As technology-driven companies build products that blend software, connected hardware, and data-intensive systems, founders and executives often find themselves needing intellectual property counsel that understands both the law and the underlying engineering.

Technology moves faster than the patent system was designed to handle, and the companies building it face intellectual property questions that touch nearly every part of the business — what to protect, how to protect it, how to avoid infringing others, and how to turn a patent and trademark portfolio into a durable competitive asset. NK Patent Law works with technology-driven companies to answer those questions, from early development through commercialization.

NK Patent Law is a patent prosecution and intellectual property strategy boutique, not a full-service IP firm. We represent technology companies — software and platform businesses, hardware and electronics makers, connected-device and semiconductor companies, and the founders and investors behind them — in patent prosecution and IP strategy. Because patent and trademark rights are federal, we represent clients regardless of where they are located.

Our attorneys and patent agents have helped clients secure 2,100+ issued patents and 1,000+ registered trademarks, working with companies in 36 U.S. states and coordinating filings in 49 countries. We have helped build computing-technology portfolios exceeding 100 patents for a single client.

To discuss your technology company’s IP strategy, call NK Patent Law at (919) 348-2194 or contact us online.

 

Representative Experience

NK Patent Law’s technology experience spans both prosecution and selective litigation support. We have helped represent and advise clients on patent matters involving smartphones, LTE and wireless technologies, texture compression, digital image processing, and nonvolatile memory, including in U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Section 337 investigations. We have also helped defend issued patents before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), including two solar-energy Inter Partes Review (IPR) petitions in which the institution was denied on both.
Our post-grant work is grounded in our prosecution practice and is patent-owner-side defense — protecting a client’s patent against a validity challenge — rather than high-volume petitioner-side litigation. (For more on Inter Partes Review and PTAB proceedings, see our Artificial Intelligence Patent Lawyer page.)

Patent protection across technology

Much of what makes a technology company valuable is patentable, but the right strategy depends on the technology. NK Patent Law has helped clients pursue and protect patents across the areas where modern technology companies operate, including:

  • Software and machine learning — algorithmic methods, model architectures, and AI-driven applications
  • Computing technology — device management, on-device intelligence, and systems-level innovations
  • Wireless communications — LTE, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth standards-based technologies
  • Digital image processing — computer vision and image-recognition methods
  • Semiconductors and electronics — including hardware that accelerates AI workloads
  • Data processing systems — programming languages and computational modeling

For software and computing inventions in particular, subject-matter eligibility under Section 101 (35 U.S.C. § 101) is often the threshold question, and we draft and prosecute with that hurdle in mind. (See our Artificial Intelligence Patent Lawyer page for more on how we approach Section 101 and software patenting.)

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Examination strategy for technology inventions

Technology patents live or die on how claims are written and defended at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). We approach examination with the specific rejections technology applications tend to draw:

  • Section 101 — subject-matter eligibility. Software, business-method-adjacent, and abstract-idea rejections are the most common obstacle for computing inventions. We draft claims that tie innovations to concrete technical improvements rather than abstract results, and we respond to Section 101 rejections on that basis.
  • Section 102 and Section 103 — novelty and obviousness. Fast-moving fields generate dense prior art. We address anticipation and obviousness rejections by anchoring claims to the specific technical advance over what came before.
  • Section 112 — written description, enablement, and definiteness. For software and systems claims, we work to ensure the specification supports the full scope of what is claimed, so the patent holds up after issuance.

We also counsel clients on continuation and divisional strategy, so a portfolio can keep pace with a product as it evolves — a particular concern for software and connected-device companies whose products change quickly.

Freedom to operate

Before launching a technology product, knowing whether it risks infringing existing patents can be as important as protecting your own. NK Patent Law helps technology companies with:

  • Freedom-to-operate (FTO) analyses
  • Prior art searches
  • Patent opinions and counseling
  • Strategy for designing around competitor patents

Licensing, due diligence, and transactions

Patents and trademarks are assets that get bought, sold, licensed, and financed. We help technology companies and their investors with:

  • Patent and IP due diligence for acquisitions, licensing, and financings
  • Evaluation of in-licensed and out-licensed portfolios
  • IP considerations in deal structuring

Technology companies often also need commercial technology agreements, software licensing, and data-privacy and security counsel. Those fall outside our prosecution and IP-strategy focus, and we are glad to work alongside specialty counsel so your IP strategy and your transactional work stay aligned.

Additional Practice Areas

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Design Patents
Due Diligence and IP Transactions
IP Disputes
IP Strategy
Opinions and Counseling
Patent Prosecution and Portfolio Management
Trade Secrets
Trademark Prosecution and Portfolio Management

Technical backgrounds that match the work

Technology patent work demands counsel who can speak the language of the invention. NK Patent Law’s attorneys and patent agents hold engineering and science degrees. Managing partner Doug Meier is an electrical engineer by training who began his career as a software engineer for the NASA Space Shuttle Program before earning his J.D. with honors from the University of Texas at Austin — a background directly relevant to software, computing, and electronics patent work.

For inventions that cross into specific technical domains, we maintain related practice areas, including Artificial Intelligence Patent Lawyer, Mechanical Patent Attorney, and our broader Intellectual Property Lawyer practice.

Why technology companies choose NK Patent Law

  • Business-partner-level attention from experienced attorneys — sophisticated IP counsel without large-firm pricing.
  • Technical fluency — engineering and science degrees across the team, so the people drafting your claims understand your technology.
  • A prosecution-first strategy — focused on building and defending strong patent and trademark portfolios for technology-driven companies, from early development through commercialization.

NK Patent Law has been recognized by Legal 500 U.S. Elite, Best Lawyers in America for Patent Law, Business North Carolina Legal Elite, and the Chambers USA Regional Spotlight Guide. 

Speak with technology patent counsel

Call NK Patent Law at (919) 348-2194 or contact us online to discuss your technology patent and intellectual property strategy.