Robert G. Sterne

Sterne Kessler

Robert is a founding director of Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C. in Washington, D.C. He has extensive expertise in AIA post issuance proceedings and concurrent patent litigation, USITC 337 investigations, Federal Circuit appeals, EU and China enforcement, reexamination, patent monetization and licensing, and corporate intellectual property best practices (CIPO and Board of Directors). He is a registered U.S. patent attorney, has spoken and written extensively on these topics, was named in 2015 by the Financial Times as one of the "Top Ten Legal Innovators in North America," was named in 2015 by Law360 as one of “The Top 25 Icons of IP,” and was named in 2014 by The National Law Journal as an “Intellectual Property Trailblazer and Pioneer.” He is editor in chief of Patent Office Litigation (2012), and Patent Office Litigation 2nd Edition (2017) (Thomson Reuters). He is counsel in more than 200 PTAB contested proceedings and has played a key role in precedent-setting U.S. case law, including: In re Beauregard, (Fed. Cir. 1995), KSR (SCT. 2007), i4i (SCT. 2011), In re Jung (Fed. Cir. 2011), ETG (Fed Cir. 2012), and Hear Wear (Fed. Cir. 2014). Among many honors, he is the recipient of the Sedona Conference Award for Excellence in Advanced Legal Education (2004), the Sedona Lifetime Achievement Award (2012), and the 2012 Attorney of the Year “Good Scout” Award for his leadership in community service. He has been at the forefront of software patent protection, having represented IBM in the precedent setting In re Beauregard case that produced the 1996 USPTO software patent guidelines and having delivered in 1985 the seminal AI and Expert System Legal Protection presentation before the AIPLA. Rob is a Chair Emeritus of The Sedona Conference’s Working Group 10 on Patent Litigation Best Practices (WG10) Steering Committee.