Invoke was founded by Mr. Varun A. Shah, a high-caliber Intellectual Property attorney practicing in Silicon Valley. Mr. Shah has served clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 tech companies including Oracle, Apple, Dolby, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Cisco, Netflix, TiVo, Yahoo!, Intuit, Arista Networks, Condusiv Technologies, Schlumberger, and Sun Microsystems (prior to Oracle acquisition).

Formerly, Mr. Shah served in-house as the Global Head of Intellectual Property development at Aruba Networks (acquired by HP for $3B). At Aruba Networks, Mr. Shah focused on IP strategy and built a patent program recognized by the Wall Street Journal: “...Aruba Networks Inc had the largest increase in [patent] rank, 22 spots to now rank 36th due to an increase in both patents and impact.”

Mr. Shah has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a top rated IP attorney in Northern California. Mr. Shah is often invited by his peers to speak at IP events worldwide.

Mr. Brandt concentrates his practice on drafting and prosecuting patents in the computer software and hardware fields. His sub-specialties include telecommunications, enterprise software, electrical systems, business methods, speech recognition and signal analysis, networking protocols, cryptography, consumer electronics, embedded systems, database models and e-commerce.

Mr. Brandt also assists clients in the preparation of opinions of clearance, non-infringement, and invalidity. Mr. Brandt has authored and published Compulsory Licenses in the Aftermath of eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C.: The Courts’ Authority to Impose Prospective Compensatory Relief for Patent Infringement, 17 Fed. Cir. B.J. 699 (2008).

Mr. Brandt earned his Juris Doctorate, cum laude from the George Mason University. During law school, Mr. Brandt served as the Notes Director for the Federal Circuit Bar Journal. Mr. Brandt was also a member of both the J. Reuben Clark Law Society and the BYU Management Society. Prior to law school, Mr. Brandt worked as a web developer, software engineer, and technical editor. Mr. Brandt earned his B.S. degree in Computer Engineering, with a minor in Mathematics from the Brigham Young University. At Brigham Young University, Mr. Brandt was selected as a Finalist in the IEEE Student Paper Contest.

Mr. Karlsson’s practice focuses on patent preparation and prosecution in a variety of software-related technologies, including programming languages, artificial intelligence and machine learning, FinTech, search engines, security, cloud computing, data centers, medical devices, networking, workflow automation, user interfaces, social media, and various SaaS platforms.  In addition to drafting and prosecuting patent applications, Mr. Karlsson works closely with clients to craft IP strategies that meet business objectives and maximize portfolio values, including delivery of invalidity and non-infringement opinions that allow clients to proceed confidently with new product development.

Mr. Karlsson’s technology industry experience includes work as a Software Engineer at Western Union Payment Services, where he designed and implemented back-end business logic, security features, and user interfaces for online bill payment systems.  Mr. Karlsson also worked as a Systems Analyst at biotech company InterMune, Inc., where he researched, installed, tested, and supported software for the company’s core business groups.

Mr. Karlsson earned his Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School. He earned a B.A. in Computer Science from Grinnell College.

Mr. Ashburn concentrates his practice on patent preparation, prosecution, opinions, patentability and opposition searches, and post-grant reviews.  His experience primarily relates to technologies in the electrical arts, computers, software, and business methods. Example technologies include virtual reality, gaming, financial business methods, cloud services, artificial intelligence, medical devices, user interfaces, social networks, biometrics, data security, virus detection, cryptology, training systems, computer networks, electrical power networks, sensors, mobile navigation systems, analog/digital circuits, and semiconductors.

Prior to becoming an intellectual property attorney, Mr. Ashburn was an Examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office for over 5 years. During his tenure, Mr. Ashburn examined patent applications in technologies related to electronic gaming, gambling, entertainment, and training systems. Additionally, Mr. Ashburn worked for over six years as an Electrical Engineer for a U.S. Navy laboratory that constructs flight simulators supporting the test and evaluation of aircraft and avionics.

Mr. Ashburn earned his Juris Doctorate from American University.  He earned a MBA from Florida Institute of Technology, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from University of Maryland, College Park.

Mr. Lunceford is a registered patent attorney and an IAPP certified privacy professional. His intellectual property practice focuses on patent prosecution, trademark prosecution, non-infringement analysis, trademark clearance, copyright filing, IP-related licensing agreements, and trade secret management.  Mr. Lunceford's privacy practice is focused on counseling related to compliance with U.S. and European privacy laws, with a particular emphasis on the California Consumer Privacy Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and state and federal data breach notification laws.

Prior to joining Invoke, Mr. Lunceford was an Associate General Counsel for a national bank, where he managed intellectual property, fraud investigations, privacy and cyber-law functions.  Prior to that, he was the head of intellectual property for a famous education and publishing company, and worked as a patent attorney in Silicon Valley. Before attending law school, Mr. Lunceford was a technical instructor, with expertise in networking and software technologies.

Mr. Lunceford is regularly invited to speak on topics such as building IP programs, establishing IP portfolios, trade secret management, brand protection, counterfeiting, privacy compliance, and data breach management.  Mr. Lunceford strongly believes in global and community involvement, speaking at high school assemblies on difficult topics, serving in his church, and donating time and resources to humanitarian efforts such as building schools in developing countries. His hobbies include photography, playing music, and ambitious culinary efforts. 

Mr. Lunceford earned his JD from Santa Clara Law, where he served as an editor on the prestigious Santa Clara Computer and High Technology Law Journal.  He earned his B.S. in Computer Science from California State University, East Bay.
 

Mr. O’Malley’s practice primarily focuses on drafting and prosecuting utility patents.  He has extensive experience in a variety of Electrical and Software areas including networking, cloud computing systems, 3GPP telecommunications and other digital communication technologies, enterprise infrastructure software, analog and digital integrated circuits, computer hardware diagnostics, RFIDs, consumer electronics, hard disk drives, medical devices, reconfigurable logic, embedded systems, semiconductor processing, and optical technologies.

Mr. O’Malley earned his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from the Boston University Law School in 1991. During law school, he was honored as a Paul J. Liacos Distinguished Scholar. Mr. O’Malley earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1986 from Johns Hopkins University. Before attending law school, Mr. O’Malley worked as a software engineer at Westinghouse.

Mr. Mullins is a highly experienced patent attorney focused on patent-related strategic counseling, prosecution, licensing, opinion writing, portfolio analysis,  trade-secret, and due-diligence experience.  He has secured patent protection for hundreds of electrical and medical technology inventions, authored publications on patent-practice and other intellectual property (IP), been engaged as a guest speaker, lectured on technical and legal patent topics, chaired professional committees, and served as a community judge.

 
Mr. Mullins currently concentrates his practice on patent prosecution in the electrical and medical technologies. His focus typically relates to innovations relating to computers, networks, telecommunications, medical devices, user interfaces, data security, virus detection, virtual and augmented reality, power networks, sensors, mobile navigation systems, semiconductors, and analog/digital circuits.
 
Prior to becoming an IP attorney, Mr. Mullins was an Examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. During his tenure, Mr. Mullins examined patent applications in technologies related to dynamic information storage and retrieval. Furthermore, Mr. Mullins served as Floor Representative for the Patent Office Professional Association (POPA).

Mr. Mullins earned his Juris Doctorate degree from the Santa Clara University School of Law in 1994 with a High Tech Law emphasis, while serving on the Santa Clara Law Review. He earned his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Houston in 1990.

Mr. Tyler works with a variety of clients including large technology companies as well as smaller companies and tech startups.  His areas of specialization include electrical and computer-related areas such as computer software, computer networks, internet commerce, cloud services, wireless networks, optical networks, data storage, signal processing, sensors, electromechanical devices, mechanical devices, and medical devices. 

Mr. Tyler concentrates his practice in preparing and prosecuting complex patent applications.  He is equally adept at working with company executives and in-house counsel at managing and building the patent portfolio.

Mr. Tyler earned his Juris Doctor from New York University in 1994.  He also has an M.A. in International Relations from Columbia University and a B.A. in Physics from Dartmouth College.

Mr. Hanish concentrates his practice on preparing and prosecuting patent applications in a variety of technological areas, including those related to computer software and hardware, networking, artificial intelligence, cloud services, data security, social networks, augmented reality, and mapping and routing technology for transportation services, as well as a variety of other technological areas.  In addition to preparing and prosecuting patent applications, Mr. Hanish’s experience has also included conducting brainstorm sessions, performing patentability analyses, performing infringement analyses, and preparing claim charts for directed prosecution.

Mr. Hanish earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 2003. He earned a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of California at San Diego in 2000.

Ms. Swindell concentrates her practice on drafting and prosecuting patents in the field of computer software. She has broad expertise drafting and prosecuting patents in the fields of audio processing on mobile devices, social networking, internet commerce, computer gaming, office and business productivity, teleconferencing, computer-aided design, mathematical modeling, video analytics, and distance learning applications. Ms. Swindell also has experience in the fields of electrosurgical devices, liquid cooling systems, and prosthetic devices.
 
In addition to helping clients to obtain patent protection for their inventions, Ms. Swindell counsels clients in matters of patentability and freedom-to-operate.
 
Ms. Swindell earned her Juris Doctorate from the George Mason School of Law in 2005 with a concentration in Intellectual Property. She earned a M.S. in Computer Science from the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, and a B.A. in Astronomy-Physics from the University of Virginia.

Mr. Ripley serves clients ranging from individual inventors to Fortune 500 companies. Mr. Ripley takes time to understand his clients' intellectual property assets and provide strategic advice on how best to protect these assets.

Mr. Ripley has extensive experience in assisting clients in, preparing opinions of clearance, non-infringement, and invalidity, conducting due diligence investigations, mining patents, and managing their intellectual property portfolios.  Mr. Ripley currently concentrates his practices on patent drafting and patent prosecution in the computer and medical technologies, including machine learning, information technology, electronic medical record management, and patient care applications.

Mr. Ripley earned his Juris Doctorate at the University of New Hampshire School of Law, then known as Pierce Law Center, in Concord, New Hampshire in 2005.  During law school, Mr. Ripley focused on Intellectual Property coursework and served as a teaching assistant for a Patent Prosecution course targeting claim drafting skills.  Mr. Ripley earned his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, MA in 1999.

Mr. Ellsworth concentrates his practice on drafting and prosecuting patents in the fields of computer software and hardware. He has broad expertise drafting and prosecuting patents in the fields of computer system design and implementation, circuitry and chip design and fabrication, including semiconductor-based memory and control devices, communications systems including wired and wireless systems, aircraft systems, medical devices, display devices, and power systems.

In addition to helping clients obtain patent protection for their inventions, Mr. Ellsworth also assists clients obtain trademarks, in copyright registration and infringement issues, and counsels clients in matters of patentability, freedom-to-operate, and infringement/non-infringement opinions, and in due-diligence analyses.

Mr. Ellsworth earned his Juris Doctorate, cum laude from Pepperdine University School of Law in 2006. He earned is B.S. in Electronics Engineering in Technology in 2002 from Brigham Young University.

Mr. Muller is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and has experience in all phases of U.S. patent prosecution including preparation and procurement of patents involving cloud applications and cloud platform services.

Mr. Muller has successfully prosecuted a variety of technologies including cloud applications, cloud platform services, semiconductor devices, microcontrollers, mobile devices, computer technologies, battery devices, telecommunication systems and devices, medical devices, and mechanical systems. Some of Mr. Muller’s past and present clients include Oracle, SK Hynix, LG, HP, Palm, and John Hopkins Hospital, among others.  Mr. Muller is also admitted to the Illinois and D.C. bars.

Mr. Muller earned his Juris Doctorate from the John Marshall Law School, University of Illinois at Chicago in 2006. He earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago  in 2000. 

Mr. Kaveh is a registered patent attorney who focuses on patent prosecution.  His experience includes prosecuting applications before the USPTO in  a broad range of technologies, including wireless communications, image and video processing, machine vision, vehicle telematics systems, and biomedical devices.   

Mr. Kaveh has helped develop and manage patent portfolios for a broad range of clients that have included corporations, such as Adeia, Apple, CalAmp, and Samsung, leading universities including Caltech, UCLA and Stanford, as well as venture backed startups and individual inventors.  Mr. Kaveh also has substantial experience drafting and prosecuting standard essential patents related to the IEEE 802.11 standards.

Mr. Kaveh earned his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from the University of San Diego School of Law in 2008.  He earned a B.S. in Information and Computer Science from the University of California at Irvine in 2002.

Mr. Shonkwiler focuses his practice on drafting and prosecuting patent applications and supporting global patent portfolio development projects in collaboration with inventors and in-house patent counsel for Fortune 100 companies as well as start-up company founders. 

His experience as a patent attorney covers technologies including laser additive manufacturing systems, aeronautical gas turbine engines, combustion systems, aerospace materials, electro-mechanical devices, optics, acoustics, lidar, chemical engineering, augmented reality, voice recognition, software, control systems, machine learning, and process automation.

Prior to his career as a patent attorney, Mr. Shonkwiler was a process engineer at a manufacturing facility for a Fortune 500 company, where he worked on process improvements, capital projects, and process control systems.

Mr. Shonkwiler earned his Juris Doctorate and Masters in Business Administration degrees from the University of Oregon in 2009 and his B.S. from the University of Washington in 2002. 

Mr. Polis focuses his practice on drafting and prosecuting utility patents.  His experience includes a variety of technologies including machine learning and artificial intelligence, medical imaging, medical devices, analog and digital circuits, semiconductors, 3GPP telecommunications and other wired and wireless communications technologies, robotics, mechanical, power equipment, nanotechnology, finance, automotive systems, material science, and aerospace.

Mr. Polis earned his Juris Doctorate from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, graduating as valedictorian in 2009. Mr. Polis earned a B.S. and a M.S. in Physics, magna cum laude, in 1998 and 2001 from the Missouri University of Science and Technology. Before attending law school, Mr. Polis taught math and science at the high school level in Missouri.

Mr. Smith focuses his practice on patent preparation and prosecution across diverse fields such as software, nanotechnology, and materials science. In addition, he advises clients on portfolio strategy and infringement issues.  

Prior to joining Invoke, Mr. Smith managed a multinational patent portfolio as an in house attorney for a publicly traded company. He has participated in Inter Partes Review proceedings for several Fortune 100 clients and supported international litigation. 

Mr. Smith received a J.D. from Franklin Pierce Law Center (now University of New Hampshire School of Law) in 2010, an M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Cornell University in 1999, and a B.S. from Carnegie Mellon University in 1995. He has contributed to over a dozen peer-reviewed publications in superconductivity, magnetic materials, and nanotechnology.

Before his legal career, Mr. Smith accumulated valuable experience as an engineer at IBM and Energizer Battery, where he managed high-stakes, multi-million dollar development projects.

Mr. Mistry’s practice focuses on drafting and prosecuting utility patents in the electrical and computer arts.

Before joining Invoke, Mr. Mistry served as a Patent Attorney in the Office of Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), where he worked extensively on domestic and international IP policy development. In that role, he led U.S. delegations in bilateral and multilateral engagements worldwide, negotiated the scope and language of draft IP laws, and trained IP offices and stakeholders on a wide range of IP policy issues.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Mistry spent more than 16 years as a Patent Examiner in the Electrical Arts unit at the USPTO, examining technologies such as display circuitry, electronic input devices, and optical systems. He also routinely collaborated with several USPTO divisions (including the Office of Patent Quality Assurance, Office of Petitions, Office of Patent Legal Administration, and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board), gaining a broad understanding of internal patent processes and procedures at the USPTO.

Mr. Mistry earned his J.D. from The George Washington University in 2013 and his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida in 2007.

Ms. Strickland’s practice is focused on patent prosecution in various engineering and computer science technologies. She has experience drafting patent applications in the fields of AI and machine learning, cloud computing, communications, quantum computing, cybersecurity, containerization, and virtual machines, in addition to managing global patent portfolios for clients from Fortune 100 companies to start-ups. Her intellectual property practice also extends to trademark prosecution, trademark clearance, IP and software licensing agreements, and IP due diligence. Before becoming a patent attorney, Ms. Strickland was a software engineer and uses that experience to work with inventors during the patent process. 

Ms. Strickland earned her Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Cumberland School of Law, Samford University in 2022, where she had two IP-related articles published in the American Journal of Trial Advocacy. She earned a B.S. in Computer Science and Mathematics from St. Joseph’s University N.Y. in 2015 and a B.A. in Music from Hofstra University in 2011.

Mr. Bradley’s practice primarily focuses on drafting and prosecuting utility patents in the realm of computer software and hardware. He has experience dealing with disclosures involving cloud computing, computer-aided design, network security, business methods, mobile applications, process automation, and electrical power networks. Mr. Bradley also has experience in the fields of material analysis, heat transfer applications, and fluid dynamics.

In addition to drafting and prosecuting utility patents, Mr. Bradley has a passion for other intellectual property regimes including design patents, trademarks and unfair competition law, copyright law, and trade secrets. In particular, Mr. Bradley is interested in how these regimes interact with one another, and how each can be leveraged to develop broad and robust protection for a client’s complete intellectual property portfolio.

Mr. Bradley earned his Juris Doctorate from the Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2023. During law school, he received CALI Awards for the highest grade in Software Patents, Design Law, and Legal Theory. During law school, he was also a Chicago IP Colloquium Fellow, an Articles Editor for the Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property, and a volunteer at the Chicago-Kent Patent Hub. Mr. Bradley earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 2020 from the University of Louisville.

Dr. Fortier concentrates her practice on drafting and prosecuting patents for technologies relating to electro-mechanical arts, computers, software, and business methods. Her experience spans a wide range of technologies, including semiconductors, electro-mechanical and sensing devices, security and sensing techniques, applications and clustering algorithms for big data, Internet of Things (IoT), image processing, control algorithms, media delivery, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), oil and gas, medical devices, energy storage, mechanical machinery, automotive and aerospace technologies, blockchain, cancer therapy devices, and portable electronics.

Dr. Fortier also assists clients with the preparation of clearance, patentability and opposition searches, patent portfolio management, non-infringement and invalidity analyses, intellectual property (IP) protection policies, and strategic alignment of IP assets with market demands.

Prior to becoming a registered patent agent and entering the IP field, Dr. Fortier held academic positions including Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of North Texas, Faculty Fellow at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, and Invited Faculty Fellow at the CALCE Center for Advanced Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Fortier’s academic work has been published in over forty peer-reviewed technical journals, conference proceedings, and technical presentations. She is also the sole inventor of five issued U.S. patents.

Dr. Fortier earned her Mechanical Engineering degrees (B.S. in 2005, M.S. in 2006, and Ph.D. in 2009) and her Engineering Management degree (M.S. in 2009) from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Dr. Cote is a linguistics expert, focused on improving the clarity, readability, and quality of patent applications prepared by Invoke attorneys.

For nearly 30 years, Dr. Cote worked as a classroom instructor, teacher trainer, and administrator in high schools, community colleges, and universities around the world. He served as the Director of the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) program at St. Louis University in Madrid, Spain, as well as Chair of the English department at the Higher Colleges of Technology in the United Arab Emirates. At the University of Arizona (UA), Tucson, he was Director of the Writing Skills Improvement Program from 2014 to 2020, leading writing workshops and editing theses, dissertations, journal articles, book chapters, and grant applications. At the UA, he also served as the Director of the Center for English as a Second Language. He edited military Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the Department of Defense, published various research articles and book reviews, and edited for Simon and Schuster, FedEx, LINGUIST list, and Arab World English Journal (associate editor). Dr. Cote is also an English Language Specialist for the U.S. Department of State, having led advanced academic and professional writing seminars, workshops, and courses for clients in eastern Europe and Latin America.

Dr. Cote holds a B.S. in Meteorology with a minor in Mathematics, an M.S. in English as a Second Language (ESL), and a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics.