Anthony R. Zeuli

Assistant:

Carol Hough
chough@merchantgould.com
612.371.5257

Education

Bar Admissions

Professional Affiliations

Articles Authored

Tony is a trial lawyer specializing in Intellectual Property litigation, including patent and trademark litigation. He also has considerable experience before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Tony has handled patent and copyright litigation in China for multiple clients. He writes regular columns on IP law for the publications Intellectual Property Today and  Bench & Bar as well as periodic articles and talks on issues related to patent litigation, especially patent claim construction. Prior to joining Merchant & Gould, Tony was a physics engineer at Argonne National Laboratory, where he was involved in numerous engineering projects associated with the study of nuclear physics.

Tony's peers have voted him one of the Best Lawyers in America and a Minnesota Super Lawyer for several years. In 2008, 2009 and again in 2010, Tony was named one the Top 100 Super Lawyer's in Minnesota.

In 2010, Tony and a team of M&G lawyers and paralegals successfully resolved a multi-patent, multi-court litigation for an industry-leading manufacturing client. The M&G team utilized reexamination of the adverse party's patents and as well as their client's patents to obtain a stay of the litigation and strengthen their client's position. The Patent Office later confirmed the patentability of M&G's client's patents, while rejecting the patentability of the competitor's patents. The case resolved favorably for M&G's client after the Patent Office decisions.

Also in 2010, Tony represented an industry-leading electronics retailer in a trademark litigation against an online infringer. Tony was able to obtain a judgment for his client that not only transferred the defendant's domain name to Tony's client but also all of the defendant's phone numbers that had ever been associated with the infringing mark.

In 2009, Tony and small team of M&G lawyers represented another game manufacturer in a trademark dispute with a former distributor who was counterfeiting. Tony was able to convince the court to grant his client a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to stop the infringing sales. The win was especially gratifying given that another court had earlier questioned the validity of the client's mark in a separate proceeding handled by a different law firm.

In 2008, Tony was lead trial counsel on a patent infringement lawsuit against the world's largest game manufacturer. After a six-day trial, the jury returned a verdict and substantial monetary award in Tony's client's favor. Several years before a jury heard this case, Tony successfully argued an appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to have reversed an incorrect ruling by the district court that had ended the case.

Tony has been lead counsel on a number of patent infringement lawsuits for a large manufacturer of turf equipment. One case was successfully tried to an arbitration panel resulting in an invalidity decision in Tony's client's favor. Another recent case involved a full-day Markman hearing - the result of which was that 8 of the 9 claim terms were construed in Tony's client's favor. Another full-day Markman hearing this year that had difficult issues resulted in a significant ruling in Tony's client's favor.

In 2007, Tony was hired as co-lead counsel to replace a prominent Washington D.C. law firm on an inventorship dispute case against the world's largest DNA sequencing company. After taking several key depositions, and during the deposition of one of the defendant's founders, the case settled favorably for Tony's client.

Also in 2007, Tony was hired as co-lead counsel to replace another law firm on a trademark infringement lawsuit against a prominent national retailer and a large international clothing manufacturer. Tony and his co-counsel were able to quickly put together a strong and credible position from which a very favorable settlement was quickly reached.

Tony has been lead counsel on several patent infringement lawsuits for a major automotive parts manufacturer. All of the lawsuits (more than 6) have resulted in favorable outcomes for Tony's client.

Tony has also been lead counsel for glass manufacturer from the Czech Republic. A recent case for this client resulted in a significant award of damages, enhanced damages and attorney's fees.

In 2006, Tony was co-counsel for a satellite manufacturer accused of patent infringement. After a five-day jury trial in Minneapolis, the patent was held invalid and the plaintiff recovered nothing.

Tony represented three companies of the hundreds sued by the Lemelson Foundation for patent infringement concerning barcode scanners. When the claims were eventually dismissed against all three of Tony's clients, he was the only lawyer who brought a motion seeking the recovery of attorney's fees for his clients.

Tony has successfully represented an international importer of crematory urns in several copyright infringement lawsuits. The most recent lawsuit resulted in a favorable stipulated judgment.

Tony and others at Merchant & Gould successfully represented an international telecommunications company in patent infringement litigation in China. It was one of the first patent infringement lawsuits brought by a U.S. company against a Chinese company under China's recently enacted patent reform laws.

Tony and others at Merchant & Gould successfully tried a copyright infringement case to a jury in Minneapolis. The case involved two toy manufacturers at odds over a then-popular toy doll line.

Education

Hamline University
B.A., Physics, cum laude, 1990

DePaul University College of Law
J.D., with honors, 1995; Order of the Coif

Bar Admissions

Illinois State Bar, 1996
Illinois Federal Bar (N. Dist.), 1996
Minnesota State Bar, 1997
Minnesota Federal Bar, 1997
Colorado Federal Bar, 1999
United States Patent and Trademark Office, 1999
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Professional Affiliations

American Intellectual Property Law Association
American Bar Association
Hennepin County Bar Association
Minnesota Intellectual Property Law Association
Minnesota State Bar Association
Adjunct Professor, Advanced Trial Advocacy, William Mitchell College of Law
Faculty Member National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA)

Articles Authored 

Notes and Trends
Bench & Bar - Monthly

TRIAL LAWYER'S NOTEBOOK
Intellectual Property Today - Monthly

What's Needed to Own a Business Method? 
Bench & Bar November, 2009 

Perspectives on the Law: Intellectual Property
Bench & Bar - July 2004

Avoiding Patent Claim Construction Errors
The Federal Lawyer, Volume 51, Number Five - June 2004

Perspectives on the Law: Intellectual Property
Bench & Bar - June 2004

Perspectives on the Law: Intellectual Property
Bench & Bar - April 2004