Bradley J. Hulbert is a founding partner of MBHB and Chair of the firm’s Electrical Practice Group. Mr. Hulbert helps companies ranging from Fortune 500 organizations to startups evaluate, secure and enforce intellectual property rights.
Clients in the software, electronics and mechanical products industries regularly engage Mr. Hulbert for patent portfolio development, litigation related to patents, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks, and unfair competition, and alternative dispute resolution. He has served as lead trial and appellate counsel in a wide range of successful intellectual property litigation, often involving complex electrical and software technologies.
Mr. Hulbert also frequently evaluates and issues comprehensive opinions regarding the scope, validity, and enforceability of patents. He has negotiated a wide range of favorable intellectual property licenses and successfully testified as an expert witness on patent and licensing matters. Domestic and foreign clients routinely rely on Mr. Hulbert to assist them in establishing and maintaining effective programs for identifying and patenting key inventions.
A thought leader in the intellectual property law space, Mr. Hulbert frequently speaks about intellectual property issues at events around the world. He has taught patent law courses as an adjunct professor at the Chicago-Kent College of Law since 1993 and was named Adjunct Professor of the Year in 2024.
- Secured denial of institution of inter partes reviews from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board for telecommunications company KPN.
- Represented a major consumer electronics manufacturer, where a competitor brought suit alleging infringement of eight patents (including several essential to industry standards), and the manufacturer successfully defended with counterclaims (for, e.g., patent infringement, promissory estoppel and unfair competition).
- Brought a winning motion for summary judgment of non-infringement of two patents asserted against a multinational consumer electronics firm. Successfully argued for the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to affirm the judgment.
- Successfully defended a large, consumer electronics firm sued for infringement of multiple design patents.
- Asserted patent infringement in a suit against a company started by ex-employees of an industrial electronics manufacturer.
- Successfully defended a multinational software firm charged with copyright infringement.
- Secured favorable outcomes for a variety of multinational firms in a series of patent lawsuits brought by Non-Creative Entities that had purchased their asserted patents.
- Chicago-Kent College of Law
- Adjunct Professor since 1993
- Adjunct Professor of the Year: 2024
- Best Lawyers in America (2014-2024)
- IAM Patent 1000
- Illinois Super Lawyers
- Leading Lawyers Network
- Legal 500 (United States)
Management Forum
- Since 1997, Mr. Hulbert has been a featured speaker at least once or twice each year at Management Forum programs in London, addressing patent law, patent litigation, and patent prosecution. (1997-2017)
Patent Resources Group
- Since 2010, Mr. Hulbert has co-taught every year a course entitled, “Claim and Specification Drafting for a Single EPO/USPTO Patent Application.” (2010-2017)
IP Counsel Café
- Since 2015, Mr. Hulbert has been a featured speaker every year for IP Counsel Café meetings in Palo Alto or New York. (2015-2017)
