Frank is the President of Brooks Kushman and focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation and post-grant proceedings. He is well-known by clients and colleagues for his strategies to solve clients’ most challenging IP issues.

With over 25 years of experience, Frank has successfully tried patent, trademark, trade secret and copyright cases in Federal Courts nationwide, the Courts of Appeals for the Sixth and Federal Circuits, and the International Trade Commission. As a registered patent attorney, Frank is authorized to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Frank has been lead counsel for a wide variety of clients, from individuals to major corporations, in intellectual property and commercial litigation matters.  His litigation experience spans across various technologies and industries including, automotive, consumer electronics, industrial technologies, food and beverage, and home appliances.

Frank’s practice also includes post-grant proceedings.  He works with clients to challenge or defend patents through administrative trial procedures created under the America Invents Act (AIA). In addition to counseling clients, he has been a vital component to developing Brooks Kushman’s Post-Grant Proceedings practice by mentoring and training other attorneys.

Early on in his career, Frank served as a law clerk to the Hon. Glenn L. Archer, Jr., former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Frank also serves on the Board of Directors for Challenge Detroit, a revitalization effort designed to attract and retain new talent into the City of Detroit.

Representative Matters

Ford Motor Company v. TMC Fuel Injection, LLC (PTAB) – Representing Ford as a defendant in a patent lawsuit involving fuel injection technologies.  BK employed IPR proceedings to obtain admissions regarding claim scope that led the district court to grant summary judgment of non-infringement, which the Federal Circuit affirmed.

Ford Global Technologies, LLC v. New World International, Inc. (Jury Trial – N.D. Texas): Trial counsel for plaintiff Ford in a patent lawsuit involving thirteen design patents. Obtained favorable summary judgment, claim construction, and other pre-trial rulings. The jury found willful infringement of all thirteen patents and against all invalidity challenges and awarded Ford the defendants’ total profits from the infringement. Obtained an award of almost $3 million in profits and attorneys’ fees as well as the entry of a permanent injunction.  Case No. 3:17-cv-03201

In the matter of Certain Automotive Parts (ITC): Trial counsel for Ford Motor Company in a design patent lawsuit directed to vehicle replacement parts. Obtained infringement finding and upheld validity of seven design patents and obtained a General Exclusion Order preventing any infringing parts from entering the United States. Inv. No. 337-TA-557

Ameranth, Inc. v. Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (Summary Judgment – S.D. California): Successfully defended Domino’s Pizza in a patent infringement suit relating to menu generation and synchronization of data for mobile devices. Obtained summary judgment of unpatentability on a patent asserted against Domino’s and 30 other parties. Also served as counsel for Covered Business Method proceedings where the Patent Trial and Appeal Board held three other asserted patents unpatentable.
Case No. 3:11-cv-01810

Automotive Body Parts Assoc. v. Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Summary Judgment – E.D. Michigan): Obtained summary judgment for Ford Global on plaintiff’s declaratory judgment claims concerning Ford Global’s design patents. Case No. 2:15-cv-10137

Ford Motor Company v. Paice LLC (PTAB): Represented Ford during the pendency of the 22 inter partes review proceedings challenging the validity of hundreds of claims across five separate patents.  Managed proceedings through final written decision where the Patent Trial and Appeal Board held 273 patent claims were unpatentable. Case No. IPR2014-00571, IPR2014-00904, IPR2015-00722, IPR2015-00790

Paice LLC v. Ford Motor Company Representative (Federal Circuit): Successfully represented Ford in numerous appeals challenging the Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions that had found hundreds of patent claims as being unpatentable. Case No. IPR2016-1412, IPR2016-1746, IPR2017-1387, IPR2017-1263

In re Certain Hybrid Electric Vehicles (ITC):  Trial counsel for Ford Motor Company in multi-patent investigation directed to hybrid electric vehicles. Settlement after trial. Case No. 337-TA-1042

I.E.E. International Electronics & Engineering, S.A. and IEE Sensing, Inc. v. TK Holdings Inc. and Takata-Petri A.G. (Summary Judgment – E.D. Michigan): Successfully defended IEE companies in patent infringement suit relating to capacitive occupant sensors. Obtained summary judgment of non-infringement of four asserted patents. Case concluded in a favorable settlement for our client in the amount of $1.1 Million. Case No. 10-cv-13487

RawCar Group, LLC v. Grace Medical et. al. (Jury Trial – S.D. California): Successfully represented plaintiff in patent infringement action on two patents. Court found both patents valid and infringed on summary judgment. At trial, jury awarded damages and found defendants willful. Case No. 13-cv-01105

Recognitions

“Lawyer of the Year,” Best Lawyers, 2013, 2016-2018, 2020-2021

“Leading Lawyer,” Leading Lawyer Magazine, 2014-2019

“Michigan Litigator of the Year,” Managing Intellectual Property, 2015-2017

“IAM Patent 1000 Recommended Individual,” Intellectual Asset Management, 2014 – 2021

“IP Star,” Managing Intellectual Property, 2013-2021

“Leading Individuals,” Chambers USA, 2017-2020

Best Lawyers in America, 2007-2022

“Leader in the Law,” Michigan Lawyers Weekly 2015

Michigan Super Lawyers, Intellectual Property, 2007-2021

“Top Lawyer,” DBusiness Magazine, 2009, 2011-2013, 2015-2017, 2019-2022

Presentations

Panelist, “Alice & Mayo: How CAFC & District Courts Treat 101 Absent Congressional Intervention,” Patent Masters™ Litigation 2021, IPWatchdog, June 2021

Moderator, “State of Play: Who Owns What and What are the Implications,” Auto IP Event, Intellectual Asset Management and Brooks Kushman P.C., September 2020

Co-Presenter, “2018-2019 Supreme Court Intellectual Property Review” BK Webinar, July 2019

Panelist, “IAM Boardroom: PTAB,” Intellectual Asset Management, Chicago, IL, May 2018

Panelist, “Ex Parte and Inter Partes Patent Appeals Concerning Obviousness” The Intersection of the PTO Practice and the Courts, Federal Circuit Bar Association, April 2017

Panelist, IP in the Auto Industry Conference, May 2016

Speaker, Inside Counsel Super Conference, May 2015

Brooks Kushman P.C.

At the heart of our practice is the recognition that strong, personal relationships are essential to creating, sustaining, and nurturing our clients. We do not think of ourselves as just our clients’ intellectual property advisor, but as a part of their team. Brooks Kushman has built a national reputation as a premier intellectual property law firm. Our team of highly dedicated attorneys and professional staff uphold this reputation every day through their unparalleled focus on client service and active involvement in our communities.

Our mission is to generate value for our clients’ businesses. We accomplish this through cutting-edge intellectual property representation, supportive working relationships, and the recognition that we must earn our reputation every day by delivering superior client service and results.

We understand the vitality of our firm lies in our ability to continue to recruit, educate, and retain diverse, high-caliber professionals. Because of this, we prioritize making Brooks Kushman the best law firm to work for , and creating a culture where people enjoy coming into work each day. We staff engagements with small, diverse teams, and offer our associates opportunities to make a meaningful impact early in their careers.