Murphy, Bilak & Homiller

(919) 948-3390

Team

Mark Bilak

Member, BSEE, MSEE, JD

Meet Mark

Mark focuses his practice on patent preparation and prosecution, intellectual property contracts and negotiations, and related opinion work. Mark has been deeply involved with semiconductor technology since the mid 90’s, first as an engineer, then as an in-house patent professional, and since 2005 as a patent attorney. Having been through the patenting process numerous times as an inventor, Mark has an uncanny ability to connect with inventors in a way that allows him to understand and appreciate subtle nuances of complex inventions that often determine patentability. Mark leverages this deep experience on each project he engages, tirelessly seeking optimal intellectual property protection for his clients.

As a development engineer while at IBM, Mark successfully led the qualification effort for a microprocessor manufactured using an industry-first copper wiring process. He also spent five years as a patent agent and licensing professional within IBM’s highly regarded intellectual property organization. In this role, Mark helped to cultivate strategic inventions, chaired several invention review committees, reverse engineered competing products, supported patent and technology licensing efforts, analyzed adversely held patents, and drafted and prosecuted patent applications.

In college, Mark served as a research assistant to Professor Xingwu Wang at Alfred University. In this role, Mark spearheaded a 5-ton thermoelectric heat pump research project sponsored by the U.S. Air Force.

Technologies

semiconductor technology, including logic and power device structures and fabrication, semiconductor processes, device assembly and packaging, and wafer, device and package testing; power converter technology; analog and digital circuits; memory systems; microprocessors; computer systems; telecommunication systems; 3-phase power transmission and distribution

Education

  • B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Alfred University
  • M.S. in Electrical Engineering, University of Vermont
  • Juris Doctor, with IP law specialization, Quinnipiac University School of Law

Admissions

  • United States Patent and Trademark Office
  • North Carolina State Bar
  • New York State Bar

Honors

  • Graduated First in the Evening Division Program at Quinnipiac University School of Law and in the top 2% overall (Summa Cum Laude)
  • Cum Laude at Alfred University
  • Law Merit Scholarship Recipient
  • West Publishing Company Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement
  • Quinnipiac Academic Excellence Award
  • 3-time Recipient of General Manager’s Excellence Award at IBM
  • Award Winning Inventor at IBM
  • IEEE Student Chapter President (1996) and Vice President (1995)

Scott Bloebaum

Member, BS/MS/PhD EE, JD

Meet Scott

Scott is a member of the firm, with his practice focused on patent prosecution, licensing, and post-grant proceedings.  Prior to joining MBH, Scott spent 6+ years in private practice at a large firm where his clients included individuals, startups, research universities, and major corporations.

Prior to entering private practice, Scott worked for over 20 years in the wireless communications industry, most recently as in-house IP counsel for a major smartphone manufacturer.  In this role, he dealt with a wide variety of patent licensing and litigation matters covering a range of technologies including email, messaging, Internet protocols, GPS, WiFi, 3GPP standards, speech/audio/video coding, cameras, memories, displays, and electronic packaging.

Prior to attending law school, Scott held a variety of technical, managerial, and customer-facing roles including senior technologist, engineering director and CTO for North America.  Scott also played an instrumental role in the development of wireless industry standards related to speech coding and location-based services, including assisted GPS.  He is a named inventor on 58 U.S. patents.

Scott draws upon this diverse background in all aspects of his practice.  As an experienced litigator, he drafts and prosecutes technically-detailed patent applications that support a range of claims and maximize the patent's chance of survival against future attacks in litigation, licensing, or due-diligence.  As a former CTO, he understands how to help clients translate their business and technology strategies into IP strategies and plans.  As an experienced inventor, he understands how to work with innovators to capture the full scope of their inventions in patent applications.  And as former in-house counsel, he understands the importance of meeting the client's business objectives with service that is high-quality, timely, and cost-effective.

Technologies

telecommunications, computers, software, devices and components, semiconductors, security, speech/audio/video coding, cameras, memories, displays, and electronic packaging

Education

  • B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Virginia Tech
  • M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Virginia Tech
  • Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, N.C. State University
  • Juris Doctor, with honors, UNC Chapel Hill

Admissions

  • United States Patent and Trademark Office
  • North Carolina State Bar
  • D.N.C., W.D.N.C., E.D.Tx.

Experience

  • Named Inventor on 58 issued U.S. Patents
  • 20 Years’ Industry experience as Engineer, Inventor, CTO, In-House Counsel
  • IP Litigator

Honors

  • Cum Laude at Virginia Tech

Dan Homiller

Member, BEE, MSEE, MBA, JD

Meet Dan

Dan Homiller has over 30 years of experience working with a wide range of wireless communications technologies in a variety of roles. This includes over 20 years as a systems engineer, project manager, engineering manager, product manager, and Deputy Chief Technology Officer designing and developing radio circuits, cellular telephones, and related products. Dan also spent four years in an in-house legal role, participating in intellectual property licensing transactions, strategic patent portfolio development, and patent infringement litigation defense. He draws on this in-house experience with infringement allegations and patent litigation to advise clients on reducing risks posed by third party intellectual property.

Dan’s understanding of the client perspective, combined with his extensive engineering background, gives him a distinct edge in patent prosecution in areas of electronic devices, products and systems, as well as software systems. An inventor himself, Mr. Homiller is named on eleven United States patents and has particular expertise in wireless systems. He additionally has extensive experience in preparing and negotiating technology-related agreements including nondisclosure, licensing and technology/software agreements. His knowledge of nearly every phase of high-tech product development, particularly for portable electronic devices, allows him to offer his clients expertise in all phases of the patent life cycle, from concept generation and evaluation, patent preparation and prosecution, to patent and technology licensing.

In addition to preparing and prosecuting hundreds of high-tech patent applications, Dan has taken cases to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Technologies

Analog and digital circuits, including radio-frequency; cellular telephony systems and devices; power generation and distribution; medical devices.

Education

  • Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
  • M.B.A., Duke University Fuqua School of Business
  • Juris Doctor, Duke University School of Law, Law & Contemporary Problems journal, Duke Law & Technology Review journal

Admissions

  • United States Patent and Trademark Office
  • North Carolina State Bar
  • Georgia State Bar
  • Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Experience

  • Named inventor on at least 11 issued patents
  • 20 years of wireless and telecoms industry experience
  • 14 years’ experience in preparing and prosecuting patent applications

Honors

  • Fuqua Scholar at Duke University Fuqua School of Business
  • High Honors, Order of the Coif at Duke University School of Law

Publications

  • Daniel P. Homiller, From Deepsouth to the Great White North: The Extraterritorial Reach of United States Patent Law After Research in Motion, 4 Duke Law & Technology Review 1-17 (2005)
  • Daniel P. Homiller, Patent Misuse in Patent Pool Licensing: From National Harrow to “The Nine No-Nos” to Not Likely, 5 Duke Law & Technology Review 1-21 (2006)
  • Daniel P. Homiller, 'The Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the European Union Copyright Directive: Next Steps' (2005) Duke Law 17 http://www.law.duke.edu/cspd/papers/nextsteps.doc

Justin Leonard

Member, BSECE, BSCS, JD

Meet Justin

Justin brings to MBH over 15 years’ experience in preparing and prosecuting patent applications in the electrical and communication fields. Preferred by patent-savvy companies for his skill in crafting plain-English claims to broadly cover complex inventions, Justin routinely drafts strategic and high-valued patent applications for clients recognized among the world’s top patent filers.

Justin’s patent work spans all aspects of telecommunications, from physical layer signal processing and RF circuitry to higher-layer software protocols, positioning, and security. With a focus on his clients’ business interests in the telecommunications industry and a low-level understanding of the 4G and 5G telecommunication standards, Justin has deep experience in building standard-essential patent portfolios designed to withstand scrutiny in due diligence and litigation.

Justin’s work at MBH further extends to trademark prosecution as well as to counseling clients with opinions on patent freedom to operate, non infringement, and validity, as well as trademark freedom to operate.

Technologies

Telecommunications, internet-of-things (IoT) and smart homes, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, power transmission and distribution systems, memory devices, robotic tooling, computer networking and graphics, consumer devices, web technologies and interfaces, and video encoding.

Education

  • B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University
  • B.S. in Computer Science, Duke University
  • Juris Doctor, UNC Chapel Hill School of Law

Admissions

  • United States Patent and Trademark Office
  • North Carolina State Bar
  • E.D.N.C.

Experience

  • 15 years’ experience in preparing and prosecuting patent applications

Honors

  • Magna Cum Laude at Duke University
  • Tau Beta Pi National Honor Society
  • Samsung American Legion Scholar

Michael D. Murphy

Member, BSEE, JD

Meet Mike

Mike’s work combines eight years of engineering experience with eighteen years of preparing and prosecuting patent applications addressing complex technologies, for savvy clients that recognize and demand quality work.

Mike worked as a design engineer and product development manager, specializing in embedded systems design, including hardware, software, and sensor interfacing. Mike worked full time as a registered patent agent while attending law school in the evenings and has over 18 years of experience in IP law.

In addition to preparing and prosecuting high-tech patent applications, Mike has legal expertise in freedom to practice / clearance opinions, patentability evaluations, patent reexamination, due diligence evaluations, patent preparation and prosecution, and trademarks.

Technologies

engineering experience in embedded systems design; patenting experience in RF communications and network infrastructure, machine vision systems, motion controls, and robotics.

Education

  • B.S. in Electrical Engineering, WVU Institute of Technology
  • Juris Doctor, NCCU School of Law, Evening Program

Admissions

  • United States Patent and Trademark Office
  • North Carolina State Bar
  • E.D.N.C.

Experience

  • Former embedded systems designer with analog, digital, and software design experience
  • 18+ years of experience in patent preparation/prosecution and opinion work.

Honors

  • Summa Cum Laude at WVU Institute of Technology
  • Summa Cum Laude at NCCU School of Law

Michael O'Neill

Member, BSEE, JD

Meet Mike

Mike’s engineering background coupled with his experience drafting and prosecuting patent applications allows him to translate complex technical concepts into effective patent claims. Mike’s practice includes all aspects of patent prosecution including application drafting, prosecution, appeals, along with opinion work. Mike’s work is not limited to one specific technology area, but most of his work has been in the field of semiconductors and fiber optics.

Mike began his professional career at IBM working in the PowerPC microprocessor design group. There, Mike’s responsibilities included custom circuit design and implementation of noise modeling tools. Mike has additional industry experience at American Tower Corporation, which is an industry leading owner and operator of wireless communications towers. In law school, Mike interned at the Global Patent Office of General Electric. There, Mike worked with in-house counsel on a variety of quality control projects.

Technologies

Semiconductor technology, analog and digital circuits, memory systems, microprocessors, computer systems, telecommunication systems, and power transmission and distribution, fiber optic circuitry and hardware

Education

  • B.S. in Electrical Engineering, University of Vermont
  • Juris Doctor, Quinnipiac University School of Law

Admissions

  • United States Patent and Trademark Office
  • North Carolina State Bar
  • Connecticut State Bar
  • Massachusetts State Bar

Experience

  • Circuit Design work for several PowerPC microprocessor products
  • 4 Years’ Industry experience

Honors

  • Magna Cum Laude at Quinnipiac University School of Law
  • Superior Classroom Performance Award (highest grade), Computer and Internet Law

Christopher Williams

Patent Agent, BSMSE, MS/PhD Physics

Meet Chris

Chris entered the field of patent preparation and prosecution after spending 13 years in industry as a scientist and engineer.  There he held various R&D, process and product development, and product integration positions at companies ranging from a small start-up to a large global corporation and made critical contributions to successful product launches across a range of technologies.

Chris made the move to patent preparation and prosecution partly due to the very traits that led him to the technology industry in the first place - his intense curiosity and tenacious interest in understanding devices and materials on a fundamental physical level.  Patent work quickly proved to be a perfect professional outlet for Chris to pursue these interests.  After spending several years on an in-house team, learning the art through interviewing inventors, drafting claims, writing specifications, and responding to office actions, he joined MBH as a Patent Agent.  Chris sees every new disclosure and office action as an opportunity to learn, whether it’s a technology he’s unfamiliar with or a way to improve his drafting and prosecution, and he approaches his work with the perspectives of both a patent practitioner and an experienced engineer.

Technologies

Semiconductor technology, including power devices and modules, device fabrication, and packaging; data storage technology, including perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR), heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), storage media, and hard disk drive (HDD) and solid-state drive (SSD) components and assembly; optoelectronics technology, including GaN-based and organic light-emitting diode (LED and OLED) fabrication, characterization, and testing

Education

  • B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, Virginia Tech
  • M.S. in Physics, The University of Texas at Dallas
  • Ph.D. in Physics, The University of Texas at Dallas

Admissions

  • United States Patent and Trademark Office

Experience

  • Inventor on 12 issued patents
  • 13 years in industry as a scientist and engineer
  • 3.5 years in in-house patent preparation and prosecution

Honors

  • Four Year Graduate Research Assistantship Recipient, The University of Texas at Dallas Nanotech Institute
  • Summer Research Scholar, Virginia Tech