Blair M. Hoyt
Principal / Washington, D.C. Metro Office
Ranging from large corporations to small inventors, Blair’s clients benefit from the attention he devotes to solving their intellectual property challenges. His clients trust his business sense and multi-dimensional legal skills to manage their high-value patent assets and global IP portfolios. Blair stays on top of the ever-changing IP landscape through legal organizations and intra-firm committees, and parlays these insights into actionable, value-added counselling that clients use to keep their businesses on the leading edge of their industries.
Blair works closely with clients to discover their core needs and strengths, and advises each one through a customized strategy to achieve their goals. Coupled with his years of experience in preparing and prosecuting patent applications, as well as providing expert opinions of counsel, Blair delivers results that mitigate each client’s exposure and risk while increasing the value of their intellectual property assets.
Practice Areas
Industries
- Drafts patent applications of strategic importance on a wide variety of technologies, including inverter controls for motors and generators used in heavy equipment for the AgriFood Tech industry. Experience in this space further includes opinion work and counseling.
- Prepares and prosecutes applications directed to artificial intelligence, wireless and wired communications, semiconductors (circuit design, packaging and the like), cloud network systems, image sensors and image processing, and medical imaging (CT, MRI and PET).
- Provides opinions of counsel allowing clients to avoid risks and often avoid litigation altogether.
- Provides competitive landscape analyses and IP strategies for operating within those landscapes.
In the News
Events
Presentations
- “Extraterritorial Considerations of U.S. Patents and the Different Treatment of Method and System Claims,” presented at two day seminar of the International Intellectual Property Law Association (IIPLA) in Dubai, UAE January 2018.
- “U.S. Patent Law and Extraterritoriality,” presented at three day seminar of the World Intellectual Property Forum (WIPF) in Dubai, UAE January 2018.
Blair spends most of his time outside of work with his wife and three daughters experiencing the many historical and agritourism sites that Virginia has to offer. In what little time remains, Blair reads books about whatever topic interests him at the time and tries to watch or attend as many Virginia Tech sporting events as possible. Blair never hesitates to share his passion for his alma mater, Virginia Tech, with whoever will listen.
Prior to practicing intellectual property law, Blair worked as a Computer Technician for the Defense Information Systems Agency.
Awards & Distinctions
- Outstanding Individual Achievement Award, Defense Information Systems Agency
Memberships
- Intellectual Property Owner’s Association, Open Source Committee
Education
J.D., George Mason University, 2008
B.S., Electrical Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2003
Bar & Court Admissions
Virginia
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
U.S. Supreme Court
