PATENT PROSECUTION
PATENT LITIGATION
IP LICENSING
Eric Carr
Eric is an intellectual property attorney, managing the firm’s licensing and litigation practice. He has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University, and Juris Doctor (Intellectual Property) from Southern Methodist University. He is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and has been admitted to the State Bar of Texas, State Bar of California, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, as well as various U.S. District Courts.
Prior to starting Patent Beach PC, he was the Managing Litigation Attorney at Gazdzinski & Associates, PC and an IP Litigation Associate with Collins Edmonds & Schlather PLLC in Houston, TX. He was also the Technology Director & Editor for the SMU Science & Technology Law Review, President of the SMU Intellectual Property Organization, and a member of the Honorable Barbara M.G. Lynn American Inn of Court.
Defended two clients in U.S. International Trade Commission matter involving modular LED display panel systems. Secured dismissal for both clients after expert disclosures.
- Part of the trial team that obtained a jury verdict for damages in patent infringement lawsuit against a technology company selling multi-monitor display systems in the District of Oregon.
Represented the patent owner of wireless technology in multiple district court litigations in the Northern District of California and multiple inter partes reviews.
Defended manufacturer of degradable composite metals (i.e. frac balls) in the Southern District of Texas against patent infringement suit from a fullstream oil and gas company. Filed inter partes reviews against the patent-in-suit and reached favorable settlement.
Represented medical device company in a patent infringement suit against competitor that manufactured and sold ablation devices in the Central District of California.
- Defended supplier of corrugated pallets in trade secret action in Florida.
Represented patent owner in an infringement matter covering computer networking technology, including 802.11, in the Eastern District of Texas.
- Represented patent owner in an infringement matter concerning wireless location-based services in the Eastern District of Texas.
- Defended manufacturer of audio soundbars in design patent case in the Central District of California.
Represented inventor of technology related to interactive images in digital advertisements in patent infringement matter the Eastern District of Texas.
Represented company in patent suit that developed tetrahedral amorphous carbon layers for glass substrates in the Eastern District of Texas.
Represented patent technology and licensing company in a patent infringement suit against ingestible pill camera devices in the Eastern District of Texas.
Represented surface mount electronics manufacturer in patent infringement suit in the Southern District of California.
Derek Midkiff
Derek is an intellectual property attorney and President of the firm.
He has a Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Engineering from Purdue University, with a Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the Krannert School of Management, and Juris Doctor from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, with a Certificate in Intellectual Property and Law. Additionally, he is admitted to the State Bar of California, and is registered to practice before the United States Patent & Trademark Office.
While attending law school, Derek was a fellow with the Thomas Jefferson Intellectual Property Fellowship and the President of the Intellectual Property Law Association. Prior to starting Patent Beach PC, Derek worked as a patent attorney at Gazdzinski & Associates, PC, as a patent agent at Eastman & McCartney PC, and as a patent attorney at MU Patents, all located in San Diego, California.
- Derek was published in the Thomas Jefferson Law Review. Randy Berholtz et al., WHERE TO FILE: A Framework for Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Companies to Develop an International Patent Filing Strategy, 37 T. Jefferson L. Rev. 221 (2015).
Derek’s technology experience includes content distribution networks (including use of, e.g., 5G NR, CBRS, etc.), memory devices, blockchain-based systems, cryptocurrency systems, IoT, fog networking, neural networks, computer hardware and software, data privacy and security, query data searching, management of operational services, user interfaces, robotics, sensor devices, image processing, cloud-based content storage and delivery/access, notification management, smart devices, consumer and commercial electronics, device and software testing platforms, multimedia content interaction and delivery, etc.”
Danielle Miyahara
Danielle is a Litigation Paralegal and Intellectual Property Docketing Specialist with Patent Beach PC. Prior to joining the Firm, Danielle was employed by Gazdzinski & Associates, PC and Cardinal IP where she was responsible for maintaining docket entries for all U.S. and foreign patent prosecution. Danielle has also worked at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati (Palo Alto, CA location) for fourteen years managing the patent docketing department. Danielle has a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration from San Jose State University.
Cecilia G. Stone
Cecilia is a Billing and Administrative Specialist at Patent Beach PC. She manages time entries for attorneys and paralegals, client invoice preparation and processing including client billing portal management, accounts payable and receivable, collections and other administrative functions of the Firm.
She has more than 15 years of experience in office administration, including in the construction industry assisting with all aspects of project management including scheduling, estimating projects, ordering job site equipment and materials, billing projects at all stages, and permits.
Carrie DeCoro
Carrie is a U.S. and International Patent Paralegal and Lead Paralegal at Patent Beach PC. Prior to joining the Firm, Carrie was employed by Gazdzinski & Associates, PC for nearly 20 years. She performs a variety of tasks including domestic and international patent prosecution, client support, and office management and administration. Carrie has more than 20 years of patent prosecution experience, and more than 12 years of civil litigation experience relating to various areas including construction defect, real estate acquisitions and insurance defense. She is experienced in litigation support and docketing, discovery requests and responses, and filing of all USPTO and court papers, as well as corporate filings.
Carrie has an Associate of Legal Science (Paralegal Studies), and is a certified paralegal.