Kory Kotrba is a registered patent attorney with the intellectual property law firm of Seager, Tufte, Wickhem.
Kory’s practice primarily focuses on patent prosecution, with a strong emphasis on developing strategic patent portfolios for clients. His practice encompasses many phases of client portfolio management, including U.S. and foreign patent prosecution as well as patent assertion, and providing legal opinions on freedom-to-operate, patentability, infringement, and validity. Additionally, Kory has provided careful counseling for navigating the assertion of patents including standard essential patents.
Prior to joining Seager, Tufte, Wickhem, Kory was a partner at a Minneapolis-area IP boutique firm where Kory supported clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to solo inventors innovating technologies such as those involving chemical engineering, polymer chemistry, mechanical and electrical systems, memory technology, software, cloud computing, medical devices, wireless communication, data networking, machine learning and blockchain. Kory also worked at a multinational Minnesota-based medical device company prior to entering private legal practice at the IP boutique firm.
Kory obtained a degree in chemical engineering with honors from the University of North Dakota and a J.D. from the University of Saint Thomas School of Law. While at the University of Saint Thomas School of Law, Kory elected to expand his legal coursework by taking various IP courses offered on nights and weekends at the Mitchell-Hamline School of Law (formerly known as the William Mitchell School of Law). Additionally, during law school, Kory as worked remotely as a prior art searcher for a Chicago-area prior art search firm. Prior to law school, Kory worked as a graduate researcher in the Chemistry and Chemical engineering departments at the University of North Dakota on various technologies underdevelopment, including pseudocritical analysis of elements in grains and development of renewable fuel sources.
Kory is currently based in Minnesota and is licensed to practice in Minnesota.
Practice Areas
- Patent prosecution, U.S. and international
- Patent portfolio analysis, strategy and management
- Clearance searches and opinions of counsel
Industry Sectors / Specialties
- Electrical/Mechanical arts
- Chemistry/Chemical engineering
- Medical devices
- Automotive
- Wireless networking
- Software
Education
- University of Saint Thomas School of Law, J.D. (2009)
- University of North Dakota, B.S. Chemical Engineering (2006)
Bar Admissions
- Minnesota (2009)
- U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (2010)
Professional Affiliation
- Board Member, Advisory Board for Chemical Engineering Department, The University of North Dakota
- Board Member, Advisory Board for Intellectual Property and Data Privacy, The University of Saint Thomas School of Law