Kourtney Mueller Merrill
Kourtney successfully represents leading technology companies in some of their most important and challenging intellectual property matters.
Kourtney Mueller Merrill focuses on intellectual property (IP) strategy and litigation, including patent litigation, inter partes review proceedings, and complex commercial litigation involving IP issues. She excels at early and creative dispute resolution.
Kourtney litigates IP disputes around the country, including before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, the U.S. International Trade Commission, and a number of federal district courts and state courts. She is experienced in all phases of litigation and works with clients in a breadth of technical fields including semiconductors, software, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. In addition to Kourtney’s extensive patent experience, she advises clients on design patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and unfair competition.
Kourtney is also a volunteer lawyer for the Rocky Mountain Children's Law Center domestic violence guardian ad litem program for children affected by temporary protective order proceedings in the Denver County Court.
Education & Credentials
Education
- University of Texas School of Law, J.D., with honors, Order of the Coif, 2005
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln, B.S., Biological Systems Engineering, with highest distinction, 2002
Bar and Court Admissions
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Colorado
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U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
Related Employment
- Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Denver, CO, Associate, 2005-2011; Summer Associate, 2004
- Shook, Hardy & Bacon, LLP, Kansas City, MO, Summer Associate, 2004; Legal Intern, 2003
Professional Recognition
Listed in Denver's Top Lawyers by 5280 Denver's Mile High Magazine, 2024
Listed in Intellectual Asset Management Patent 1000, 2022-2024
Listed in The Best Lawyers in America: Litigation - Intellectual Property; Patent Law, 2024
Listed in Super Lawyers, "Colorado Rising Stars," Intellectual Property, 2018-2020
Selected to Colorado General Counsel Group Advisor Program, 2018-2020
Insights
News
Professional Experience
Patent Litigation
Realtime Adaptive, LLC v. Veritas Technologies LLC, et al.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Representing Lumen Technologies in a patent infringement action involving data compression technology.
Norman International, Inc., et al. v. Hunter Douglas, Inc., et al.
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
Represented Norman in a competitor action involving cordless window covering technology.
Gates Corporation v. Optibelt Corporation
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Represented Gates in a competitor action involving polyurea-urethane cord treatment technology.
Realtime Data, LLC v. Code42 Software, Inc.
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
Represented Code42 in a patent infringement action involving data compression technology.
Advanced Transit Dynamics, Inc. v. Ridge Corporation
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Represented ATDynamics in a competitor action involving aerodynamic devices and won a preliminary injunction. Settled shortly thereafter.
Legacy Building Solutions, Inc. v. Accu Steel, Inc.
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
Represented Accu Steel in a competitor action involving keder rail technology.
Vantage Point Technology v. Broadcom Corporation
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Represented Broadcom in connection with infringement claims brought by Vantage Point relating to ARM processors.
MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. v. Gigoptix, Inc.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
Represented MACOM in a competitor action involving high speed optical communication device technology.
Potter Voice Technologies v. Microsoft Corporation
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
Represented Microsoft in its defense against claims of patent infringement involving speech recognition in mobile device technology.
Intellectual Property Litigation
Technetics Group Daytona, Inc. v. N2 Biomedical, LLC
State of North Carolina Business Court
Represented Technetics in a complex commercial litigation dispute.
Melin LLC et al. v. Love Your Melon, Inc. et al.
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
Represented Melin and Alohat in a competitor trademark infringement and unfair competition action.
Inter Partes Review (IPR)
Cradlepoint Inc. et al. v. Sisvel International S.A.
IPR2020-01099, IPR2020-01103, IPR2021-00580
Represent Sierra Wireless as lead counsel in inter partes review proceedings for U.S. Patent Nos. 6,529,561, 8,879,503, and 7,869,396 involving cellular radio system technology.
Laird Technologies, Inc. v. MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc.
IPR2015-00667, IPR2015-00670
Represented MACOM in inter partes review proceedings for U.S. Patent No. 6,272,349 involving global positioning system (GPS) receiver technology. Settled.
Norman International, Inc. v. Hunter Douglas Inc. et al.
Represented Norman International in inter partes review proceedings for U.S. Patent Nos. 6,283,192 and 6,968,884. Final written decision.