin film technologies and co-authored several scientific articles. Jim has also been an in-house patent attorney at Pfizer and an adjunct professor of chemistry at Wayne State University.

John Halan is an IP litigator who has extensive knowledge in patent, trade secret, and related commercial litigation. John M. Halan has been practicing with the intellectual property law firm of Brooks Kushman P.C. since 1990, where he has been a shareholder for many years and is the head of the firm`s trade secrets group. As a litigator, he specializes in high-stakes intellectual property litigation, including patent, trade secret, and related commercial litigation. He has tried many cases as lead or team trial counsel and has also successfully argued cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He also has considerable experience handling various matters before the PTAB, including inter partes reviews and appeals. In addition to litigation, John has negotiated and prepared numerous intellectual property and commercial agreements, including patent and technology license agreements. He has also prepared many infringement and validity patent opinions and has been called upon to act as a patent dispute mediator. As a licensed professional engineer, prior to attending law school and joining Brooks Kushman, John managed a number of industrial construction projects from initial design through to completion.

Bryan Hart combines his technical expertise and litigation experience to provide clients with strategic, forward-thinking patent counsel that anticipates both opportunities and challenges across a wide range of industries and technologies. Bryan Hart practices all areas of patent law, specializing in preparing and prosecuting patent applications in the mechanical, electrical, and software arts. He excels at mastering complex technical information while maintaining the big picture and communicating key concepts in a comprehensible, concise, and persuasive manner. His applications have covered artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, machine vision, object tracking for collision avoidance, seatbelt assemblies, airbag assemblies and deployment, vehicle crash testing, additive manufacturing, and automobile frames, among other areas. Bryan has extensive experience in patent litigation. He has participated in cases in federal district court, investigations before the International Trade Commission, and inter partes review proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. He has experience with a wide variety of technologies, including LTE (long-term evolution) standards, in-dash GPS units, textiles, enterprise storage systems, mobile-phone operating systems, lottery-ticket printing, hydraulic fracturing (fracking) equipment, lithium-ion battery packs, 2D-to-3D conversion software, cloud computing, content distribution networks, piston solid lubricants, and prosthetic knee replacements. His litigation experience helps him keep a patent’s ultimate potential outcome-enforcement-in mind throughout the prosecution process. Bryan is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, where he was an Articles Editor for the University of Chicago Review. He is also a graduate of the University of Michigan College of Engineering where he earned his B.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering, highest honors. He also serves as the secretary for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee of the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) and as a member of the Diversity in IP Law Committee of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). In his free time, Bryan enjoys reading X-Men comics and taking his daughter to the local children’s science museum.

Mike Brodbine is an Executive Committee member and serves as the co-chair of the firm’s Patent Prosecution Group. He has over 20 years of experience working with global corporations on the management of patent portfolios. He counsels clients on all aspects of intellectual property matters, focusing not only on the U.S. patent landscape but also providing a global view for his clients. Mike understands the importance of effective intellectual property strategy in today’s highly-competitive business environment. He helps clients develop effective IP strategies to secure and maintain patent right for their businesses to plan and move ahead. He often consults with management and corporate counsel to build understanding between the scientist and engineers and their companies` decision makers regarding the development, application, and potential impact of new technologies in the market and within the corporate patent portfolio. Mike also has extensive experience advising clients on commercialization activities and he routinely provides clearance, infringement, validity, and state-of-the-art opinions. He has filed and prosecuted thousands of U.S. and foreign patent applications on a variety of technologies including aerospace, display panel technology, chemical coatings, plastic packaging, PET bottling, catalysts, fabric treatment, building products, automotive interior and body components, and vehicle safety systems. Ongoing dialog with clients is very important to Mike. He takes a proactive approach to ensure that lines of communication are always open, clients are kept up-to-date on the status of a project, and questions and concerns that may arise are anticipated and answered. His close working relationship with clients has led him to serve on several of his clients’ patent review and investigation committees. He has also fulfilled the role of acting chief patent counsel for one of the firm’s larger clients. Mike is a strong advocate for continuing legal education. He leads the firm’s claim drafting class that trains Brooks Kushman patent attorneys at all levels. In addition to his internal efforts, he is also is an instructor for the Patent Resources Group patent workshops. The program is targeted toward those that have less than three years’ experience in drafting patent applications. The course is valuable for private or corporate practitioners with some patent experience who desire to polish their patent drafting skills. Mike is also an adjunct professor at a local law school.

Bob Tuttle is Of Counsel at the firm and is known for his razor-sharp legal mind, his close relationships with clients and the business community, and his near-photographic memory. These traits make him one of the firm's key litigators. In conducting litigation, Bob makes it his priority to carefully understand the dispute and his client's business objectives, and to determine how to achieve those objectives in the most efficient manner. His familiarity and facility with the applicable case law, statutes, rules, and regulations allow him to devise highly creative strategies to meet clients' goals. Bob also believes in the importance of close client involvement in litigation. He is in very frequent contact with clients, to keep them apprised of the progress of their matters and invite them to participate in strategy and decision-making. Before joining Brooks Kushman in 1984, Bob was patent and trademark counsel for the former American Motors Corporation. Having worked as in-house counsel gives Bob an inside track on how corporate clients operate, what corporations need, and how best to satisfy them. Bob has also built up and maintained a wide variety of working relationships with people in the Detroit automotive industry. These relationships can often be brought into play to benefit firm clients when a dispute arises within this sector. Outside of work, Robert is a sports enthusiast and enjoys bicycling for exercise.

Bill Conger is a patent prosecutor who is passionate about working with his clients and making extensive efforts to understand their inventions and technologies. As a patent lawyer and Co-Chair of Brooks Kushman's chemical practice, Bill instills trust and confidence in his clients. His clients know that they can rely on him to make important decisions that keep their best interests at heart at all times. When there are several alternative paths that can be taken, Bill is skilled at recognizing the one that makes the most business sense for his client. Bill makes extensive efforts to understand his client`s technology and their business goals, making frequent client visits, and even occasionally working on-site for extended periods. Bill works directly with inventors so that he can fully understand their inventions and maximize the scope of all related patents. As a result of his effectiveness and creativity, he has twice been named as a co-inventor on patents. Based on his experience as a former Director of Patents for BASF, Bill developed an extensive international practice, assisting foreign clients in filing applications for inventions first filed in other countries. Bill`s experience allows him to finesse the originally-filed foreign application to obtain the broadest possible protection in the United States, to reduce costs to the client, and to shorten prosecution as well. Bill also takes great pleasure in drafting original patent applications. He likens the process to writing the great American novel because it allows him to weave together a compelling persuasive argument that leaves the audience with enough information to understand the story being told, without encouraging them to start a new one. When not involved with technology or IP issues, Bill enjoys tennis, boating, and hunting for precious gemstones in various areas of the country, particularly the West and Northwest."

Libby Janda is an experienced trademark attorney with an extensive background in domestic and international trademark portfolios. Libby Janda serves as the Co-Chair of Brooks Kushman’s trademark practice, and has over 30 years of experience in intellectual property law. She manages substantial trademark portfolios both domestically and internationally, and works closely with a network of vetted international contacts that the firm has developed over the past decades. Libby handles trademark matters in a variety of industries, including the automotive field; restaurants and food products; advertising and marketing businesses; insurance enterprises; mortgage companies, banks and credit unions; and consumer products and services. She keeps her focus on her clients’ business goals and marketing strategies. She has managed several global trademark portfolios in a full range of fields, including automotive, toy and consumer goods, entertainment, advertising, food and beverage, and agricultural products. Libby brings a practical business perspective to her counselling, and works hard to build significant portfolios through an established network of trusted contacts throughout the world. She also enjoys working with smaller businesses and start-ups to support their growth and development. Libby's work encompasses selecting and clearing trademarks, prosecuting trademark applications, representing clients in trademark opposition and cancellation matters, drafting and negotiating licenses and other agreements relating to the use of trademarks and copyrights, and policing the unauthorized use or infringement of clients' rights. She further provides litigation support and consulting on trademark issues and matters. In addition, Libby assists advertising clients in the review of proper rules and regulations for specific types of product advertising, couponing and sampling. She brainstorms with clients to maintain the broadest possible protection within the realities of that client`s marketplace, taking full account of business goals in shaping an appropriate legal strategy.

Jim Kushman is the senior founding member of Brooks Kushman. His practice focuses on protection of inventions in the mechanical and electro-mechanical arts. With 50 years of intellectual property law experience, Jim has an in-depth understanding of various technologies, particularly in the automotive, glass processing, plastic blow molding, manufacturing, and consumer products industries. Jim continues to share his knowledge with the firm based on his experience with clients of all sizes, ranging from Fortune 500 Corporations to small and mid-sized companies. He takes a proactive approach to understand his clients’ business interests and align IP strategies with those interests in mind. He helps his clients identify “white-space” in the market for new product development and IP investment. Jim has a long-standing practice working with clients to manage global patent portfolios. He continues to counsel select clients on both domestic and international filings with respect to utility and design patents. Throughout his career, he has worked with companies around the world to manage patent portfolios.