“At Fitch Even, we strive to recognize and live up to the trust placed in us for handling all matters, from relatively minor disputes to bet-the-company cases.”
Karl R. FinkPartner
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120 South LaSalle Street Suite 2100 Chicago, IL 60603VCard | 312.577.7000 312.577.7007 fax | EmailLinkedIn | Download PDF |
Education
Services
Technical Areas
Bar & Court Admissions
Recognition
Karl R. Fink has been a partner at Fitch Even since 1995 and is co-chair of the Litigation Practice Group. His practice includes all aspects of commercial litigation and intellectual property litigation, creation, management, enforcement, and licensing, with particular emphasis on patent litigation. Karl has been a full-time first-chair trial lawyer since 1981, handling hundreds of lawsuits in state and federal courts across the country, both at trial and on appeal, as well as in the International Trade Commission. His litigation practice also includes the handling of inter partes reviews in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Karl represents numerous public and privately held companies, ranging in size from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies. Clients have sought his counsel in a wide variety of intellectual property, commercial, and tort litigations, both on the plaintiff's side and the defendant's side. Karl handles alternative-fee and contingent-fee actions, as well as traditional hourly fee matters.
Karl has litigated complex cases involving an extensive range of technologies, products, industries, and issues. These include the following:
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Karl has played a leading role in numerous successful patent enforcement and licensing campaigns on behalf of the firm's clients. Clients also rely on Karl for advice regarding infringement, validity and patentability opinions, IP valuation, joint ventures, IP licensing, and other related business decisions.
In addition, Karl has handled numerous civil rights actions on behalf of inmates in Illinois correctional centers through the Trial Bar Pro Bono Program of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Karl previously served as Fitch Even’s Managing Partner.
Limestone Memory Systems LLC v. Micron Technology, Inc. et al. (N.D. Cal. 2016–20). Represented plaintiff in patent litigation involving semiconductor memory devices. Case settled shortly before trial.
United States Gypsum Co. v. National Gypsum Corp. (D. Del. 2017–19). Represented plaintiff in patent litigation involving gypsum wallboard composition and manufacture. Obtained settlement on a confidential basis.
National Gypsum Corp. v. United States Gypsum Co. (PTAB 2017). Represented patent owner USG in seven IPR proceedings filed against patents directed to gypsum wallboard manufacturing technology. After submission of petitions, preliminary responses, and expert declarations, the PTAB denied institution of trial in all proceedings.
Somaltus, LLC v. Auto Meter Prods., Inc. (E.D. Tex. 2015). Represented defendant in patent litigation involving automobile battery testing and charging technology. Obtained favorable settlement on a confidential basis.
Olivistar, LLC v. The Chamberlain Group, Inc. (E.D. Tex. 2015). Represented defendant in patent infringement action involving network control of garage door openers. Obtained favorable settlement on a confidential basis.
McDavid Knee Guard, Inc. and Stirling Mouldings Ltd. v. Nike USA, Inc. (N.D. Ill. 2014). Represented plaintiffs in patent infringement action involving foam padding for sports apparel. Obtained favorable settlement on a confidential basis.
Haltronics, Ltd. v. Coilcraft, Inc. (American Arbitration Association International Centre for Dispute Resolution, 2012). Defended Coilcraft in arbitration of claim for commissions brought by manufacturer’s representative regarding sale of inductors and other products. Obtained favorable result after arbitration hearing.
Presentations
- “Using Persuasion Techniques to Achieve Litigation Success: Part Two,” Fitch Even Webinar, with Nikki Little and Timothy P. Maloney, April 22, 2021.
- “Using Persuasion Techniques to Achieve Litigation Success: Part One,” Fitch Even Webinar, with Nikki Little and Timothy P. Maloney, March 10, 2021.
- “Using Effective Communication to Achieve Litigation Success,” with Nikki Little and Timothy P. Maloney, American Intellectual Property Law Association, February 3, 2021.
- "Protecting Trade Secrets In the Workplace," American Intellectual Property Law Association, Minneapolis, Minn., May 19, 2016.
- "The Impact of IPRs and CBMs on Patent Litigation," American Intellectual Property Law Association, Minneapolis, Minn., May 18, 2016.
- "101 Post-Alice: How the USPTO and Practitioners Are Reacting," Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago/U.S. Patent and Trademark Office program at Techweek Chicago, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, June 26, 2015.
- "Intellectual Property as Business Asset: Where Is the Value and How Do You Find It?," Fitch Even Webinar, April 30, 2014.
- Presentation to the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, focusing on the practice of law, the role of lawyers in society, and our system of justice, on behalf of the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession, November 2011 (with Joseph Shipley).
- "How Far Do You Have to Look Under the Rock (to Find Invalidating Prior Art)?" AIPLA 2009 Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., October 15, 2009.
- Adjunct Professor, University of Illinois College of Law, Patent Defenses course
- Lecturer, University of Michigan Law School, Advanced Patent Law Seminar
- Lecturer, DePaul University College of Law, Advanced Copyright Seminar
- Lecturer, John Marshall Center for Intellectual Property Law, Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference
Publications
- "Value Added Litigation," in Business Power: Creating New Wealth from IP Assets. Ed. R. Shearer. (Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2007).
- American Bar Association
- Law Practice Division
- Section of Litigation
- American Intellectual Property Law Association
- Chair, Special Programs
- Chicago Bar Association
- Kalamazoo County Bar Association
- Richard Linn American Inn of Court
- Chicago Lincoln American Inn of Court
- Past President and Program Chair
- National Knowledge and Intellectual Property Management Taskforce
