Peter J. Prommer

What do you focus on?

My practice focuses on protecting, leveraging, and defending clients’ intellectual property rights.

With my prior experience in research and as a licensed professional engineer with an international engineering consulting firm, I understand the creative and problem solving processes in the development of intellectual property. I counsel clients on implementing effective intellectual property strategies that include value-enhancing solutions that align with their business objectives. This includes counseling clients on patents, trademarks, IP portfolio development, and competitive intelligence, as well as opinion and enforcement matters.

My patent counseling experience includes developing and executing effective strategies for global patent portfolios in mechanical, electronics, software, and materials science technologies. I further advise clients on opinion and post-issuance matters, including enforcement, inter partes review, and other post-grant proceedings. Technologies I have provided counsel on include wearable devices, digital health care solutions, medical devices, micro-fluidic systems, computer hardware, networking systems, software-based systems, optical systems, imaging systems, propulsion systems, battery systems, consumer goods, composite materials, packaging systems, and infrastructure systems.

I further advise foreign entities on various business issues as they consider furthering their activities into the U.S. market.

What do you see on the horizon?

Patent-eligible subject matter continues to be an issue, particularly for software and computer-implemented inventions. This area of law continues to evolve following the Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank ruling by the Supreme Court and the ongoing efforts by the Federal Circuit to interpret the decision. I continue to analyze patent protection strategies that minimize risk in this area to allow companies to more effectively grow their intellectual property.

Presentations

• “IP Policy and Innovator Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence: A Virtual Chat with the USPTO and entigenlogic®,” Illinois Intellectual Property Alliance, Webinar, June 30, 2021 (Moderator)
• “A View into the Intellectual Property Crystal Ball Under the New Biden Administration,” Nixon Peabody’s 2021 Virtual CLE Week, Webinar, March 15, 2021 (Speaker)
• “Intellectual Property Strategies to Improve Your Company's Competitiveness,” Chicago Connectory, Webinar, June 16, 2020 (Speaker)
• “Intellectual Property in SMEs – How IP Strategies Can Improve Your Competitiveness,” German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest Business Luncheon, Schaumburg, IL, March 4, 2020 (Speaker)
• “Wired Attire: The IP and Business of Wearable Tech,” Nixon Peabody’s Modern IP Lawyer: A Boot Camp for Success Seminar, Chicago, IL, June 8, 2017 (Moderator)
• “Post-Grant Challenges: Recent Decisions and the (Slow) Growth of PGR Proceedings,” Nixon Peabody IP Corporate Seminar, Chicago, June 2, 2016 (Speaker)
• “Update on Inter Partes and Post-Grant Reviews,” Nixon Peabody IP Corporate Seminar, Chicago, June 2, 2015 (Speaker)
• “Patent Killers? What the New AIA Post-Grant Challenges Tell Us About the Future of Patents,” Nixon Peabody IP Corporate Seminar, Chicago, June 3, 2014 (Speaker)
• “Staying Out of Trouble While Being Social: Ethical Dilemmas Posed by Social Media,” Nixon Peabody’s Spring CLE Symposium on Intellectual Property, Chicago, May 2012 (Speaker)
• “Recent Developments—Trademarks,” Nixon Peabody IP Corporate Seminar, Chicago, June 2011 (Speaker)

Representative Experience

• Represent leading health care and technology companies on strategically building global patent portfolios related to wearable devices, durable medical devices, digital healthcare solutions, monitoring devices, and health care management systems
• Represent leading computer hardware manufacturers on strategically building and protecting their intellectual property portfolios, including in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
• Represent international leaders in engineering, manufacturing, and scientific research software technologies on strategically building and protecting intellectual property portfolios
• Represent world-renowned research institutions on licensed and non-licensed technologies directed to COVID-19 related technologies, microfluidic cell culture devices, medical imaging, positioning systems, and microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technologies
• Represent both plaintiffs and defendants in patent litigation and other intellectual property matters for medical device, imaging, and digital technologies
• Counsel foreign companies on U.S. market entry activities