Mr. Lee has spent over 20 years of his career in private practice in the D.C. and Seattle markets, and spent 5 years as in-house counsel in the Seattle market.
As in-house counsel (1 year at Diego (since acquired by Arris) and 4 years at Microsoft), Mr. Lee drafted patent applications pertaining to, e.g., set-top boxes, interactive television, user interfaces, operating systems, common language runtime, computer graphics, etc. In addition, as a front-line patent counseling attorney for the Windows Group at Microsoft, Mr. Lee co-managed the annual patent program for Microsofts flagship product. Those responsibilities included, e.g., mining ideas for patenting and overseeing outside counsels drafting and prosecution efforts. Additional responsibilities in that role included triaging patent counseling matters for the business group, including potential infringement scenarios, soft assertions, and partner conflicts. Upon returning to private practice, Mr. Lee’s drafting and prosecution practice has been guided by business and legal principles that were refined while in-house.
Private Practice As a patent attorney in Washington, D.C. and Seattle, Mr. Lee has drafted and prosecuted patent applications in the computer, electrical (including semiconductors), telecommunications, and mechanical arts. Mr. Lee’s clientele, past and present, has included large patent holders from California, Washington state, Japan, and South Korea. In addition, Mr. Lee spent two years establishing and leading the IP counseling group for Lee & Hayes in Seattle, providing patent analysis services for firm clients. In that setting, in addition to procuring patents for clients, Mr. Lee provided data to guide IP strategies that supported clients’ business objectives. The data supported strategies applicable for patent portfolio building, in-bound and out-bound patent licensing, patent assertions, and standards participation.