Robert S. Katz

Robert S. Katz was a patent examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, examining patent applications for article and material handling devices. He also worked as a mechanical engineer at Digital Equipment Corp.’s High Performance Systems, where he designed mechanical, electrical and electromechanical devices for main-frame computers. Since 1992, he has practiced in the Washington, D.C., office of intellectual property law firm Banner & Witcoff, Ltd. Both nationally and internationally, Mr. Katz is considered one of the premier practitioners in the field of industrial designs, leading the way in the procurement and enforcement of design patents. He currently serves as the treasurer of the U.S. Section of the International Federation of Industrial Property Attorneys (FICPI), and is former chairman of the Industrial Designs Section for both FICPI and the American Intellectual Property Law Association. Mr. Katz also serves as a member of the Industrial Designs working group of the AIPLA Special Committee on Legislation and on an Intellectual Trademark Association Presidential Task Force on Trademarks and Innovation. He previously taught Intellectual Property Pretrial Litigation Skills at Georgetown University Law School.