Alexandra E. Criner, nee MacKenzie, supports clients in the electrical, mechanical, telecommunications, and computer science industries in all phases of U.S. and international patent prosecution as well as intellectual property litigation.
She works with individual inventors and in-house counsel at Fortune 500 companies to develop comprehensive patent portfolio strategies. Ms. Criner draws from her background in electrical engineering to help clients secure and defend intellectual property rights for innovations in digital health, autonomous driving, control systems, meeting and event planning software and more. Her litigation experience includes counseling clients on infringement and invalidity and managing pretrial work related to discovery, subpoenas and expert identification.
Prior to joining MBHB, Ms. Criner studied electrical engineering. She also studied international intellectual property practices, specifically in the European Union, and applies her knowledge in this area to her work with foreign associates.
Ms. Criner brings a varied background and a wide range of interests to her intellectual property work. She grew up on a hay farm in Michigan where she was a long-time member of 4-H. She is also a member of the Melodeers Chorus, a barbershop chorus in Chicago that competes internationally.
- Revised a patent application for a digital health company that had been pending for nearly a decade due to section 101 objections; secured the patent, which was the company’s first application.
- Argued in front of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and secured reversal of examiner’s rejection of a patent for an autonomous vehicle technology company.
- Filed motions and briefs, managed the discovery process and drafted stipulations during litigation involving a client in the pharmaceutical industry.
- Secured a settlement for an inmate in Cook County related to a civil rights claim in a pro bono case.
