Craig is a DeWitt partner, and a founding member of DeWitt's Intellectual Property Practice Group. His industrial and academic background, coupled with his creative problem-solving approach, allows Craig to develop practical, cost-effective solutions to his clients’ intellectual property needs.
He regularly secures and litigates patents, trademarks, and copyrights for businesses and individuals throughout the United States and elsewhere, with numerous clients in Europe, Canada, and Australia. He also performs analyses of patent, trademark, and copyright assets for due diligence (acquisition and investment), freedom-to-operate/design-around, and competitive landscape studies, and advises companies on how to optimize and monetize their intellectual property assets and increase company value within a fixed budget.
Craig also develops offensive and defensive intellectual property strategies to complement his clients’ business goals and manage litigation risk. Additionally, he provides legal counseling in technology-related matters such as product and business development, franchising, licensing, false advertising, domain name and internet law, software issues, and privacy law.
Craig is a frequent lecturer on patents, trademarks, and other legal topics for businesses, professional groups, and civic organizations. He has authored numerous papers and articles directed to intellectual property and technology law, and has received the Charles Dunn Author Award from the State Bar of Wisconsin.
After Craig obtained his Bachelor’s degree in engineering, he worked as a researcher and programmer for a Fortune 500 energy company. When later obtaining his Master’s degree in engineering, he served as an instructor for courses in engineering instrumentation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Patents
In the field of patents, Craig’s work largely concentrates on obtaining, asserting, and defending against patents in the electrical, mechanical, biomedical, and software fields. His clientele includes leaders in scientific and engineering instrumentation (e.g., spectrometers, electron microscopes, dynamometers, etc.), biomedical devices (e.g., heart and brain implants, patient care devices, X-ray technology, etc.), software for engineering and biomedical professionals (e.g., CAD/CAM, statistical analysis, and image processing software), physical fitness and rehabilitation devices (e.g., exercise and athletic equipment), energy generation and conservation devices (e.g., solar collectors, geothermal pumps, and energy-efficient building products), and outdoor, hardware, and consumer products (e.g., hunting equipment, hand tools, and computer accessories).
Craig also represents independent inventors, start-ups, and small companies, and assists them in the protection and commercialization of their technologies, and in strategic intellectual property portfolio growth and management. Craig has successfully represented clients in patent trials in federal court, and has obtained numerous settlements and dismissals of lawsuits in favor of his clients. He also represents clients in post-grant patent validity proceedings before the Patent Trial & Appeal Board.
Trademarks
In the trademarks field, Craig manages and protects the trademark portfolios of United States and foreign businesses of all sizes. His years of experience in teaching trademark law at the University of Wisconsin Law School, and his knowledge of trademark litigation strategies has earned Craig the trust of other law firms who frequently call upon him to assist in their trademark needs. Additionally, his experience before the federal courts, and in opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, has proven his ability to be a trusted resource for clients and referral sources.
Copyrights
Craig frequently registers, enforces, and defends against copyrights for both businesses and individuals. Apart from copyright work relating to literary and artistic works, he has experience in protecting software, product packaging, and architectural works such as building plans and architectural fixtures.