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Michael V. Risch

Contact Me:

Practice Areas:

  • Complex Business Litigation
  • Copyrights
  • Trade Secrets
  • Intellectual Property Licensing
  • Conducts Intellectual Property
  • Development Process Audits

Biography

Mr. Risch specializes in complex business litigation, with interests in copyrights and trade secrets, as well as other intellectual property matters. In addition, Mr. Risch handles intellectual property licensing and conducts intellectual property and development process audits.

Mr. Risch is Of Counsel at Computerlaw Group LLP, and Associate Professor at Villanova University School of Law. Prior to his professorship, Mr. Risch was an Olin Fellow in Law at Stanford Law School.

Publications:

Citations hyperlinked to SSRN where available:

Patent Troll Myths, 42 Seton Hall L. Rev. (forthcoming 2012)

An Empirical Look at Trade Secret Law's Shift from Common to Statutory Law, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND THE COMMON LAW (Shyam Balganesh, ed., forthcoming chapter 2012)

IP and Entrepreneurship in an Evolving Economy: A Case Study, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION IN EVOLVING ECONOMIES: THE ROLE OF LAW (Megan Carpenter, ed., forthcoming chapter 2012)

A Surprisingly Useful Requirement, 19 George Mason L. Rev. (forthcoming 2011)

Life After Bilski, 63 Stan. L. Rev. 1315 (2011), with Mark Lemley, Ted Sichelman, and R. Polk Wagner

Trade Secret Law and Information Development Incentives, RESEARCH HANDBOOK ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TRADE SECRECY (Rochelle Cooper Dreyfuss and Katherine Strandburg, eds., 2011)

A Failure of Uniform Laws?, 159 U. Pa. L. Rev. PENNumbra 1 (2010)

Reinventing Usefulness, 2010 BYU L.J. 1195, reviewed in John F. Duffy, Patent Utility Reduxit, JOTWELL (May 5, 2010)

Forward to the Past, 2009-2010 Cato Supreme Court Review 333 (2010), reprinted in PATENT LAW REVIEW 2011 (Thomson West, forthcoming 2011)

A Brief Defense of the Written Description Requirement, 119 Yale L.J. Online 127 (2010), reprinted in PATENT LAW REVIEW 2011 (Thomson West, forthcoming 2011)

Patent Challenges and Royalty Inflation, 85 Indiana L.J. 1003 (2010)

Virtual Rule of Law, 112 W. Va. L. Rev. 1 (2009 symposium issue)

Virtual Third Parties, 25 Santa Clara Computer & High Tech. L.J. 415 (2009), reprinted in VIRTUAL WORLD – A LEGAL ANALYSIS (Amicus Books 2010), reviewed in James Grimmelmann, Third Parties to the Rescue, JOTWELL (Nov. 9, 2009)

Comments on Trade Secrets in High Velocity Labor Markets, 12 Emp. Rights and Emp't Pol. J. 339 (2009)

Everything is Patentable, 75 Tenn. L. Rev. 591 (2008)

The Failure of Public Notice in Patent Prosecution, 21 Harv. J. L. & Tech. 179 (2007)

Why Do We Have Trade Secrets?, 11Marquette Int. Prop. L. Rev. 1 (2007)

How Can Whelan v. Jaslow and Lotus v. Borland Both be Right? Re-Examining the Economics of Computer Software Reuse, 17 J. Marshall J. Comp. & Info. Law 511 (1999)

Virtual Reality - A Legal Overview, with Jack Russo (chapter in Computer Software treatise by Clark Boardman Callaghan) (1995).

Other Relevant Experience:

7/98-present Russo & Hale LLP/Computer Law Group, Palo Alto, California.
Of Counsel (June 2006-), Partner (2003-2006), Associate (1998-2002). Advanced practice in intellectual property and complex business litigation, including trial; arbitration; appeals; motion practice; mediation; discovery; ADR neutral; intellectual property protection, auditing, and risk analysis; licensing negotiation and drafting.

3/93-present Owner/Consultant, Risch Consulting.
Consulting business in computer software and hardware design, installation, and support. Published commercial encryption program for popular electronic mail program. Developed law firm web portal and provided support to other programmers.

Other Writings:

Madisonian Blog, contributor, http://www.madisonian.net (Dec. 2010 – present)

Prawfsblawg, guest contributor, http://prawfsblawg.blogs.com (Oct. 2008, June 2009, Nov. 2009, June 2010, Nov. 2010)

The Valley Current Blog (Computerlaw Group LLP practitioner newsletter), contributor, http://valleycurrent.blogspot.com/ (Sept. 2010-present)

Response to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Request for Comments Regarding Patent Quality (March 1, 2010)

Amicus Curiae Brief of 20 Law and Business Professors in Support of Neither Party: Bilski v. Kappos, No. 08-964 in the Supreme Court of the United States (Aug. 6, 2009), with Mark A. Lemley, Ted Sichelman, R. Polk Wagner.

"The Idea's the Thing," Legal Times (May 12, 2008) (Op-Ed re patentable subject matter).

Amicus Curiae Brief of 22 Law and Business Professors in Support of Appellants: In Re Bernard L. Bilski and Rand A. Warsaw, No. 08/833, 892 in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (April 7, 2008), with John Allison, Mark A. Lemley, R. Polk Wagner.

Intellectual Property Law Updates, editor, for National Business Institute seminar (2008).

Advanced Programming for Novell Groupwise (technical manual), with three others, for Novell, Inc. (2002).

Law of the Internet in California, with Jack Russo and John Kelley, for National Business Institute seminar (2001).

"Copyright Protection for Virtual Realities: Brave New World Emerges," with Jack Russo, National Law Journal (October 17, 1994).

Federal Anti-Poverty Job Training: Problems in the Past and Hope for the Future. Public Policy Departmental Honors Thesis (1992).

Juvenile Crime in San Mateo County: 1989 Report, for Criminal Justice Council of San Mateo County (1990).

Education

  • University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, Illinois
    • J.D. - 06/1998
    • Honors: With High Honors
    • Honors: Olin Student Fellow in Law and Economics
    • Honors: Bradley Student Fellow in Law and Economics
    • Honors: Order of the Coif
  • Stanford University
    • A.B.
    • Honors: With Honors and Distinction in Public Policy
    • Honors: With Distinction in Quantitative Economics
    • Honors: Received Official National Merit Scholarship

Bar Admission

  • California
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of California
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit

Honors

  • National fellowship, Olin Fellow in Law, Stanford Law School.

Classes & Seminars

  • Patent Troll Myths, IP Scholars Conference (August), 2011 to 2011
  • An Empirical Look at Trade Secret Law's Shift from Common to Statutory Law, Villanova Law School Junior Faculty Workshop (June), 2011 to 2011
  • An Empirical Look at Trade Secret Law's Shift from Common to Statutory Law, Penn. Law Colloquium on the IP and Common Law, (May), 2011 to 2011
  • IP and Entrepreneurship in an Evolving Economy: A Case Study, Texas Wesleyan Colloquium on The Role of Law in an Evolving Economy (April), 2011 to 2011
  • Patent Troll Myths, Cyberlaw Colloquium (hosted by Rutgers – Camden), February, 2011 to 2011
  • Life After Bilski, Practicing Law Institute, 5th Annual Patent Law Institute, February, 2011 to 2011
  • Life After Bilski, Moderator, Stanford Law Review symposium (Co-Author Presented Paper), January, 2011 to 2011
  • New Uses for Patent Utility, Saint Louis University School Faculty Workshop, November, 2010 to 2010
  • Bilski v. Kappos, Indiana University (Indianapolis) College of Law, October, 2010 to 2010
  • Bilski v. Kappos, Ohio State University College of Law, October, 2010 to 2010
  • Bilski v. Kappos, Indiana University College of Law, October, 2010 to 2010
  • Panel Chair, Law and Literature Symposium, Villanova University School of Law, October, 2010 to 2010
  • New Uses for Patent Utility, University of Missouri Law School Faculty Workshop, September, 2010 to 2010
  • New Uses for Patent Utility, IP Scholars Conference, August, 2010 to 2010
  • New Uses for Patent Utility, Villanova Junior Faculty Workshop, June, 2010 to 2010
  • Empirical Study of Litigious Non-Practicing Entities, Law & Society Conference, May, 2010 to 2010
  • A Failure of Public Notice?, Hamline Law Review Symposium on the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, April, 2010 to 2010
  • Bilski and Software Patents, Memphis Law School, April, 2009 to 2009
  • Patent Challenges and Royalty Inflation, Villanova University School of Law, Jan., 2010 to 2010
  • Patent Challenges and Royalty Inflation, DePaul University School of Law, Dec., 2009 to 2009
  • Updates in Intellectual Property Law, WV CLE presentation, Oct., 2009 to 2009
  • Patent Utility as a Policy Lever, Santa Clara Work-in-Progress Roundtable, Sept., 2009 to 2009
  • Patent Challenges and Royalty Inflation, University of Utah College of Law, Sept., 2009 to 2009
  • Patent Challenges and Royalty Inflation, IP Scholars Conference, Aug., 2009 to 2009
  • Patentable Subject Matter after Bilski, SEALS conference, Aug., 2009 to 2009
  • Entrepreneurship Law Clinic, WV Biometrics Initiative Forum, June, 2009 to 2009
  • Patentable Subject Matter, George Washington University conference on Patents and Entrepreneurship in Business and Information Technologies, Invited Commentator, June, 2009 to 2009
  • Entrepreneurship Law Clinic, Eastern Panhandle Entrepreneurship Forum, June, 2009 to 2009
  • Virtual Rule of Law, Digital Entrepreneurship Symposium, WVU College of Law, Mar., 2009 to 2009
  • Trade Secret Law and Information Development Incentives, NYU Law School, Feb., 2009 to 2009
  • Entrepreneurship Law Clinic, WV Cheat Lake Rotary Club, Dec., 2008 to 2008
  • Everything is Patentable, Bauer Lecture Series workshop, Cardozo Law School, Nov., 2008 to 2008
  • Entrepreneurship Law Clinic, WV Young Entrepreneur Support Network, Nov., 2008 to 2008
  • Work/Life Balance, Panel Speaker, WVU College of Law, Oct., 2008 to 2008
  • Cyberlaw Update: How the Law is Changing, WV CLE Presentation, Oct., 2008 to 2008
  • Understanding the Current Financial Crisis, Panel Speaker, WVU College of Law, Oct., 2008 to 2008
  • Virtual Third Parties, Faculty Colloquia, WVU College of Law, Sept., 2008 to 2008
  • West Virginia Computer Crimes, WV Homeland Security Summit, June, 2008 to 2008
  • Everything is Patentable, Faculty Colloquia, WVU College of Law, Feb., 2008 to 2008
  • Orientation Address, High School Minority Law Day, WVU College of Law, Feb., 2008 to 2008
  • Trade Secrets in High Velocity Labor Markets, AALS Conferences, Section of Law & Economics, Invited Commentator, January, 2008 to 2008
  • Everything is Patentable, WIPIP Conference, American U. Law School, Sept., 2007 to 2007
  • Everything is Patentable, IP Scholars Conference, DePaul Law School, August, 2007 to 2007
  • "What If's" Conference, Michigan State University, Conference Fellow, March, 2007 to 2007
  • Trade Secret Roundtable, Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, Invited Participant, October, 2006 to 2006
  • Why Do We Have Trade Secrets?, Santa Clara University Law School, October, 2006 to 2006
  • American Inns of Court, Bay Area Intellectual Property, 1998 to 2007
  • Law of the Internet, National Business Institute, 2001 to 2001
  • New Legal Problems for the Internet Age, Alameda County Bar Association Intellectual Property & Computer Law Committee, 2001 to 2001
  • Wireless Law Offices, TechLaw Institute, 2001 to 2001
  • Economics of Copyright and Computer Software, Santa Clara University Law School, 2000 to 2000
  • Cyberspace Law School, Co-presented trade secret session for Glasser Legal Works, 2000 to 2001
  • Associate Professor, Patent Law, Cyberlaw, IP Survey, Villanova University School of Law
  • Associate Professor of Law and Project Director- Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Law Program, West Virginia University College of Law

Past Positions

  • West Virginia University College of Law, Associate Professor
  • Russo & Hale LLP, Of Counsel, 2006, Of Counsel, 2006 to 2009
  • Russo & Hale LLP, Partner, 2003 to 2006
  • Russo & Hale LLP, Associate, 1998 to 2002

Current Employment Position

  • Of Counsel