Brooks Kushman attorneys guide inventors and students at Patent Procurement Clinic

Brooks Kushman attorneys David C. Berry and Michael N. MacCallum recently were appointed adjunct professors at Wayne State University Law School, and will supervise Wayne’s successful Patent Procurement Clinic.

As a leader in intellectual property law, Wayne Law’s Patent Procurement Clinic is part of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Clinic Certification Program, and one of about 45 participating law school clinics in the country offering clients important services such as patentability services, patent application drafting, and responses to patent office rejections. The Wayne State clinic provides law school students interested in patent law the opportunity to learn practical skills such as patent application drafting, under the direction of experienced practitioners. The Clinic also provides pro bono patent legal services to metro Detroit inventors.

Adjunct professors Berry and MacCallum will teach students strategies and good practices regarding meeting with clients, conducting patentability searches, drafting patent applications, and prosecuting the applications before the Patent Office. Berry and MacCallum, who both are registered patent attorneys, supervise all of the clinic’s patent services provided by upper-level Law School students with degrees in engineering or science. They co-teach Wayne Law’s Patent Procurement Clinic and Advanced Patent Procurement Clinic courses.

Berry has more than 12 years of experience as a law school professor and over 15 years of law practice experience focusing on patent litigation and IP licensing. He provides counsel to Brooks Kushman’s clients on issues of patent and licensing disputes and has represented clients in all phases of litigation, including pre-trial proceedings, bench and jury trials and appeals, including arguing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Berry currently is chair-elect of the State Bar of Michigan Intellectual Property Law Section and is a member of the board of directors of the national Patent Pro Bono Advisory Council.

MacCallum’s practice focuses on preparing and prosecuting patent applications in the automotive and manufacturing industries. An alumnus of Wayne Law, he is also actively involved in post-grant proceedings before the Patent Office.