“As a patent attorney, I’m an engineer and scientist at heart and love working with never-before-seen technologies. I came to Fitch Even because we’re able to provide the technical experience and legal knowledge essential for thorough IP protection.”

Joseph H. Herron is committed to helping guide clients to focus not only on each specific patent matter, but also to understand how the individual patents impact their company’s overall bottom line and the full patent portfolio. With well over a decade of intellectual property experience, Joe assists his clients in achieving positive business results from technical innovation, representing them in patent prosecution, patent litigation, and opinion work, as well as other IP matters, in the U.S. and abroad. His strengths in patentability and clearance opinions, reexamination and reissue techniques, and due diligence analysis help clients generate and manage diverse patent portfolios.

Joe is skilled at complex patent prosecution and post-issuance matters in conjunction with his opinion work. He also has extensive experience prosecuting U.S. and foreign utility and design patent applications and has represented clients in patent litigation matters covering everything from water treatment chemicals to credit card processing and Internet transactions. Joe has worked with large companies in diverse technologies including fuel cells and reformers, pharmaceuticals, polymers, medical devices, and food manufacturing processes and compositions.

A practical understanding of the intellectual property development process is central to Joe’s ability to effectively counsel clients. Prior to his legal career, Joe worked as a chemical engineer researching and designing fuel cell applications, and had hands-on experience as a patent agent before receiving his law degree.

  • Prepares, prosecutes, and manages foreign and domestic patent portfolios for a global packaging and seal manufacturer. Provides due diligence for acquisitions of global patent portfolios and manufacturing facilities for this manufacturer.
  • Prepares and prosecutes patent applications for a large university covering technologies including polymer chemistry, pharmaceuticals, electrochemistry, and lubricants.
  • Is cultivating a patent and trademark portfolio for a growing vacuum extraction company. Enforces recently obtained patents and trademarks against U.S. competitors as well as against foreign competitors’ imports.
  • Prosecutes complex patent applications for a large Japanese chemical manufacturer.
  • Prepared and prosecuted utility and design patents covering global product launches for a food composition manufacturer.
  • Provided clearance opinions regarding ethanol production and purification for a manufacturer.
  • Represented a large chemical manufacturer and patent owner in numerous patent litigation matters involving water treatment chemicals as well as anti-freeze chemicals and methods, each of which resulted in favorable settlements for the client.

Presentations

  • “Controlling the Speed of Patent Prosecution to Meet Client Goals,” AIPPI-Japan, with Stephen S. Favakeh, Tokyo, Japan, November 19, 2019.
  • “Recent Updates in Design Patent Law,” Fitch Even Webinar, with Calista J. Mitchell, October 12, 2016.
  • “Tech & IP: How to Leverage Intellectual Property to Maximize Your Business’s Potential,” Illinois Technology Association webinar, August 31, 2016.
  • American Intellectual Property Law Association
  • Illinois State Bar Association

  • J.D., Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2005, High Honors
  • B.S., Chemical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2000

  • Illinois
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

  • Selected for inclusion in Illinois Super Lawyers – Rising Stars for Intellectual Property Law (2015 and 2016)
  • Selected as an Emerging Lawyer in Intellectual Property Law, Leading Lawyers Network (2015–18)
  • IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law
    • Order of the Coif
    • Member, Chicago-Kent Law Review
    • Vice President, Intellectual Property Law Society