Back to Professionals Steven L. Nichols Attorney / Of Counsel Salt Lake City Licensure: DC, UT, VA Biography pdf version Steven L. Nichols has been involved with all aspects of intellectual property law for over 20 years. Steve entered the intellectual property field as a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. As an examiner, Steve handled hundreds of patent applications related to light detectors with the associated optics and circuitry. After two years at the Patent Office, Steve entered private practice, first as a patent agent and then as a registered patent attorney. Steve’s practice has covered all areas of intellectual property law with an emphasis on drafting and prosecuting patent and trademark applications for major corporate clients. Currently, Steve serves as an adjunct professor at Brigham Young University. Steve developed the curriculum for a course he teaches at the Fulton College of Engineering & Technology entitled “Fundamentals of Intellectual Property” and taught “eCommerce and Internet Law” at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU. Steve also developed the curriculum for this course, which includes all aspects of legal practice relating to the internet including jurisdiction, intellectual property, electronic contracting and ethics. He is licensed to practice in Utah, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, and is also admitted to the bar in Virginia. Practice Areas Patent Preparation & Prosecution Intellectual Property Litigation IP Protection & Proprietary Rights Technology Licensing & Data Privacy Trademarks Copyrights Intellectual Property Professional History U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, 1996 (Registration No. 40,326) Virginia State Bar, October 1998 Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, 1998 District of Columbia Bar, September 1999 Utah State Bar, October 2000 Member, American Intellectual Property Law Association, from 1996 Successfully defended in re-examination a key portfolio of patents for Hewlett-Packard Co. on memristor technology. The memristor is a fundamental circuit element theorized since 1971, but not actually constructed until 2008, at HP Labs. Provided representation for Charles (Chuck) Peddle, inventor of the first personal computer, as he patented a revolutionary way to store computer memory. Prosecuted portfolio of patents for Hewlett-Packard on the ground-breaking technology of 3-D printing, or freeform fabrication, in which a real object is built, layer-by-layer, from electronic data. Prosecuted portfolio of patents on implantable electrical stimulators to a variety of treat conditions including chronic nerve pain and migraine headaches. The client’s current focus is on cochlear implants to restoring hearing function in deaf patients. Education B.A. of Science Degree Cum Laude in Applied Physics from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah J.D. with High Honors from the George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, Virginia. Community Service Co-chair, Planning Commission, Midway City, Utah Venture Crew Advisor, Troop 274, Boy Scouts of America, 2012 – 2015 Former member, Midway City Boosters, Board of Directors Publications & Presentations Presenter, Utah State Bar Convention, Patent Law Goes to the Movies: Blockbuster to the U.S. Patent System Under the America Invents Act, Snowmass, Colorado (July 2013) Presenter at Challenges in Intellectual Property, sponsored by the Center for International Legal Studies, Kitzbuhel, Austria (January, 2011). Presenter for Utah Bar, Business Section CLE Luncheon, The Basics of Intellectual Property for Business Lawyers, (October 20, 2010). Presenter on intellectual property at Lawyering in the International Market, sponsored by the Center for International Legal Studies, Steamboat Springs, Colorado (March, 2010). Presenter for Utah Bar, Business Section CLE Luncheon, Ethics in the Digital Age: Social Networking, Metadata and Email, (February 10, 2010). Presenter for Utah Bar, Intellectual Property Section CLE Luncheon, Social Networking for Lawyers, (November 17, 2009). Metadata Minefield, Utah Rules, Utah Bar Journal, Vol. 22, No. 6 (Nov/Dec 2009). Faculty member, NBI Seminars “Fast and Free Online Research for Your Legal Practice,” November 3, 2009 (www.nbi-sems.com/Enbi/Faculty/50340.pdf). American Bar Association Advisory Panel member (2008-present ) Presenter at IFCLA (International Federation of National IT Law Associations) on Civil and Criminal Liability in the U.S. for Internet Activity, Paris, France (2008) (http://www.ifcla.com/medias/pdf/conference/Civil-and-criminal%20responsability.pdf) Lecturer at INFOPAT Association for Intellectual Property Attorneys, Tokyo, Japan (2003, 2005, 2007, 2008) The Fundamentals of Patenting, IEEE Potentials, April/May 2005 (www.todaysengineer.org/2004/Nov/IPfundamentals.asp). Hippocrates the Patent-Holder: The Unenforceability of Medical Procedure Patents, 5 George Mason Law Review 227 (1997). Recognition and Awards Rated AV by Martindale Hubbell Named to the Utah Legal Elite, 2011 – 2021
