Eric L. Sophir

A man in a dark suit, light blue shirt, and patterned tie smiles at the camera in a modern corporate law office, reflecting the professionalism of Chicago lawyers.

Partner

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Eric L. Sophir

Partner

[email protected]

Washington, D.C. 202.295.4149

Sectors

Practice Areas

Education

Franklin Pierce Law Center (now University of New Hampshire) (J.D.)
- Extern for Judge Randall Rader (ret), former chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- Senior editor, IDEA: The Journal of Law and Technology
- Received highest grade in “Trademark and Unfair Competition Law” class
- Served as a teaching assistant
Cornell University (B.S.)

Admissions

District of Columbia
Virginia
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Eric Sophir develops and implements strategies that obtain, protect, and monetize meaningful patents for startups to Fortune 50 companies.

An intellectual property partner with �鶹��ý, Eric counsels clients on protecting innovations gaining market share the risks and value associated with acquiring, licensing, or otherwise commercializing a patent portfolio resolving patent disputes and monetizing patents. His practice includes patent preparation and prosecution; infringement and validity analysis in patent litigation; licensing and selling; due diligence; clearance and landscape analysis; and post-grant proceedings. He also advises on prosecution strategies to better protect a product or more effectively deter competitors. His practice emphasizes portfolio development, including invention harvesting and patent filing strategies.

Eric’s focus on strategic portfolio development involves identifying and pursuing meaningful protection for innovations across various industries. Early in his career, much of this centered around fintech, insuretech, and government contracting, all of which were exploring artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud computing, and cloud computing solutions before they were more widely adopted and when those solutions now called “AI” were aimed at “big data.” Eric’s work now also entails autonomous vehicles, computer vision, medical devices, fraud detection and authentication, chip design, semiconductors, telecommunications, e-commerce, and consumer products.

Eric has litigation experience and handles complex enforcement and defensive patent disputes at the federal district courts and Federal Circuit, as well as reexamination, reissue, inter partes review, and post grant review proceedings. This litigation counseling often includes patent portfolio development aimed at the competitor’s products. He also conducts analyses and prepares opinions regarding patent infringement, invalidity, and enforceability, as well as freedom-to-operate and design-around analysis for soon-to-be released products and services.

According to Chambers USA, Eric is “a very strategic and thoughtful lawyer who is exceptional at what he does,” and “a highly sophisticated patent attorney from both a technical and legal perspective.” Clients also note that he “provides highly valuable intelligence, with a patent strategy based on PTO insight and litigation experience.”

While studying engineering at Cornell University, Eric conducted research for Professor L. F. Eastman regarding the growth and use of gallium nitride, a III-V semiconductor. One aspect of the research was attempting to grow a semiconductor that would emit a wavelength suitable for blue light.

Awards and Recognition

Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business – Intellectual Property: Patent Prosecution, District of Columbia (2013-2026)
Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) magazine’s Patent 1000 – Patent Prosecution (2019-2021, 2024)
Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) magazine’s Strategy 300: The World’s Leading IP Strategists (2021)
The Legal 500 – Patent Prosecution (including reexamination and post-grant proceedings) (2019)
Super Lawyers® (Washington, D.C.) – Intellectual Property (2016-2019)
Euromoney – Patent Expert (2015-2017, 2022)

Affiliations

Dean’s Advisory Council, University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law (2018-present)
Mentor, C5 Accelerate (2020-2021)
Mentor, Verizon Forward for Good Accelerator (2023)
Editorial board member, Law360, Intellectual Property (2013-2015)
Advisory board member, Patents for Financial Services Summit (2012-2015)

Presentations and Publications

Co-Author, “Web IP Ruling Illustrates Ways To Clear Hurdles To Eligibility,” Law360 (Nov. 4, 2022)
Co-author, “Striking a Balance between Quality and Value in a Patent Portfolio,” IP Watchdog (Oct. 27, 2022)
Co-author, “5 Key IP Considerations for AI Startups,” TechCrunch+ (Oct. 7, 2022)
Co-author, “Intellectual Property Risks in the Metaverse: Protection, Jurisdiction and Enforcement,” IP Watchdog (July 18, 2022)
Co-author, “Key Strategies for Patenting Big Data Solutions,” Law360 (April 18, 2022)
Co-author, “Blockchain for Digital Logistics and Smart Warehouses,” Dashboard Insights (Feb. 10, 2022)
Co-author, “Not by the Same Token: NFTs in Supply Chain,” Manufacturing Industry Advisor (Nov. 16, 2021)
Co-author, “Patent Portfolio Development Considerations for NFT Innovations,” IAM (July 15, 2021)
Co-author, “Telemedicine Companies Can Use Patent Law as a Strategic Advantage,” Health Care Law Today (June 8, 2021)
Co-author, “Patenting Strategies for Nonfungible Token Technology,” Law360 (March 25, 2021)
Co-author, “The Robot’s Invention: Patent Considerations In AI,” Law360 (July 9, 2018)
Moderator, “The Future is Now: Managing a Successful In-House IP Practice,” �鶹��ý’s 18th Annual IP Conference (October 14, 2022)
Moderator, “Framework for Strategic Patenting & Portfolio Management,” Global IP ConfEx (June 15, 2022)
Moderator, “How to best protect, enforce and exploit IP in the AI and IOT Era,” Conference Gorilla (May 9, 2022)
Panelist, “The Blockchain as a Means for Technology Transfer,” 2022 AUTM Annual Meeting (Feb. 22, 2022)
Panelist, “Adapting the IP System to New Technologies,” IPR Gorilla Virtual IP Conference (Feb. 17, 2022)
Moderator, “Patents Versus Trade Secrets: What You Need to Know and How Can We Choose between Them?” IPR Gorilla Virtual IP Conference (Nov. 10, 2021)
Adjunct Instructor, “Technology Transactions – IP Strategy I & II,” Cornell University Technology & Entrepreneurship Program, New York, New York (Oct. 20 and 21, 2021)
Presenter, “NFTs: Legal Issues and Opportunities,” ABA Business Law Section (Sept. 24, 2021)
Presenter, “Minting & Selling an NFT,” �鶹��ý Webinar (Sept. 14, 2021)
Presenter, “How patents encourage innovation in technological development and deployment?” IPR Gorilla Virtual IP Conference (Aug. 26, 2021) (voted best session)
Presenter, “Patents as NFTs: Tokenization and Implications for Ownership, Valuation, and Licensing; Securities Law Compliance,” Strafford Webinar (July 20, 2021)
Presenter, “Blockchain & Tackling NFTs in Sports & Entertainment,” �鶹��ý Webinar (June 29, 2021)
Presenter, “NFTs: Exploring the Legal and Business Challenges of Monetizing Unique Content with Digital Assets,” �鶹��ý Webinar (May 20, 2021)
Presenter, “The Value of Patents in Distribution and Franchise Ecosystems: Gaining Competitive Advantage Through Intellectual Property Assets,” �鶹��ý Webinar (May 13, 2021)
Presenter, “IP Trending Challenges in Future of the Internet of Things (IoT),” IPR Gorilla Virtual IP Conference (April 8, 2021)
Presenter, “Knowing When and How to Pivot 2.0,” �鶹��ý’s 16th Annual IP Conference (Oct. 16, 2020)
Moderator, “Impact on IP Business – The new reality post-pandemic,” IPR Gorilla Virtual IP Conference (Sept. 23, 2020)
Moderator, “Reducing patent prosecution spend while increasing likelihood of allowability,” IP Law & Management Institute, West Lake Village, California (Nov. 3, 2019)
Adjunct instructor, “Technology Transactions – Patent Prosecution,” Cornell University Technology & Entrepreneurship Program, New York, New York (Oct. 3, 2019)
Moderator, “Advanced Patent Portfolio Strategies,” IP Law & Management Institute, Los Angeles, California (Nov. 4, 2018)
Adjunct Instructor, “Technology Transactions – Patent Prosecution,” Cornell University Technology & Entrepreneurship Program, New York, New York (Sept. 27, 2018)
Moderator, “Increase patent portfolio value by optimizing and strengthening patent assets using various Patent Office procedures,” 15th Annual Patents for Financial Services Summit, New York, New York (July 25-26, 2018)