Spencer Patterson

Biography

Spencer is a licensed patent attorney with extensive experience advising clients on all aspects of intellectual property law, including preparing and prosecuting US and foreign patent applications, developing strategic patent portfolios, preparing and prosecuting trademark applications, patent reexamination, opining on patent infringement and validity, intellectual property licensing, and developing and implementing strategies for both enforcing patent rights and defending against allegations of patent infringement. He has prepared and prosecuted hundreds of patent applications, including in the areas of computer software, data processing, electronics, business methods, telecommunications, computer networks, speech processing, image processing, digital rights management, Internet and wireless applications, data storage devices, electro-mechanical devices, oil and gas exploration, and design patents.

As an eighth generation Texan, Spencer was born and raised in Austin, Texas and was valedictorian of the first graduating class of James Bowie High School in southwest Austin. Building on his lifelong interest in understanding how things work, he majored in electrical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering in 1993. After completing his undergraduate studies, and wanting to use his technical background by pursuing a career in intellectual property law, Spencer attended The George Washington University Law School to pursue a law degree in GW’s top-ranked intellectual property program. He earned a J.D. with Honors, at GW in 1996, where he also served as an Articles Editor on The George Washington Law Review.

Spencer began his legal career at Gardere & Wynne, where he met his partners Lee Grable and Suzy Fulton. In 1998, he moved to Jenkens & Gilchrist to practice as part of its growing intellectual property section. While at Jenkens, Spencer was heavily involved in patent prosecution and patent and trademark litigation and earned managing responsibility for the firm’s patent prosecution work for Ericsson. He primarily interacted with Ericsson’s in-house counsel in Sweden and Germany and spent time working on site at its offices in Lund, Sweden.

In 2002, Spencer moved his practice to the national intellectual property law firm of Fish & Richardson, where he became a principal in 2004. At Fish, his practice focused on patent prosecution, general intellectual property counseling, and litigation strategy on a wide range of technologies. He represented clients ranging from individual inventors and entrepreneurial and start-up technology companies to large multinational corporations. Much of his practice at Fish involved managing the drafting and prosecution of patent applications and analyzing infringement, validity, and adequacy of IP protection in complex technology areas both for litigation and for advising clients as to intellectual property rights and potential liability. Before joining Grable Martin PLLC, Spencer successfully started his own firm in 2014. This new venture enabled him to provide clients with more cost effective and efficient representation while continuing to offer high quality intellectual property services. Spencer believes that the platform and lawyers at Grable Martin PLLC enhance these benefits.

Throughout his career, Spencer’s focus has been on understanding clients’ businesses and technologies and tailoring their intellectual property strategy accordingly. He has an ability to quickly learn new technologies and develop a thorough understanding of how intellectual property protection can help further the business’ goals. Using that foundational understanding, he works with clients to efficiently formulate and carry out intellectual property strategies adapted to the needs of the particular business.

Spencer is married to Tammy, whom he met while practicing at Gardere. Together, they enjoy entertaining friends, cooking, and keeping up with their son, Tyler, and his wide range of activities. They love to spend time in Santa Fe and the California wine country, but also enjoy exploring new destinations in the US and internationally. Spencer enjoys a wide variety of outdoor activities, including mountain and road biking, fly fishing, sailing, running, hiking, and hunting. Spencer serves on the Board of the Woodrow Wilson High School Community Foundation and is an active volunteer at his son’s school, including helping Friends of Lakewood, the school’s dad’s club, organize and run an extracurricular math program to help kids excel at math.

Spencer is admitted to practice law in the State of Texas and is a registered patent attorney with the US Patent & Trademark Office.