EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana;
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (emphasis in Control Theory), University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California;
Juris Doctor, Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles, California.

MEMBERSHIPS
State Bar of California (bar #162617);
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (registration #38,312)
Registered to practice before:
United States Supreme Court;
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals;
Federal Circuit Court of Appeals;
U.S. District Court, Central District of California;
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California;
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California

BIOGRAPHY

Steven W. Smyrski has over twenty-five years of experience in all phases of intellectual property, including patent prosecution and litigation, technology license drafting and negotiation, enforcement and infringement avoidance strategies, patent portfolio evaluations, infringement/validity analyses, and design around of U.S. patents.

Mr. Smyrski has personally drafted over 400 original U.S. patent applications in such diverse fields as telecommunications hardware and software, semiconductor design, fabrication, and inspection, medical devices, signal processing components, computer hardware and software, neural networks, exercise equipment, and business methods.

Mr. Smyrski has also litigated a variety of intellectual property disputes, including asserting and defending over ten patents for a large telecommunications manufacturer, litigating patents covering graphics accelerator chips, and pursuing patent, antitrust, and state law claims against a racing car clutch manufacturer.  Mr. Smyrski acted as lead outside intellectual property counsel in the $950 million acquisition of the printing division of a computer printer manufacturer, has rendered opinions regarding the scope of certain patents, and has acted as counsel to parties engaged in patent reexaminations.

Mr. Smyrski presides as a judge in the annual Pepperdine Intellectual Property Moot Court competition and acts as liaison for the Los Angeles Intellectual Property Lawyers Association intellectual property discussion with Loyola Law School students.  He has also been an instructor on patent and intellectual property law at the University of Southern California and Southwestern Law School, and served as a Director in the Los Angeles intellectual property lawyers Association in 2023 and 2024.

Mr. Smyrski was Counsel of Record representing the California Society of Entertainment Lawyers (CSEL) in two Amicus Briefs filed in support of Petitioner Paula Petrella, one in support of her Petition for Certiorari and another in support of her successful Supreme Court case against MGM, Petrella v. MGM, 134 S. Ct. 1962 (2014).  Mr. Smyrski was personally mentioned in an online article published by Variety Magazine for his work on the Petrella case.

Mr. Smyrski was also Counsel of Record in three other U.S. Supreme Court Petitions for Certiorari, Kirby v. Marvel Properties, U.S. Supreme Court Case No. 13-1178, representing Evanier, Morrow, and PEN Center USA; Shuster v. DC Comics, Supreme Court Case No. 13-1523, representing the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, et al., and InvestPic, LLC v. SAP America, Inc., Supreme Court Case No. 18-1199, representing ten separate amici.  Numerous online articles mention Mr. Smyrski’s brief in the Kirby case.

Mr. Smyrski is also a Managing Director of AQUA Licensing, LLC.  AQUA was founded with a mission of assisting companies in strategically leveraging their intellectual property assets in the sale, or recapitalization, of their operations.

Mr. Smyrski previously served as Senior Counsel in the Intellectual Property Group of Pillsbury Winthrop, an international general practice firm, and began his legal career as an associate at Poms, Smith, Lande & Rose, a patent and intellectual property firm in Los Angeles.

Before law school, Mr. Smyrski was an engineer for over eight years for two Southern California defense contractors, Hughes Aircraft Company (F-14 weapons system engineer) and Northrop Corporation (B-2 autopilot engineer).

INTERESTS AND ACTIVITIES

Professional Musician (bass guitar)
Sports (weightlifting/bodybuilding)