Charles L. Gholz

Charles L. (“Chico”) Gholz is a senior counsel in the Litigation Practice Group. He is particularly skilled at handling patent interferences under 35 USC 135 before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and Federal Circuit review of decisions by the PTAB in interferences.

 Mr. Gholz represents a variety of domestic and foreign clients across a wide range of technologies.  He has frequently appeared before the PTAB, the Federal Circuit, and various Federal district courts; he has appeared as an expert witness on various patent issues (including, but not limited to, interference issues); and he has acted as an arbitrator. 

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Gholz served as an assistant technical advisor to the Honorable Giles Sutherland Rich of the U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (1970-1972). A former Lecturer in Law at George Mason University School of Law, he has written and lectured widely on patent law. In addition, he co-authored “Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: Practice and Procedure,” LexisNexis, and “Patent Practice,” Patent Resources Institute.
 

Education

• George Washington University (LL.M.)
  • Patent/Trade Regulation Law
• Columbia University (J.D.)
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (B.S.)
  • Mechanical Engineering
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (B.S.)
  • Economics

Admissions

• District of Columbia
• Virginia
• Registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Accolades

• Who's Who Legal: World's Leading Patent Lawyer (2015-2016)
• Best Lawyers in America- Litigation- Patent (2010 - 2024)
• Martindale-Hubbell® AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5
• Nominated by Expert Guide to Best of the Best USA (2014)
• 'IP Star', Managing IP Magazine- (2013 - 2015)
• Recognized by InterContinental Finance Magazine as one of the top 500 lawyers in the world today (2014)
• Chambers USA, Selected as one of "America's Leading Lawyers for Business" (Intellectual Property) (2012-2015)
• Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) Patent 1000: The World's Leading Patent Practitioners, named to its list of the top 1000 patent attorneys in the world; selected as one of the top eighteen practitioners in the United States for post-grant proceedings and is a “Recommended” patent attorney in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area for his patent prosecution and interference expertise (2012-2016)
• Legal 500 U.S., recognized as a prominent practitioner (2012)
• Patent Law Experts Guide (1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009)
• Patent and Trademark Office Society special citation “in recognition of his many outstanding articles and letters to the editors in the Journal of Patent and Trademark Office Society over a sustained period of years" (2000)

Professional Affiliations

• American Bar Association, Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law Section; Chairman, Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Subcommittee, Federal Practice and Procedure Committee (1982-1983)
• American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), Chairman, Interference Committee (1988-1990); Chairman, Amicus Committee (1994-1996)
• Association of Former Court of Customs and Patent Appeals Law Clerks and Technical Advisors, President (1978-1979)
• District of Columbia Bar, Steering Committee, Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law Division (1984-1986), Vice Chairman (1985-1986)
• Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal®, Advisory Board member

Services

• Litigation

Technologies

• Consumer Products