Michael Silliman helps companies secure, protect, and enforce their technology. Michael practices in all areas of intellectual property law, including patent and trade secret litigation, adversarial proceedings at the USPTO (including inter partes review), patent prosecution, and technology transactions. Michael is a first-chair PTAB litigator and has represented both patent owners and defendants in district court and at the Federal Circuit. Michael also counsels clients on U.S. and international patent portfolio management, freedom-to-operate analyses, and licensing strategies.
Michael advises clients on matters involving a broad array of technologies, including energy tech, renewables, oil & gas, computer systems, AI, flash memory, software, electrical devices, and clean energy.
Michael assists clients in the IP-related aspects of corporate and technology transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, joint development arrangements, licensing, contracting and employment arrangements. Michael assists clients in crafting and negotiating agreements relating to IP ownership, IP transfers, confidentiality, software development and other commercial arrangements, including MSAs and SaaS agreements.
Michael is a frequent guest lecturer and speaker on IP matters, including tech transactions. Michael serves on the Intellectual Property Owners Association's IP Licensing Committee and on the AIPLA's Model Patent Jury Instructions Subcommittee.
Michael has a strong commitment to pro bono legal services, and has helped pro bono clients obtain asylum, seek tax relief, avoid wrongful eviction, and defend their civils rights in § 1983 actions.
Related Experience
- Art+Com Innovationpool GmbH v. Google Inc. (District of Delaware) - Representing Art+Com in a patent case involving the methodology for displaying a pictorial representation of space-related objects (e.g., the methodology of Google Earth).
- Preparation and prosecution of patent applications for a number of clients including Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
- Represented plaintiff in Section 1983 civil rights lawsuit through jury verdict in federal court.
Education
J.D., Vanderbilt University Law School 2014Articles Editor, Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law
ABA-BNA Award for excellence in Intellectual Property
President, Vanderbilt Intellectual Property Association
B.S., Chemical Engineering, Northwestern University 2011
Admissions & Affiliations
State Bar of Texas
United States Patent and Trademark Office
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of Texas
Houston Intellectual Property Law Association
Houston Young Lawyers Association
Houston Bar Association
American Bar Association