Tom Cunningham is an accomplished, hands-on attorney who takes a client-centered approach to his practice. Tom has twenty-five years of experience litigating intellectual property cases on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants in federal courts all over the country. Tom’s cases have involved a wide range of technologies including automotive and locomotive developments, e-commerce systems, light-emitting diode applications, biotechnology, numerous consumer products, dietary supplements and computer software. Tom has also handled numerous appeals before the Federal Circuit, 5th and 6th Circuit Courts of Appeal. Tom actively advises clients on the management, enforcement and licensing of intellectual property. He has also worked closely with clients to help them avoid the intellectual property of others, including participating in designing around patents. Tom builds the trust of his clients by maintaining close contact. He believes that to adequately counsel his clients, it is necessary to develop a full understanding of the clients’ business and its goals. By doing what he promises and following up on a regular basis, Tom has been successful in building long-term relationships with his clients.

of experience, Frank has successfully tried patent, trademark, trade secret and copyright cases in Federal Courts nationwide, the Courts of Appeals for the Sixth and Federal Circuits, and the International Trade Commission. As a registered patent attorney , Frank is authorized to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Frank has been lead counsel for a wide variety of clients, from individuals to major corporations, in intellectual property and commercial litigation matters. His litigation experience spans across various technologies and industries including, automotive, consumer electronics, industrial technologies, food and beverage, and home appliances. Frank’s practice also includes post-grant proceedings. He works with clients to challenge or defend patents through administrative trial procedures created under the America Invents Act (AIA). In addition to counseling clients, he has been a vital component in developing Brooks Kushman’s Post-Grant Proceedings practice by mentoring and training other attorneys. Early on in his career, Frank served as a law clerk to the Hon. Glenn L. Archer, Jr., former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. This experience led to involvement in almost 100 appeals over the course of his career and Frank currently leads Brooks’ Appellate Litigation Group. Frank also serves on the Board of Directors for Challenge Detroit, a revitalization effort designed to attract and retain new talent in the City of Detroit.

Mark Cantor specializes in trademark litigation and has tried various cases involving patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and copyrights. Mark is one of the founders of the firm and has been with the firm as a Shareholder since 1983. He has over 35 years of IP litigation experience. He has extensive experience in dealing with complex litigation matters in all technology areas and has tried cases relating to patents, trademarks, trade secrets and copyrights in state and federal courts and administrative tribunals throughout the country and in a number of international forums. Mark takes a special interest in his client’s IP goals by understanding how their strategies align with their business interests. He creates tailored strategies by understanding the commercial realities and working on a plan of action that is cost-effective but still provides an enforceable competitive edge for the client. Mark is specifically recognized for his trademark litigation practice. Due to his success in this field, several of Brooks Kushman’s largest clients look to Mark for trademark enforcement matters. He has also been recognized by many of the industry’s leading publications for his in-court victories, including obtaining the largest trademark jury verdict in Michigan history. Mark has handled inter partes administrative proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the International Trade Commission. Mark has been extremely active in a number of cases involving insurance coverage in intellectual property cases, to try and reduce the cost of litigation to the client. In addition to specializing in IP litigation, Mark also has a particular skill for negotiating business focused resolutions. Mark has a knack for developing creative solutions to resolve seemingly intractable disputes by fashioning a settlement based on business realities. Additionally, Mark has an active practice advising clients on the acquisition, management and licensing of intellectual property. He has worked with many clients to develop a management strategy to enable clients to accurately and efficiently manage and monetize their intellectual property portfolios. Mark served as President of the firm from 2007-2018. He has also served as General Counsel of the firm for over two decades and continues in that role today.

William Abbatt is a skilled patent attorney with experience in foreign and domestic patent prosecution matters. He has a background in varying disciplines including manufacturing, chemistry, and medical devices. With 35+ years of experience as a patent attorney, Bill’s practice involves all aspects of domestic and foreign patent preparation, prosecution, and assertion, including dispute resolution. He regularly advises clients on the development and management of patent portfolios. Bill’s practice includes counseling on how to protect various aspects of inventions and monetize them by sale and licensing. Bill has managed intellectual property matters in many technical disciplines including manufacturing, metallurgy, chemistry, medical devices, and aeronautics. His background in industry plus his diverse experience in writing and prosecuting hundreds of patents enable Bill to spot the strengths and weaknesses in a patent when a dispute or enforcement issue arises. He has an affinity for working with emerging entities whose value can be enhanced by effective intellectual property portfolio creation and management to help his clients’ businesses succeed. In one case, he introduced two separate clients – a physician and an entrepreneur – and brought them together to develop and protect medical devices to treat patients and enhance the quality of their lives. Bill is a member of the Federal Bar Association – Eastern District of Michigan Chapter and currently serves as a co-chair of the Intellectual Property Law Section. He is a former council member of the Aviation Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. Bill is a Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation and a Master of the Bench (American Inns of Court). He was an adjunct professor of patent law at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Bill received Super Lawyers designation for 2006 - 2012, 2024. He was selected for this honor subsequent to undergoing an evaluation of many different factors including peer recognition and professional achievement. Bill also served on the steering committee that formed the Michigan Intellectual Property American Inns of Court Chapter and was its President (2017-18). The Michigan Intellectual Property Inn of Court is a philanthropic organization of judges, lawyers and legal educators that seeks to promote fair and ethical practice amongst junior lawyers and law students. Bill helped to found the Inn and was enthusiastic about moving into a leadership role. Bill was able to take the organization forward, while staying true to its initial goal of promoting excellence in advocacy amongst those it mentors. Bill holds a Juris Doctor from Detroit College of Law. Before that, Bill graduated with an M.S. in Operations Research & Production Engineering and a B.S. in Metallurgy & Material Sciences at the University of London, England. He has been appointed an Expert Adviser and Facilitative Mediator in the Federal District Court, Eastern District of Michigan. Outside the office, Bill enjoys flying his Beechcraft Debonair airplane, skiing, playing golf and tennis, working out, and traveling to England, his birthplace. He and his wife Candyce count Vail Colorado and Ft Lauderdale as favorite haunts. Bill holds an Airline Transport Pilot rating, a Commercial pilot’s license, and is a Certified Flight Instructor.

Rebecca Cantor is a registered patent attorney with an extensive background in patent litigation as well as trademark protection and enforcement. Rebecca serves as the Chair of Brooks Kushman's life science practice group. She concentrates her practice on intellectual property litigation, with a focus on patent litigation involving a wide range of technologies including pharmaceuticals and other life sciences technologies. Rebecca also has experience in trademark disputes, both in Federal Court and in the USPTO. In addition, Rebecca counsels clients in developing strategies to protect their intellectual property. As a registered patent attorney, Rebecca is authorized to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Prior to joining Brooks Kushman, Rebecca was a patent litigator at Vinson & Elkins LLP in New York. While there, Rebecca participated in several patent litigations, including a Hatch-Waxman litigation where she was part of a trial team that received a favorable outcome for its client. Rebecca also worked on a number of due diligence projects, many of which involved technologies related to life sciences.

James Bertino is an experienced patent attorney who prioritizes quality and high value results for his clients. James focuses his practice on domestic and foreign patent prosecution. He prepares, prosecutes, and advises on patents in several technical areas including the automotive, automation, and manufacturing industries. Specifically within the automotive industry, James has extensive experience in automotive technology relative to hybrid vehicles, powertrains, HVAC, safety systems, solar power, and plant automation. He counsels clients of all sizes, ranging from Fortune 500 Corporations to small start-ups, on a wide range of technologies. Because of James’s extensive engineering experience, James is technically proficient, being able to understand and put on paper what the invention is without having to rely solely on the inventor. He has extensive experience in novelty, validity, invalidity, state of the art, and clearance studies. As an experienced advisor, James counsels his clients honestly on their patent portfolio. In his practice, James conducts extensive research on existing technology to determine the white space within a specific technology market to ensure a client’s concept falls within the determined white space to recommend whether the client should pursue patent protection. James is also highly skilled at formulating opinions on the validity or invalidity of a particular patent during litigation proceedings, determining the current state of the art in a specific technology market, and formulating opinions on whether a client has the freedom to operate in a particular technology market. Prior to the legal profession, James worked for an automation manufacturer as a mechanical engineer. He was responsible for the mechanical design of powertrain assembly equipment. The design process included using computer aided design programs to generate the required mechanical drawings. James also worked for a large automotive OEM as a powertrain production supervisor. He was responsible for the daily operations of the department that produced the output shaft of the transmission. This included ensuring the efficiency and troubleshooting of the production machinery when a problem occurred. James is a graduate from the University of Toledo Law School. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan in Mechanical Engineering. James is a registered patent attorney and a member of the bar for the State of Michigan and the Federal District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan. In his free time, James likes to spend time on the water in his boat. He also enjoys the non-motorized time on the water and is an experienced oarsman. In 2015, he competed and won a master’s national championship in rowing.

Alena Marconi is an experienced, hands-on patent prosecution attorney with an extensive background in chemical, materials, and environmental solutions sciences. She guides and advises her clients with high-quality legal advice and strategic thinking. Alena’s practice focuses on domestic and foreign patent prosecution in the chemical, materials science, green tech, and mechanical arts. She counsels clients of all sizes in a wide range of industries including automotive, chemical, horticultural applications, environmental remediation, green technologies, alternative energy generation, industrial processes, medical devices, polymers, coatings, fuel cells, batteries, catalytic converters, packaging, and additives. Alena is admitted to practice in Michigan and before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan. Alena holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Materials Technology from Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Czech Republic, as well as a Master of Science in Chemistry from Oakland University. Her undergraduate, graduate studies, and research focused on macromolecular chemistry, environmental technology, and toxicology. Ms. Vackova graduated magna cum laude from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School in May 2012 with a Juris Doctor degree. During her law school studies, she earned five certificates of merit and served as an Assistant Board Editor on the Cooley Law School Law Review as well as a Secretary for the Student Intellectual Property Law Association and Veterans Organization. Besides English, Alena is fluent in Czech, Slovak, and has a working knowledge of German and additional Slavic languages. In her free time, she’s an avid photographer who loves to spend time with her family exploring Michigan and the rest of the world or running 5K races.

Isheeta Patel Laxmanan is an experienced patent attorney with a passion for providing her clients with high-quality, strategic intellectual property advice with an eye for detail and current technological trends. Isheeta focuses her practice on the preparation and prosecution of domestic patent applications in the chemical engineering and materials arts. Isheeta also has experience in advising her clients on intellectual property strategies by providing opinions on whether they have freedom to operate and by assessing the validity of patents. She has experience working with clients of various sizes, ranging from Fortune 100 companies to small start-ups. Isheeta has multi-faceted experience working extensively within a variety of industries, with an emphasis on technologies related to chemical engineering and advanced materials. Her prosecution and opinion experience is focused on advanced coatings, nanocomposites and composite systems, polymer chemistry and coagulants, heat transfer and thermal management materials, battery components and controls, catalyst structures, fluid flow control, and related coatings, additive manufacturing, paints, and specialty coatings, and consumer products. Isheeta provides reliable insight to clients regarding business-critical decisions such as whether to patent an inventive concept, whether they have freedom to operate, the validity of granted patents, and determining the state of the art and any white space in a specific technology market. Isheeta also has experience supporting intellectual property negotiations, settlements, and litigation. Isheeta previously served as a patent clerk with Honda Patents & Technologies North America and Ohio State’s Technology Commercialization Office. Before entering the intellectual property industry, she held engineering positions with Owens Corning developing wind turbine blade technology and with H.R. Technologies, Inc., a tier-two automotive materials supplier. Isheeta holds a Juris Doctor from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law where she served as Issue Editor for the technology journal I/S: A Journal of Law and Policy for the Information Society (now the Ohio State Technology Law Journal), as well as President of both the Intellectual Property Law Society and the South Asian Law Students Association. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan. Outside of Brooks Kushman, Isheeta is the current President of the South Asian Bar Association (SABA) of Michigan and currently serving on the Board of Directors for SABA North America and SABA Michigan. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family on the lake, checking out new restaurants, and traveling (when it’s not football season). Although she attended Ohio State for law school, Isheeta is true to her undergraduate degree from Michigan and can regularly be found sporting University of Michigan gear, especially every Saturday of football season at the Big House with her husband watching the Wolverines play.

Kyle Konz is an experienced patent attorney who takes the time to fully understand his clients’ technologies and business strategies to provide his clients with high-quality and tactical advice. Kyle focuses his practice on patent prosecution, post grant proceedings, and patent and trademark litigation. Kyle also manages trademark portfolios for several small businesses. Kyle works with a wide range of clients including Fortune 100 Corporations and small businesses. Kyle writes and prosecutes patent applications related to automotive, manufacturing, domestic appliances, and heating and cooling systems. A large part of Kyle current post grant and litigation practices relate to vehicle safety systems, connectivity, connected services, lighting, and exercise equipment. Kyle leverages his past engineering and hands-on experience to quickly learn inventions without requiring substantial time investments from inventors. Kyle’s practical experience allows him to understand how a particular invention fits within the larger system enabling him to fully capture the invention in context with the client’s overall goals. This provides the client with a more cohesive and valuable patent portfolio. Prior to joining the firm, Kyle worked for a consulting firm, assisting in the design of commercial and residential developments. While there, Kyle focused on sewer systems, residential roadways, and drainage systems. Kyle is also a certified auto mechanic. Outside of the office, Kyle enjoys action sports. In the winter, he is often found on the slopes with his snowboard, while in the summer he can be found behind a boat on his wakeboard.

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.