Barry Irwin founded Irwin IP in 2014 and has been litigating mission-critical, high-profile intellectual property and technology matters in federal courts across the country for over 30 years. Barry began his legal career at a prestigious boutique intellectual property law firm in Chicago. Three years later, he joined the Chicago office of the top AmLaw 100 law firm. There, he practiced intellectual property litigation for 18 years, the last 14 as a partner, and the last 10 as an equity partner.
In addition to his active litigation practice, Barry has been an Adjunct Professor at Notre Dame Law School since 2012, where he teaches Patent Litigation and Advanced Copyright Law/Entertainment Law. He has also served as an expert witness in intellectual property-related matters. He is the Board President of Lawyers for the Creative Arts, a former executive board member of the Linn Inn American Inn of Court, and Vice-Chair of the Burr Ridge Planning Commission.
Furthermore, Barry has been lead counsel in over a dozen Patent Office review proceedings. For example, he successfully petitioned the PTAB to institute an IPR on a patent touted as the foundation for a billion dollar per year business despite that patent withstanding numerous other challenges brought by others, including prior Patent Office reviews and several federal court litigations. Finally, he often works with clients in strengthening their intellectual property portfolios to protect key products, including broadening existing intellectual property portfolios and securing rights to third party intellectual property.
In 2022 Barry was designated Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in two separate areas: Patent Litigation and Copyright Law (each award given to a single lawyer in a community). In 2018, Barry was selected by Thomson Reuters as one of the Top 100 lawyers in Illinois. And, each year, for over 15 years, he has been named a Leading Lawyer and a Super Lawyer. He also received Martindale Hubbell’s highest ratings (AV, AV+ and AV Preeminent) in his first years of eligibility and each year thereafter.
In 2015, Barry received the rare distinction of being named a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America (LCA), and in 2022 became a Senior Fellow. LCA is an invitation-only honorary trial lawyer society composed of less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers. LCA Fellows are selected based on their legal excellence and accomplishments in litigation and superior ethical reputations. Barry has also been named an IP Star by Managing IP.
In 2016, Chicago-based Lawyers for the Creative Arts, a not-for-profit organization that provides free and low-cost legal services to members of the various Illinois arts communities, awarded him with its Distinguished Service to the Arts award. He has been a supervising attorney for numerous pro bono matters involving a broad range of issues and hundreds of attorney hours annually, including matters involving: the confinement conditions at a juvenile detention facility; employment discrimination; a trial of an aggravated assault charge resulting in acquittal; serving as guardian ad litem; and dozens of entertainment law matters.
For approximately 15 years, three times a year, Barry also taught trial advocacy to Kirkland & Ellis associates, participating in Kirkland’s multiday, immersive mock trial programs.
Barry is a first-chair litigation attorney handling high-stakes patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, restrictive covenant, unfair competition, false advertising, and antitrust matters. Some of those matters include:
Illinois, 1992
U.S. District Court
District of Nevada, 2005
Central District of Illinois, 1998
Northern District of Ohio, 1994
Northern District of Illinois, 1992
Trial Bar, 1999
District of Delaware, 1998
District of Minnesota, 2001
District of New Jersey, 2000
Northern District of Indiana, 2005
Northern District of Georgia, 2004
Central District of California, 2015
Western District of Michigan, 2016
Northern District of California, 2011
Southern District of California, 2013
Southern District of New York, 2007
Western District of Tennessee, 2015
Northern District of Pennsylvania, 2010
U.S. Court of International Trade, 2018
6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 1994
7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 1994
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Federal Circuit, 1998
Action Gaming, Activision TV, AGS, Alcon Laboratories, AMF Bowling, Aruze Gaming, Balance GFX, Covidien, CVS, Ecomed, F.P. Rosback, Fellowes, International Game Technology, Kapsch, LKQ, Massarelli Lawn Ornaments, Mark IV, Motorola, National Steel Car, Nobel Biocare, Oasis Financial, Office Depot, Opternative, Par-Kan, Peripheral Devices, Ranir, Shuffle Master, Smiths Medical, Swagway, Trading Technologies, U.S. Auto Parts, Visa, Walker Digital Table Systems, WorldGate Communications, Wowza Media Systems
Kirkland & Ellis LLP, 1995-2014
Named Partner, 2000
Named Equity Partner, 2004
Brinks, Gilson & Lione
Associate, 1992-1995
Oltsch, Knoblock & Hall
Clerk
Jones, Obenchain, Ford, Pankow
Clerk
Pratt & Whitney Government Engine Business
Design and Project Engineer
Lawyers for the Creative Arts
Board President
Trial Law Institute
Diversity Law Institute
Intellectual Property Institute
Best Lawyers
Lawyer of the Year for Patent Litigation, Intellectual Property Litigation, Patent Law, Copyright Law (Chicago), 2024
Lawyer of the Year for Patent Litigation (Chicago), 2023
Lawyer of the Year for Copyright Litigation (Chicago), 2023
Best Lawyer, 2019-present
Super Lawyers
Top 100 Lawyers in Illinois, 2018
Illinois Super Lawyer, 2005-present
Order of Veritas
Barrister
Leading Lawyers
Leading Lawyer, 2004-present
Intellectual Property Law
Martindale-Hubbell
Peer-Rated: AV Preeminent
Highest Level of Professional Excellence
Lawyers for the Creative Arts
Distinguished Service to the Arts, 2016
Litigation Counsel of America
Lifetime Fellow
Richard Linn American Inn of Court
Board Member, 2017-2020
DIL Corp. – Vice-President, 2000-2015
Notre Dame Club of Chicago – Core Committee & Attorney Networking Committee
Burr Ridge Planning Commission – Vice-Chair
Lawyers for the Creative Arts – President
Barry has been a supervising attorney for numerous pro bono matters involving a broad range of issues and hundreds of attorney hours annually, including matters involving: the confinement conditions at a juvenile detention facility; employment discrimination; a trial of an aggravated assault charge resulting in acquittal; serving as guardian ad litem; and in dozens of entertainment law matters.
Notre Dame Law School, Adjunct Professor, Patent Litigation and Advanced Copyright Law/Entertainment Law (2012-present)
Irwin IP, IP Case of the Week Blog, Editor (2014-2022)(over 200 published articles)
Landslide, Article, A Proposal to Update US Customs’ Trademark Seizure Process to Prevent Misuse (2022)
Dayton School of Law, Program in Law and Technology Seminar, Trademark Enforcement at the Border: Customs Does Not Just Seize Counterfeits (2018)
LCA & The John Marshall Law School, Speaker, Registration Issues Critical to Copyright Litigation (2018)
School of the Art Institute, Speaker, Copyright Protection in the Digital Age (2018)
LCA, Presentation, Band Law for Bands (2017)
Intellectual Property Institute, Presentation, Preliminary Injunctions in IP Cases (2017)
LCA, Speaker, Emerging Issues in Music Law (2016)
The Presidents Forum, Speaker, Current Issues in IP Law (2016)
LCA, Blurred Lines and Bright Lines, Copyright Lessons for Musicians from the Blurred Lines Trial (2015)
LCA, Blurred Lines and Bright Lines, Copyright Lessons from the Blurred Lines Trial (2015)
DuPage Community College, Copyright Law for Photographers (2014)
LCA Bootcamp, Music Law 101 (2014)
Joseph College, Will Copyright Survive in the Digital Age (2014)
Linn Inn, Presenter, Free Solo: Should You Scale the IP Mountain Alone? (2019); Vice Chair/Presenter, Section 203 Termination Proceedings Under the Copyright Act (2013); Speaker, Civility and the Practice of Law (2011); Presenter, Designing Around Patents (2011); Vice Chair/Presenter, Ethical Issues Arising from Client Pitches (2010)
Kirkland & Ellis, Kirkland Institute of Trial Advocacy, Instructor Judge (1999-2013, three times/year)
Kirkland & Ellis Technology Seminar, Speaker, USPTO Post Grant Review Proceedings (2013, 2012); Northern District of Illinois – The Newest Local Patent Rules (2010), Protecting Yourself from Willfulness (2008), Copyright v. Technology? (2002), Digital Millennium Copyright Act (2000), Recent Developments in IP Law (1999)
IPLAC, Copyrighting Trademarks: Misuse or Fair Use: Omega S.A. v. Costco Wholesale Corporation, CV 04-5443 (2012)
University of Notre Dame, 1st Annual Emerging Issues in IP Symposium, Presenter, Post Grant Reviews After the AIA (Ex Parte Reviews, Inter Partes Reviews, Post grant Reviews, Supplemental Examination and Derivation Proceedings) (2012)
IPO, Paper, Impact of the Misjoinder Provision of the America Invents Act (2011)
Houston Intellectual Property Law Institute, Speaker, Top Ten Developments in IP Licensing (2011)
American Bar Association, National Appellate Advocacy Competition, Judge (2011-present)
Illinois Math and Science Academy, Speaker, Protecting Your Ideas (2009)
Nevada Bar Association, Speaker, Green Claims in Advertising (2008)
Kirkland & Ellis Advertising and Trademark Seminar, Speaker, New Developments and Recent Trends(2008), In the Court’s Court (2003)
Kirkland & Ellis Annual Retreat, Speaker, Alternative Dispute Resolution: Mediation, Arbitration and Summary Jury Trials (2008)
Practicing Law Institute, Speaker, Key Issues in Patent Infringement Litigation (2008)
Society of Automotive Engineers, Intellectual Property Law for Engineers (passim)
Practicing Law Institute, Chair and Speaker, Understanding Basic Copyright Law (1999-2004)
John Marshall Law School, Speaker, Contemporary Problems in Computer Law (passim)
DePaul Law School, Speaker, Implications of Festo (2001)
University of Notre Dame Law School, J.D., 1992 (magna cum laude)
Dean’s List each of last four semesters
Am. Jur. Award: Federal Court’s Jurisprudence
University of Notre Dame B.S. Aero. Eng., 1988
Illinois; Indiana; District of Columbia; Nevada; U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
2022
150 N Wacker Drive Suite 700
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 667-6080
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