Michael specializes in intellectual property litigation, patent and trademark prosecution, and client counseling. He has held a range of positions in IP law, including in-house patent counsel for a pharmaceutical company, and founding member of a patent department within a large, general practice firm.

Michael has handled patent, trademark, copyright, trade dress, domain name, and false advertising litigation matters in courts across the country. He has been recognized for his outstanding legal work by being listed in Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyers, Intellectual Property Litigation, Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business; Band 2 - Kansas, Intellectual Property, The Best Lawyers in America, Trademark Law, Martindale-Hubbell; AV Preeminent Attorneys.

Representative Litigation Matters

• Obtained dismissal with prejudice of a trademark infringement claim against a fireworks distributor. 
• Obtained jurisdiction over a foreign corporation in litigation involving claims for correction of patent inventorship and theft of trade secrets that then lead to a negotiated settlement of the dispute.
• Obtained favorable Markman claim construction rulings that lead to negotiated resolution of patent litigation involving wireless portable lift systems.
• Successfully defended manufacturer of industrial gas turbines in trial of patent infringement claims brought by industry leader.
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of national household products company that its food steamers did not infringe patent-in-suit.
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of medical device reprocessing company that its activities did not constitute patent and trademark infringement.
• Obtained summary judgment for automotive parts supplier that statements made by its sales personnel were not false advertising.
• Successfully defended against preliminary injunction sought against national pet food company involving false advertising claim.
• Obtained order transferring ownership of Internet domain name in Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy proceeding.
• Argued appeal to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals and obtained reversal of preliminary injunction entered in patent case.
• Defended national retailer against trade dress infringement claims involving multi-purpose tools.
• Obtained dismissal of patent infringement lawsuit involving chemical distillation trays as being preempted by mandatory arbitration agreement.
• Obtained trademark counterfeiting seizure order on behalf of industrial valve manufacturer.
• Obtained award of maximum statutory damages in trial of copyright infringement case involving cemetery plot.
• Negotiated settlements of patent litigation matters involving a wide variety of technologies, such as oil-field tooling, powered rotary knives, polymeric sound-dampening materials, trailer wiring, molecular sieves, insecticidal paints, medical devices, recreational vehicle air conditioners, and rumble-strip machinery.