Ellen Bierman is a registered patent attorney specializing in software, Internet, business process, and computer-related patents, trademarks, portfolio strategy, and litigation. She also develops presentations on intellectual property protection for clients, performs due diligence studies, and provides infringement and validity opinions. Prior to joining LOWE GRAHAM JONES PLLC, Ellen prosecuted patents and counseled clients for over eighteen years at Seed Intellectual Property Law Group, where she was chair of the Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Group from 2004-2009.
She received her A.B. in Arts and Sciences from Cornell University and her M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Washington. Her graduate study included research in the areas of object-oriented computer architecture and network-based operating systems. She received a J.D. (summa cum laude) from the University of Puget Sound, now Seattle University, where she was an associate editor for the Law Review.
Ellen’s professional experience includes over ten years research and development and management experience at various companies, including Microsoft Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Company, Digital Equipment Corporation, and a start-up computer company. She has also owned her own company in user interface design and consulting. As a software professional, she has extensive expertise in the areas of operating systems, user interface design, and object-oriented software.
She is also an Alpine Level-III Certified Professional Ski Instructor and trains snow sport instructors.
- J.D., University of Puget Sound (Seattle University School of Law), with honors
- M.S., Computer Science, University of Washington
- A.B., Arts and Sciences, Cornell University
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington
- All Washington State Courts
- Various Admissions Pro Hac Vice
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- Washington State Bar Association
- Federal Circuit Bar Association
- American Intellectual Property Law Association, IP Litigation Section Member
- Seattle Intellectual Property American Inn of Court (part of the “Judge Linn Alliance” of specialty IP Inns of Court)
- Washington State Patent Law Association
- Co-author, Software Patents, Procuring and Enforcing, 2000, Patent Resources Group, Florida, April 2000
- Co-author, Litigation Issues on the Information Superhighway, presented at The Electronic Information Law Institute, BDA, San Francisco, CA, March 1995
- It Walks Like a Duck, Talks Like a Duck,… But Is It a Duck? Making Sense of Substantial Similarity Law as It Applies to User Interfaces, 16 U. of Puget Sound Law Rev. 1, 319, 1992
- Guest Lecturer, University of Washington School of Law (2014), IP Seminar
- Substitute Lecturer, University of Washington Computer Science and Engineering (2013), Intellectual Property Law for Engineers
- Various seminars developed for in-house client presentation
- Various seminars for in-house CLEs on 35 U.S.C. §101 Subject Matter Patentability
- Introduction to Patents, Patent Prosecution, Patent Litigation, Speaker for LawReviewCLE, Seattle, Washington CLE (2011)
- Impact of the U.S. Patent Office’s New Proposed Rules for IDSes and the New Rules for Accelerated Examination on Potential Future Claims for Inequitable Conduct, Panel Speaker for the University of Washington’s Center for Advanced Study and Research on Intellectual Property (CASRIP), High Technology Protection Summit, Washington CLE (2007)
- Co-Chair and Speaker on Warning Letters, Pre & Early Stage Patent Litigation, Washington CLE (2005)
- Co-taught and developed 3-day course for Software Patents, Procuring and Enforcing, 2000, Patent Resources Group, Florida, CLE (2000)
- Software Patents, 8th Annual Computer Law Conference, Law Seminars Int’l, Washington CLE (1997)