Maurice J. Pirio

Maurice has been at the forefront of prosecuting software and e-commerce patents for both large and small companies including Microsoft, Amazon.com, General Electric, Cray, and Boeing.  His educational background, technical experience, and legal expertise make him uniquely qualified.  Maurice prosecuted the first software patent filed by Microsoft Corporation in the 1980s that covered various operating system techniques.  He also prepared and prosecuted Amazon.com’s 1-Click patents in the United States and internationally.  He has prosecuted software patents in a wide range of technologies including operating systems, compilers, object-oriented programming, component object model ("COM") natural language processing, encryption, compression, information retrieval, speech recognition, real-time communications, multi-threaded computing, genetic algorithms, parallel algorithms, intentional programming, computer security, and graphical user interfaces.  He has prosecuted e-commerce patents relating to search engine technologies, ad serving, order processing, recommendations, and security.

Maurice’s educational background, which includes computer-related B.S. and M.S. degrees, provides him with a solid foundation in operating systems, computer architecture, theory of computation, and algorithmic analyses.  During his ten years of working in the technical field, Maurice worked on a variety of projects such as development of an operating system for the original Cray 1 computer for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a real-time data acquisition system for petroleum exploration, techniques for optimizing system performance for weather forecasting at the Naval Postgraduate School, and data acquisition and control systems for various manufacturing processes including development of device drivers and interrupt handlers.  He has developed systems using a variety of declarative and procedural programming languages, including object-oriented languages.

Maurice’s litigation experience includes an en banc decision by the Federal Circuit (Racing Strollers, Inc. v. TRI Industries, Inc.) overruling prior case law.  He has also testified on validity, non-infringement, and prosecution issues as a witness or expert in many lawsuits including Stac Electronics v. Microsoft Corp., Mentor Graphics Corp. v. Quickturn Design Systems, Inc., and Amazon.com Inc. v. Barnesandnoble.com, Inc.

Maurice has extensive experience with appeals before the USPTO Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences.  He has presented many oral arguments to the Board.  In one appeal, Ex parte Logan, the Board established fundamental principles for patentability of mathematical algorithms.  Maurice has participated in reexaminations before the USPTO and managed oppositions internationally including in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.  Maurice has also been a frequent lecturer in the United States and internationally on software-related legal issues including developing and presenting a multi-day Kayton course on procuring and enforcing software patents.

Professional Recognition

• Named the Best Lawyers’ 2012 Seattle Patent Law Lawyer of the Year
• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 2005 - 2012
• Listed in Washington Law & Politics, “Washington's Super Lawyers,” 2005 - 2011

Professional Leadership

• Washington State Bar Association
• American Bar Association
• Washington State Patent Law Association
• Association of Computing Machinery (ACM)

Related Employment

Legal

• Seed and Berry LLP, Seattle, WA, Partner, 1994 - 1999
• Seed and Berry LLP, Seattle, WA, Associate, 1988 - 1994

Technical (1976 - 1986)

• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Magnetic Fusion Energy Computer Center
• Boeing Computer Service
• Independent Consultant