About

About the Blog

     The Maryland Intellectual Property Law Blog was founded with the purpose of providing news, analysis of important case law, summaries of pending litigation, statistical information, and commentary relating to intellectual property (IP) issues affecting Maryland businesses and individuals.  Since its inception in July 2007, the blog has seen tremendous growth in the number of visitors to the site, ranking it consistently among the top IP law blogs that focus on patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, and related issues.

About the Publisher


Brian Wm. Higgins, Esq.

     My professional career began after graduating with an engineering degree from Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ). I worked as an engineer for the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (CHPPM) (Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD), then as an engineering consultant for two government contractors, including Science Applications International Corporation. During this period, I received a masters degree from Johns Hopkins University and obtained my Maryland Professional Engineers (P.E.) license. 

     I attended the University of Maryland School of Law, where I quickly discovered a passion for IP law after taking Professor Kimberly Moore's (now Federal Circuit Judge Moore) patent law and patent litigation courses. I learned the art of digesting cases into short, concise summaries (great experience for blogging!) as the lead student patent Case Comment Editor on the national Federal Circuit Bar Journal.

     Today, my law practice focuses on solving complex IP problems for businesses and individuals in a wide range of technologies, including pharmaceutical drugs, medical devices, computer information systems, applied environmental technologies, force/torque/weight transducers for automotive and tool applications, Internet-based commerce, and various business methods, among others. I help clients procure patents and trademarks, prepare freedom-to-operate opinions, evaluate IP assets in mergers and acquisitions, and manage patent litigation matters. 

Education and Licenses

B.S. and M.S. degrees in engineering from Arizona State University and Johns Hopkins University, respectively.  J.D. degree from the University of Maryland School of Law.

I am licensed to practice law in Maryland and the District of Columbia.  I am registered to practice before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office as a Patent Attorney. 

Community Service

In addition to blogging for this web site, I volunteer my time as an ad hoc peer reviewer for the Journal of Environmental Health (a National Environmental Health Association publication) and other association publications.