Robyn Bowland is a Member of the firm and has been practicing law since 2008. Her practice areas include Intellectual Property Litigation and Intellectual Property Counseling and Transactions.
Robyn works with intellectual property owners and accused infringers to resolve intellectual property disputes. She has handled numerous intellectual property disputes in front of the federal district courts around the country and well as the ITC. Robyn also has significant experience evaluating products prior to launch to help her clients understand and manage risks related to intellectual property protection.
Robyn has handled intellectual property litigation for clients in the automotive, medical device, computer software, and telecommunications industries, among others. Her experience includes a wide variety of types of intellectual property disputes, including patent, trademark, trade secret, false advertising, and restrictive covenant disputes.
Prior to law school, Robyn served as an officer in the U.S. Army.
Best Lawyers (2025-present)
Leading Lawyers (2025)
Rising Stars for Intellectual Property (2015-2018)
Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service, Northern District of Illinois and Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association (2019)
Super Lawyers for Intellectual Property (2023-present)
Member, Chicago Chapter of the Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law
Member, The Richard Linn Inn of Court
Northern District of Illinois
Eastern District of Michigan
District of Colorado
Illinois
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Partner, Akerman LLP, Chicago, IL (2014-2021)
Associate, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP (2011-2014)
Associate, Brinks, Hofer, Gilson, & Lione (2008-2011)
Adjutant General Officer, United States Army (2000-2005)
University of Notre Dame Law School, J.D., 2008 (magna cum laude)
Winner, 2008 Federal Circuit Bar Association George Hutchinson Writing Competition
United States Military Academy, B.S. Mechanical Engineering
Absolute But Not Indefinite: Court Upholds Outcome-Oriented Patent Language, Xodus Medical Inc. et al. v. U.S. Surgitech, Inc., No. 1-19-cv-03164 (NDIL Jan. 30, 2026)
Spot the Differences: Narrowing Design Patent Scope, Range of Motion Products, LLC v. Armaid Co. Inc., 2026 WL 261890 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 2, 2026)
Can a Trade Secret Go Platinum? Wu-Tang LP Might Be Trade Secret IP., PleasrDAO v. Shkreli, No. 24-CV-04126 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 25, 2025)
NDIL Shreds the “Schedule A” Playbook: Specificity Required , Eicher Motors Limited v. Partnerships & Unincorporated Ass’ns Identified on Schedule “A”, No. 25cv02937 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 8, 2025)
No Rhythm, No Review: USPTO Director Skips a Beat on IPRs. , iRhythm Technologies, Inc., v. Welch Allyn, Inc., IPR2025-00363, IPR2025-00374, IPR2025-00376, IPR2025-00377, IPR2025-00378 (P.T.A.B. June 6, 2025)
Fair Shot at Privity: Director Reverses PTAB on Discovery Ruling , Semiconductor Components Indus., LLC v. Greenthread LLC, IPR2023-01242, -01243, -01244 (USPTO Apr. 30, 2025)
Time To “Dew” It Again. , Dewberry Group, Inc., FKA Dewberry Capital Corp v. Dewberry Engineers Inc., No. 23-900, 604 U.S. (2025)
Hips Don’t Lie (About Their Allegedly Optimal Color). , CeramTec v. Coorstek Bioceramics, Case No. 2023-1502 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 3, 2025)
Omitting Engineers in Design Patent Applications is Timeless , Apple Inc., v. Masimo Corp. et al., No. CV 22-1377, 2024 WL 4436629 (D. Del. Oct. 7, 2024)
Internet Archive’s Free E-Book Lending Not Fair Use, Hachette Book Grp., Inc. v. Internet Archive, No. 23-1260, 2024 WL 4031751 (2d Cir. Sept. 4, 2024)
Royalty Roulette: When Contract Amendments Disconnect the Patent from the Payment, Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. v. Insall, 2024 WL 3381286 (7th Cir. July 12, 2024)
Hey Siri, Are You A Tangible Product? Delaware Judge Said No , IPA Technologies Inc. v. Microsoft Corporation, No. CV 18-1-RGA, 2024 WL 1797394 (D. Del. Apr. 25, 2024)
Check Your Clauses, MasterCard Gets Caught by Lack of Continuation After Termination , ALEXSAM, INC., Plaintiff-Appellant v. MASTERCARD INTERNATIONAL INCORPORATED, Defendant-Appellee, No. 2022-2046, 2024 WL 825658 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 28, 2024)
Patents Have Mistakes; You Should Fix Them At The PTO , Canatex Completion Sol. Inc. vs. Wellmatics LLC, et al., Case No. 4:22-cv-03306, Dkt. No. 100 (S.D. Tex. Dec. 14, 2023)
Trick and Treat: File Fraudulent Declaration and Retain Trademark Registration , Great Concepts, LLC v. Chutter, Inc., No. 22-1212 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 18, 2023)
Ownership≠Authorship: No Copyright for AI System Owner, Thaler v. Perlmutter, No. CV 22-1564 (BAH), 2023 WL 5333236 (D.D.C. Aug. 18, 2023)
The Not So Long Arm of the Law: Limits on the Lanham Act, Abitron Austria Gmbh et al. v. Hetronic International, Inc. (June 29, 2023)
Federal Circuit Cooks District Court’s Decision to Add Bacon-Prep Inventor, HIP, Inc. v. Hormel Foods Corporation, No. 22–1696 (Fed. Cir. May. 3, 2023)
CAFC Holds Priority Favors True Trailblazers, Not Maze-Like Paths Through a Forest of Prior Applications, Regents of the University of Minnesota v. Gilead Sciences, Inc., (Federal Circuit 2023)
Unreasonable Delay In Prosecuting Patent Costs Patentee $308 Million, Personalized Media Commc’ns, LLC v. Apple Inc.,No. 2021-2275, 2023 WL 328500 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 20, 2023)
Defending Against Willfulness Without Waiving Privilege, Duke University v. Sandoz, Inc., 18-cv-00997 (D. Colo. Nov. 3, 2022)
High Speed Adult Content is “Purposefully Directed”, Will Co. Ltd. v. Lee, 2022 WL 3906205 (9th Cir. Aug. 31, 2022)
Indefiniteness: Multiple Term Interpretations, ClearOne, Inc. v. Shure Acquisition Holdings, Inc., No. 2021-1517, 2022 WL 1752627 (Fed. Cir. June 1, 2022)
First Sale Doctrine Applies to Component Parts Manufactured by Licensed Third Parties., Bluetooth Sig Inc. v. FCA US LLC, No. 21-35561 (9th Cir. April 6, 2022)
35 U.S.C. § 112(b): Reasonably Certain Patent Claims, Nature Simulation Sys. Inc. v. Autodesk, Inc., No. 2020-2257, 2022 WL 244065 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 27, 2022)
The Divide Continues: The Written Description Requirement Revisited, Novartis Pharmaceuticals v. Accord Healthcare Inc., Case No. 21-1070 (Fed. Cir. 2022)
An “Overly Demanding Standard?”: The Written Description Requirement, Indivior UK Ltd. v. Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories SA, Case No. 20-2073 (Fed. Cir. 2021)
Willfulness and Enhanced Damages Standards Clarified, Sri Intl. Inc. v. Cisco Sys. Inc., No. 2020-1685 (Fed. Cir. September 28, 2021)
PTAB’s Institutions of IPRs Found Immune from Arbitration, In re: Maxpower Semiconductor, Inc., No. 2021-146 (Fed. Cir. September 8, 2021)
Section 101: You Will Know It When You See It, Int’l Bus. Machines Corp. v. Zillow Grp., Inc. et al., 2021 WL 2982372 (W.D. Wash. 2021)
