Neil A. Smith
Co-Counsel
neil@rajpatent.com
Neil A. Smith is patent and trademark litigation co-counsel with Raj Abhyanker P.C. on complex intellectual property disputes. He is also a Partner of Ropers Majeski Kohn & Bentley. Mr. Smith’s practice includes litigation and counseling in patent, trademark, copyright , trade secret and unfair competition matters. Mr. Smith has represented a broad range of high-technology, corporate, software, and traditional brick-and-mortar businesses in technology, publishing, multi-media, video game and consumer product businesses, and is a frequent speaker and author on Internet and intellectual property subjects. In addition to traditional IP issues, he has specialized in Internet, gray market and anti-counterfeiting subjects, including ex parte restraining orders and asset freezes.
Mr. Smith He is peer rated AV® by Martindale-Hubbell and has been named multiple times by the California Super Lawyers® magazine in the area of Intellectual Property. He was was also recognized by the prestigious ranking company Chambers and Partners in its 2010 edition of Chambers USA in Intellectual Property: Copyright & Trade Secret.
Prior to joining Ropers Majeski Kohn & Bentley, Mr. Smith was a partner at both Sheppard Mullin and for more than 25 years at an intellectual property boutique firm, where he specialized in the full range of intellectual property matters in trademark, patent, unfair competition and copyright law. Prior to moving to California, he served as a law clerk to Judge Giles S. Rich, Associate Judge, United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals in Washington, D.C., 1972-1974 (Predecessor to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit). From 1969-1972 he was a Patent Attorney for the United States Atomic Energy Commission in Washington, D.C.
EDUCATION
J.D., Columbia University School of Law, 1969
Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
B.A., Physical Sciences, Columbia College, 1965
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, 1966
L.L.M., Patent and Trade Regulation, George Washington University Law School, 1973
COURT ADMISSIONS
California
US Patent and Trademark Office
MEMBERSHIPS & ASSOCIATIONS
Panel of Neutrals, International Trademark Association
Current Officer and Executive Committee Member, State Bar of California, International Law Section
Board of Directors American Intellectual Property Law Association, Trademark and Trade Name Committee Chairman, Licensing Committee Chairman, etc.
American Bar Association, PTC Section, Chairman Trademark and Trade Name, and Trade Secret Committee and, Trademark Office Affairs Committees, PTC Section delegate to RICO Committee, Chair of Div. II (Trademarks) and Chair of Div. IV (IP Related Legal Issues)
Advisory Board of the Patent, Trademark and Copyright Journal of the Bureau of National Affairs
Executive Committee Member, State Bar of California, Patent and Trademark Section
Delegate, California State Bar Convention
U.S. Dept. of Commerce Public Advisory Committee on Trademark Office Affairs
Trustee, United States Copyright Society
Board and Treasurer, National Council of Intellectual Property Law Associations
San Francisco Intellectual Property Law Association (SFIPLA)