Corey Johanningmeier
Experienced Patent Trial and Litigation Attorney
Serving inventors and their companies in enforcing patent rights
Corey is a first-chair patent trial lawyer, who has helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for inventor and small-business clients in patent cases. Corey contributed to and knows the playbook on both sides, having achieved equal success defeating alleged liability for start-up and big-tech defendants at judgment or trial. He also has a winning record for both patent owners and defendants at the PTAB, and in Federal Circuit appeals.
Corey works as a solo practitioner for flexibility and efficiency. He knows when and how to leverage co-counsel, experts, and tools (AI or otherwise), and when and how to do everything himself; all to win at minimal client cost. And he has deep experience with alternative fee arrangements and litigation funding.
If you need advice on patent enforcement strategy, diligence or preparation of a case or campaign, or extra legal or technical help on an aspect of an ongoing litigation fight, please reach out. There are not better, more experienced, patent trial lawyers working on an at-large basis. Also, Corey is reportedly a very nice guy and fun to work with.
People
Corey Johanningmeier
Corey started his professional life at ten as a newspaper carrier, then had a career as an electrical engineer, then went to law school to become a trial lawyer. He has since gained two decades of experience litigating and trying patent cases at the highest levels of that game.
Corey’s clients have included individual inventors, small businesses, universities, startups, and global tech companies. He has helped to bring well over a hundred cases to successful resolution, for both plaintiffs and defendants. His defensive trial and summary judgment wins avoided billions in alleged liability. And the cases he developed, led, and contributed to for patent plaintiffs resulted in over $300 million dollars in settlements and verdicts. Of all his many cases as a lawyer, he is most proud of winning asylum for a woman from Kyrgyzstan and her two young children.
Many claim or aspire to be trial lawyers. Corey has actually been involved in dozens of jury and bench trials, in every role from strategy and advice, to presenting and cross-examining key witnesses, to lead trial counsel. He evaluates and prepares every case with an eye to trial story and what will matter to the factfinder. This is both more efficient, and more likely to provoke a valuable resolution short of trial.
Corey has worked with some of the top firms and practitioners in the field, including at Jones Day, at Keker, Van Nest & Peters, and at Bunsow De Mory. And he has opposed, and won against, many top-tier firms with tremendous resource advantages. Until recently, he did all of this for firms founded and owned by others. Now, he has opened his own shop, because this was always a life goal, and because challenge motivates excellence and career satisfaction.
Case Studies
Representative Engagements
Contingent Patent Assertion
Vineyard Investigations v. E. & J. Gallo Winery
Representing soil scientist, viticulturalist, and inventor Dr. Paul Skinner in enforcement of a patent portfolio related to intelligent control of irrigation and chemical delivery in vineyards and fields. Prevailed in initial phases of ongoing litigation against Gallo, including defeating a patent ineligibility motion, defeating three inter partes reviews and subsequent reexamination requests, and winning favorable claim constructions. The case was prepared for trial and is currently on appeal from an adverse summary judgment ruling.
Multi-Venue Litigation
Ramot at Tel Aviv University Ltd. v. Cisco
Brought and led multi-venue litigation in Texas, Delaware, the U.S. Patent Office, and the Federal Circuit, enforcing a portfolio of high-speed optical communications patents on behalf of Ramot and its Tel Aviv University researchers. Among other victories, completely defeated nearly two dozen proceedings and appeals brought by Cisco to challenge patent validity, without a single patent claim being invalidated.
Patent Assertion Campaign
Theta IP v. Samsung, Motorola, Apple
Represented Theta IP in a patent infringement action against Samsung in the Western District of Texas relating to technology for power savings in cellular receivers. After defeating Samsung’s numerous dispositive motions, we achieved a very favorable resolution as the jury was headed to the courthouse.
Corey then brought and led Theta’s subsequent litigations against Apple in the Western District of Texas, and against Motorola and parent Lenovo in the Northern District of Illinois. Early victories included defeating Apple’s motion to transfer, winning all claim construction disputes, completely defeating Motorola’s inter partes reviews, and defeating challenges in two of Apple’s inter partes reviews.
