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Adam Reis

Of Counsel

Contact Information:

312-248-1572
Bio
Experience
Credentials
Publications

Adam Reis primarily focuses on intellectual property litigation and arts and entertainment representation.  Adam has successfully litigated several cases to favorable pre-trial resolution, including in several U.S. District Courts, the American Arbitration Association, and the International Trade Commission. His patent work has involved various technologies, such as dental appliances, video slot machines, winches, self-balancing smartboards, and automotive mirrors.  He has also drafted patent infringement and invalidity opinions. Adam’s arts and entertainment work has been on behalf of musicians, photographers, sculptors, translators, and art dealers. In addition to litigation, Adam has represented clients in transactional matters on numerous occasions, including drafting agreements relating to IP asset purchase, assignment, and licensing; creative collaboration; songwriter split; music production and publishing; and talent and modeling agency representation.

Representative Matters

  • Served as primary attorney in assisting translator asserting claims against a major book publisher based on misattribution, resulting in: 1) a discontinuation of further distribution of the misattributed book, 2) near total recovery of all previously distributed copies, and 3) a favorable monetary settlement.
  • Served as primary attorney for auction purchasers of a fine art painting in connection with replevin, detinue, and other claims based upon the assertion that the painting was stolen, resulting in favorable settlement.
  • Served as primary support for leading provider of concrete statuary against entity accused of infringing the copyrights of multiple works.  Successfully defeated summary judgment motion and obtained favorable settlement.
  • Helped obtain two major victories in a trademark infringement matter on summary judgment.  The first motion concerned whether an agreement adequately transferred ownership of intellectual property.  The second motion secured summary judgment of trademark infringement, cybersquatting, and unfair competition.
  • Part of a team that defeated a Fortune 50 company’s motion for preliminary injunction in a patent infringement lawsuit regarding tooth whitening strip technology, which had withstood two prior validity challenges and purported to protect a billion-dollar-per-year industry.
  • Part of a team that obtained favorable outcomes for a leading oral and personal care products manufacturer in both offensive and defensive patent litigation against industry competitors regarding bruxism treatment device technology.
  • Part of a team for a photographer in an offensive copyright infringement matter against a media company that used his copyrighted photograph without permission, culminating in a favorable judgment and an award of reasonable attorneys’ fees.
  • Represented musician in offensive copyright infringement suit against record label and music distributor for copyright infringement based on unauthorized reproduction and distribution of several compositions and sound recordings.
  • Part of a team representing a manufacturer of self-balancing smartboards (“hoverboards”) in a defensive multi-patent infringement litigation against the largest manufacturer of personal transporter devices.
  • Researched and drafted patent non-infringement and invalidity opinions, including a detailed analysis of relevant products and patents.

Memberships & Affiliations

Member, Lawyers for the Creative Arts Associates Board (2019-2021)

Chair, Intellectual Property Law Committee, Chicago Bar Association (2019-2020)

Court Admissions

United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Prior Experience

During a break from practicing, Adam built and launched an application using artificial intelligence to simplify the process of understanding patents.

During law school, Adam served as a board member for the Chicago-Kent Intellectual Property Law Society; helped establish an alumni-student mentor program; represented clients through the Chicago-Kent Intellectual Property Clinic; served as a shift supervisor helping pro se litigants at the Chicago-Kent Self Help Web Center in the Richard J. Daley Center in Chicago; and competed in the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition.

Before starting law school, Adam worked as an Associate Chemist in Chromatography for Patheon Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio.  As an undergraduate, Adam focused his research on membrane protein structure.

Education

Chicago-Kent College of Law, J.D., 2015

  • Certificate in Intellectual Property Law
  • Dean’s Honor List, Fall 2013 – Spring 2015
  • CALI Award, Comparative IP, 2014
  • Dean’s Distinguished Public Service Award (250+ Hours)

Miami University, B.A. Chemistry, 2010

Fullstack Academy, Full-stack Web Development, 2020

Licenses

Illinois

Irwin IP Cases of the Week

Castles Made of Sand, Free Stream Media Corp., v. Alphonso Inc., No. 2019-1506, (Fed. Cir. May 11, 2021)

Fair Use Ping-Pong, Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., No. 18-596, 2021 WL 124090 (Apr. 5, 2021)