Michael Neustel

U.S. Patent Attorney

Michael Neustel is a U.S. Patent Attorney who focuses on patent prosecution, trademark prosecution, infringement due diligence, Inter Partes Review (IPR), patent infringement litigation and trademark infringement litigation. Michael also counsels entrepreneurs and small-businesses on how best to protect their inventions and trademarks.

Education
North Dakota State University, B.S. Electrical & Electronics Engineering (1994)
University of South Dakota, J.D. (1997)

Bar Admissions
North Dakota State Bar
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Published Articles
IEEE – USA Today’s Engineer Online
Inventors Digest
InventNet

Interviews or Used as a Source
Bloomberg
The New York Times
Forbes ASAP
Wall Street Journal
Newsweek
CIO.com
Newsday
Inventors’ Digest

Recognition, Honors & Awards
IP Star by Managing IP Magazine

Past Speaking Engagements, Panels and Judging
Regional Judge for USPTO’s National Patent Application Drafting Competition (2022-2023)
2018 IP Roundtable with Senator Hoeven and USPTO Director Iancu
North Dakota State Bar Association
SBDC Knowledge Exchange Program (KEP) Conference
Cass County Bar Association
Minnesota Inventors Congress (MIC)
Wisconsin Innovation Service Center (WISC) Ideas to Profits Conference
National Inventor Summit
Small Business Development Center (SBDC)
Inventors Association of Manhattan
Certified Patent Valuation Analyst (CPVA)
Twin Ports Inventors & Entrepreneurs
Northern Plains Inventors Congress (Founder)
Marketplace of Ideas
Marketplace for Kids
InventRight
Enterprise Minnesota
The Power of Angel Investing (Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation)
Center for Innovation
North Dakota State University (NDSU)
University of North Dakota (UND)
University of Mary

Litigation Experience

  • New Products Marketing Corp. d/b/a Stringliner Company v. Empire Level Mfg., Corp., 3:03-cv-00005-RRE-KKK (2003 District of North Dakota) – Represented the North Dakota plaintiff Stringliner in a patent infringement case involving United States Patent No. 5,927,635.
  • Universal Electronics Inc. v. Intrigue Technologies, Inc., 8:02-cv-01089-GLT-AN (2003 Central District of California) – Represented the Canadian defendant Intrigue Technologies (a.k.a. Harmony Remote) against the publicly traded Universal Electronics in a patent infringement lawsuit involving six patents (U.S. Patent No. 5,959,751, U.S. Patent No. 5,689,353, U.S. Patent No. 5,228,077, U.S. Patent No. 5,255,313, U.S. Patent No. 5,552,917, and U.S. Patent No. 5,414,761). Represented the defendant until they were purchased by Logitech for $29 million and then Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges continued the litigation.
  • C&A Pro, LLC v. Pride Solutions, LLC, 04-cv-03994-JRT-FLN (2004 District of Minnesota) – Represented the North Dakota plaintiff C&A Pro in a patent infringement lawsuit involving seven patents (U.S. Patent No. 6,086,101, U.S. Patent No. 6,331,008, U.S. Patent No. 6,619,676, U.S. Patent No. 6,764,635, U.S. Patent No. D466,832, U.S. Patent No. D480,332, and U.S. Patent No. D485,786).
  • Spiel Associates, Inc. v. Gateway Bookbinding Systems, LTD, 1:03-cv-04696-FB-RLM (2003 Eastern District of New York) – Represented the Canadian defendant Gateway Bookbinding in a patent infringement lawsuit involving two patents (U.S. Patent No. 6,547,502 and U.S. Patent No. 6,726,426) and unfair competition litigation resulting in summary judgment in favor of my client after over six years of contentious litigation.
  • University of North Dakota v. James Hardie et al., 2:04-cv-00152-RRE-KKK (2004 District of North Dakota) – Represented UND and the EERC in a contentious lawsuit against the international company James Hardie involving a dispute over patent inventorship, misappropriation of trade secrets, copyright infringement, unfair competition, breach of contract and replevin. The Felhaber Larson Fenlon & Vogt PA law firm got involved to assist UND/EERC with respect to the non-patent matters, but I maintained lead role relating to the patent matters.  The Nilles Law Firm was local counsel for James Hardie.
  • New Products Marketing Corp. d/b/a Stringliner Company v. Lowes Companies, Inc., 4:06-cv-035-DLH-CSM (2006 District of North Dakota) – Represented the North Dakota plaintiff Stringliner in a patent infringement (U.S. Patent No. 5,927,635), trademark infringement and unfair competition lawsuit against the national retailer Lowe’s.
  • Schlagel, Inc. v. S-M Enterprises, Inc., 0:13-cv-00446-MJD-LIB (2013 District of Minnesota) – Represented defendant S-M Enterprises in a patent infringement lawsuit (U.S. Patent No. 5,593,019).

If you would like to speak with Michael, you can call him at 701-281-8822.