Talks, Recognitions, and Publications

Firasat has lectured on intellectual property topics for several institutions (e.g., U.C. Berkley's Boalt Hall School of Law, Motorola, Inc., LSI - Law Seminars Intl., Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, India, and Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India). 

He has also developed curriculums, taught and continues to teach courses on patent prosecution, litigation, licensing, and valuation/damages at Indian Institute of Technology "I.I.T." (Ranked among the top science and technology universities in the world) and other foreign institutions).  

Additionally, Firasat has presented on various intellectual property and M&A topics including the following:   

• M&A Positioning - showcasing the crown jewel
• 8 Start-up IP mistakes that scare investors away
• Crowdfunding challenges: How technology startups should overcome pitfalls and attract investors
• Duck  and Cover: What to do when you receive a notice letter 
• Creative  and thorough strategies to uncover the best prior art 
• Patent  valuation in litigation and non-litigation settings 
• Engaging  third parties to enhance buying and selling of IP assets
• Understanding  and effectively using the prosecution history in a patent litigation setting 
• Patenting  process from cradle to grave and strategic decisions that determine survival in the marketplace 
• Interactions between two corporations may bar your patent enforcement rights - The  Laches and Estoppel Story 
• Common mistakes in protecting your patent portfolio 
• The  Nuts And Bolts Of Case Strategy And Management (Substantial contributions)      
• Dissecting a patent claim 
• Protecting your brand, reputation, and goodwill through Trademarks 
• Identifying Intellectual Property and Submitting an invention Disclosure Early in the Design Cycle 

Firasat has authored several articles on intellectual property topics.  Some of his representative publication include the following:   

• Federal Circuit Digest - Selected Patent Cases  
• Supreme Court Speaks: In the Patent World, You Only Get One Bite at the Apple 
• Changing Face of Inter Partes Reexamination 
• Return of the Opinion Letters 
• A Limitation in the Dependent Claim May Imply a Broad Meaning of a Claim Term in the Independent Claim 
• Death Rays and the Demise of Arguments Waived 
• Proposed Rule Changes on E-filings, Unpublished Decisions and E-discovery 
• Conditional License Protects Patentee from the Patent Exhaustion Doctrine 
• Summary Judgment is Not Appropriate for Willful Infringement Where Jury Could Find Otherwise 
• Injunction Must Be Specific to Comply with Rule 65(d) 
• Claim It or Lose It 
• Foreign Sales May Enable an Otherwise Non-Enabling Publication 
• New USPTO Equation, Length of Time + Expertise of Target Audience + Copying =  Printed Publication? 
• Dismissal without Prejudice May Be Final Judgment; the Term "Circuit" Denotes Structure Sufficient to Avoid §112, ¶6 Interpretation 
• Different Words for Similar Concepts is a Recipe for Indefiniteness 
• Claim Not Limited to the Singular Form Unless Patentee Manifests a Clear Intent to Do So 
• Disclosing only one embodiment in the written description is analogous to putting all your eggs in one basket 
• Plain meaning will be attached in the absence of a clear disavowal or limitation by the patentee 
• Holy International Shoe Batman! 
• Similar Claim Terms May Have Different Meanings "It All Depends" 
• Federal Circuit Reaffirms Re-Writing Dependent Claims in Independent Form Constitute a Narrowing Amendment 
• An Engineer's Guide to Intellectual Property Protection and Invention      Disclosure Statements 
• Cinderella or the Ugly Step-Sister: Non-infringing Alternatives and the Calculations of Patent Damages (Substantial contributions) 

Firasat has led several fire-side chats at Stanford University, Angel Forums, and Legal forums with topics ranging from entrepreneurship, raising funds, patent protection, start-up challenges, scaling a company.

Some of his fireside chats with Industry veterans include: Jeff Hoffman, (Co-Founder of Priceline Group), Steve Kirsch ( (founder of Infoseek and ranked entrepreneur listed in Forbes Midas List), Adam Draper (4rth Generation VC, and George Zachary (GP at Charles River Ventures).  

Awards
  

• Recognizing his trial skills and dedication to the client in a "bet thcompany" patent jury trial, Firasat was presented with the      "Courtroom Crusader" award by the CEO of a Silicon Valley Top  100 Company.  He was also recognized as an outstanding litigator. 
• Received recognition and plaque by Motorola's executive team for exceeding theyearly goal for patent disclosure submissions by engineers. 
• Received San Mateo County's Legal Services award for  success in guardianship cases. 
• Member of engineering group (5 people) that received an award by Honda Indy 500 racing team for robust engineering design and quick turn around. 
• Received award as a team lead/design engineer (published in university's paper) for successfully designing and developing the Institute's first un-manned remote controlled biped robot having a robotic arm. 

Endorsements

Singled out Firasat from the entire McDermott Will & Emery litigation team and stated: "wonderful service, advice, loyalty and attention....MWE could not be better represented."
General Counsel for Extreme Networks, Inc.  

"In my experience, Firasat demonstrated sharp litigation, deposition, and trial skills and he prepared me extremely well for a case-critical deposition and jury trial. I would work with him again in a heartbeat."  

Tom Kramer, former client and Manger at Cisco Systems

 "Your professionalism and excellence have clearly had a significant positive impact your efforts is a reflection on our firm [Mcdermott Will & Emery] and evidence of our devotion to our clients." 

Elizabeth Majers, Partner In Charge of Client Realtions at McDermott Will & Emery providing recommendation on my behalf to the Firm Chair and Practice Group Chair.  

"Firasat worked for me at McDermott Will & Emery, where he was responsible for handling various aspects of several different patent cases. While working on those cases, it became clear to me that he was a talented attorney with deep technical knowledge and sharp entrepreneurial and business sense. Most notably, Firasat developed a robust litigation strategy that helped us win a bet-the-company case. Among other things, Firasat became well known at the firm for his sound legal judgment and exceptional lawyering skills (e.g., depositions, discovery, motion practice, etc.). For example, while deposing an opposing party's senior executive, Firasat managed to obtain case critical testimony and documents that provided us with huge leverage for a very favorable result for our client. Firasat has many talents and is very energetic in his pursuits. For example, Firasat actively generated significant business for the firm while he continued to successfully manage junior attorneys. Firasat was also able to continue managing a patent prosecution practice from his self generated clients. Often sought out by the firm's partners and clients, I found Firasat to be dedicated, enthusiastic, very friendly, practical, and a real "go getter" with a drive to always succeed. I would continually seek to staff Firasat on my cases as did many of my Partners at the firm. I give Firasat my highest recommendation." 

Keaton Parekh, Vice President, Licensing at Tessera (Former Partner at McDermott Will & Emery) 

"Firasat is certainly one of those rare finds in the industry. His excellent work ethic and dedication immediately brought to light his strong technical skills, and later in his career, his legal skills in the area of intellectual property. Firasat and I worked together extensively as development engineers at Motorola, where I quickly learned that Firasat was talented. He possesses a keen understanding of the interplay between technical disciplines, particularly in the electrical and mechanical fields, which made him a valuable asset to Motorola. We both developed a strong interest in intellectual property law during our engineering careers and gradually transitioned our careers into the legal field. Motorola obviously recognized Firasat's talent as he was transitioned into the IP department as a patent engineer, where his talents were ffurther recognized. From there, Firasat's legal career blossomed, demonstating his ability to successfully apply his talents to any of his endeavors. I hold Firasat in high regard for his technical skills, legal skills, and most importantly, his quality of character. I consider him as one of my most valued colleagues and would highly recommend him to anyone." William Lenz, IP Litigation Partner at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg  

"Firasat and I worked together at Motorola's IP Department. I observed and interacted with Firasat at a professional level. Firasat is self-motivated and driven to advance technology initiatives, while at Motorola, Firasat was responsible for soliciting patent disclosures and making key strategic decisions based on business and legal principles for growing his division's patent portfolio. Firasat truly excelled in his tasks and received recognitions from senior management and is an example for others. I enjoyed working with Firasat and would do it again." 

Sayed Beladi, Sr. Patent Counsel at Qualcomm 

"Firasat provided advise on patenting issues concerning semiconductor technology. During our discussions I found Firasat'ss technical knowledge to be exceptional. He has an excellent understanding of patent law and an ability to explain complex issues in simple terms. I also found some of his patents written for Intel to be of very high quality." 

Jawid Mirza, Engineering Manager at Intel 

"When Firasat and I worked together, he was the type of attorney who was consistently sought out by the most important partners to manage the most difficult projects and to handle the "front line" relationships with the most important clients. In addition to his many talents as an attorney, Firasat is an easygoing, affable and upbeat colleague and friend, who is always first to lend a hand to his teammates in times of need." 

David Jordan, Principal at Fish & Richardson