James W. Beard is an IP attorney in Merchant & Gould’s Denver office. While his practice involves all facets of intellectual property law, James focuses on patent, trade secret, and trade dress litigation for clients from a diverse range of industries.

IP Litigation Attorney With Over 10 Years of Experience

James brings over ten years of litigation experience on complex matters to the table. His experience includes representing high-technology household names and Fortune 500 companies in a wide range of industries such as:

Computer hardware and software
Electronics
Consumer products and technology
Biotechnology
Medical devices

James works in all stages of litigation, from general advice and counseling to complex discovery, trials, and appeals. His experience also includes motion practice, claim construction, and post-trial motion practice and appeal. In the past, he’s represented clients in district courts around the country, the International Trade Commission and the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

Dedicated to Creating Innovative Strategies for IP Cases

Intellectual property cases are complex and require a great depth of strategy to address each client’s overarching business goals. James prides himself on being able to find novel and innovative arguments based on complex fact patterns and aligning his clients’ business interests with their litigation needs.

Litigation Requires Curiosity

Litigation requires curiosity; attorneys must enjoy seeking new challenges, arguments, and ideas to best serve their clients. As an inquisitive litigator, James is passionate about new technology as well as discovering how innovative techniques and methods can benefit his clients.

James received his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of Law. He has been selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers Rising Stars Edition lists each year from 2013 to 2019. He has also authored multiple publications, including:

Chapter Editor, Annual Review of Intellectual Property Law Developments, American Bar Association, Intellectual Property Section (2011).
Karen Boyd and James Beard, Patent Marking: True AND False in 11^th Annual Silicon Valley Advanced Patent Law Institute, Advanced Patent Law Institute (2010).
James Beard, Note: A Better Carrot: Incentivizing Patent Reexamination, 1 Hastings Sci. & Tech. L.J. 169 (2009).
James Beard and Albert Halluin, An Analysis of CIGS Solar Cell Technology, 6 Nano. L. & Bus. 19 (2009).
James Beard, The Limits of Licensing: Quanta v. LGE and the New Doctrine of Simultaneous Exhaustion, 2008 UCLA J. L. Tech. 3 (2008)
James Beard, Weeds in the Docket: Patent Continuation Reform and Its Effects on the Biotechnology Industry, 90 J. Pat. & Trademark Off. Soc’y 423 (2008).

In his spare time, James enjoys downhill skiing, road cycling, home brewing, and Texas-style barbecue.

Representative Cases

Represented plaintiff and counter-defendant as lead counsel in multi-forum patent and trade dress dispute. Secured dismissals with prejudice of patent claims, six denials of institution of petitions for inter partes review, and an amicable settlement agreement was reached dismissing all claims between the parties.

Before joining, James was involved in representations including:

Represented an HVAC manufacturer in multi-patent dispute, that resulted in a final verdict of non-infringement in favor of the client and additional verdicts of invalidity for numerous asserted claims.

Represented a consumer products manufacturer in a multi-forum dispute spanning district court, the International Trade Commission, and the Court of International Trade, which resulted in an amicable resolution.

Represented a consumer products manufacturer in a patent dispute relating to the use of QR codes. Secured a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice following filing of a motion to dismiss and exchange of invalidity positions.

Education

University of California, Hastings College of the Law,
J.D., 2009, Executive Editor, Hastings Communications & Entertainment Law Journal

University of California, Berkeley,
B.S., Political Science, Religious Studies, 2006, Highest Honors in Religious Studies; Distinction in General Scholarship

Admissions

Colorado State Bar
California State Bar
Washington State Bar

Publications & Speaking

Publications

INSIGHT: How Covid-19 Changed the Future of Litigation, Co-Authored with Heather Kliebenstein, Bloomberg Law (May 7, 2020)

Best Practices For Managing Litigation During Pandemic, Co-Authored with Heather Kliebenstein, Law360 (April 23, 2020).

MEDIA CENTER

All Media

Articles

5/7/20

INSIGHT: How Covid-19 Changed the Future of Litigation

Covid-19 is proving to be the impetus the legal industry needed to embrace remote technologies, Merchant & Gould attorneys write. They look at how law firms are adjusting to new technologies now and how courts may adopt new technologies going forward. In ...

Press Releases

1/21/20

Merchant & Gould Hires Attorney, as Denver Office Grows

Merchant & Gould is pleased to announce that James Beard joined the firm’s Denver office as a partner on Jan. 10.As an IP trial lawyer, James brings more than 10 years of experience to the Litigation Practice Group, representing high-technology household ...