Craig Leavell

Craig D. Leavell

Partner
Craig Leavell helps intellectual property owners protect and enforce their rights and defends those accused of infringing the rights of others. With deep patent infringement and trade secrets litigation experience, Craig’s work spans many technologies and sectors. His practice includes utility and design patents, trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights, unfair trade and contract disputes. He’s known for his ability to efficiently digest the science and mechanics behind why technologies work, translating complicated facets before courts and juries.

Advising Fortune 500 companies to entrepreneurs, Craig defends clients before jury trials, bench trials and preliminary injunction hearings in both district and appellate courts around the country. He regularly represents clients in inter partes review (IPR) and post-grant review (PGR) trials before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), investigations before the International Trade Commission (ITC) and in mediations and arbitrations.

Craig’s vast experience includes working with many systems, such as sporting equipment, diesel engines, fuel systems, navigation systems, infotainment systems, telematics systems, power windows, railroad freight cars, data security, medical devices and methods of treatment, control systems, algorithms, and cryptocurrency. He also advises on CDMA and GSM wireless telecommunication devices, fiber optics, modems, semiconductor designs and processing techniques, image processing equipment and methods, video coding and decoding software and hardware, liquid crystal displays, high-speed and cloud-based printing technologies, and website technologies.

Beyond his intellectual property practice, Craig invests significant time in pro bono work. He finds helping those in need very rewarding, particularly when working with Lawyers for the Creative Arts.

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Curious by nature, I am driven to help my clients protect their ideas and innovations."
Credentials

Education

  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, B.S., general engineering, 1995, cum laude
  • University of Illinois College of Law, J.D., 1998, magna cum laude

Bar Admissions

  • Illinois
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Court Admissions

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Trial Bar)
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
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