patent + trademark attorney

A strong patent starts with engineering long before it becomes a legal matter. Mario brings a unique perspective to patent law, with a bachelor's and master's in mechanical engineering from Oregon State University, followed by a law degree from Harvard. His engineering background lets him approach inventions from a practical standpoint, focusing on functionality and potential competitive improvements. This insightful approach is central to his work, which is why he prioritizes understanding the product itself over paperwork in every engagement.

As a partner at FIG. 1 Patents, Mario has drafted and prosecuted patents across automotive sensor systems, memory devices, mobile hardware and software, wireless communication standards and telecommunications networks, medical devices, analog and digital circuits, oil-field equipment, and virtual reality. He has also litigated patents and represented clients in PTAB proceedings, and he has run IP due diligence on the commercial side of transactions. That combination matters more than it sounds: an attorney who has watched patents get attacked in litigation and picked apart in diligence writes very different applications than one who has only ever filed them.

Most of that work has been for established technology companies with large portfolios. Mario partners with 52Launch because independent inventors and early-stage founders rarely get that caliber of attention, and they can least afford a patent that looks fine on paper and collapses the first time someone tests it. A single well-drafted patent on a product you are about to manufacture is worth more than a thick portfolio of vague ones — and for a solo inventor, it is often the only real leverage there is.

Practically, that means a few things. Mario works on flat fees for most inventor and startup matters, so you know the cost of protection before the work begins, not a running meter. He will tell you directly when an idea isn't worth patenting, when a design-around will be trivial, or when the money is better spent on a provisional and six months of market feedback than on a full utility filing today. And he builds filings with an eye toward what a licensee, a retailer, or an acquirer will actually want to see.

FIG. 1 Patents is a patent-only firm based in Spokane, Washington, serving clients nationwide. The firm was ranked #1 in PatentBots' 2024 patent quality rankings, which measure the technical quality of issued patents rather than firm size or billings.