Fish & Richardson Announces Rob Courtney and Bonnie Korte Selected for Minnesota Lawyer's 2017 Legal Awards

Fish & Richardson announced that principal Rob Courtney has been named a 2017 "Up & Coming Attorney" and Bonnie Korte, manager of patent paralegals, has been named an "Unsung Legal Hero" by Minnesota Lawyer. Courtney and Korte will be honored at an event in Twin Cities on September 7, 2017.

The "Up & Coming Lawyer" award is given to a small group of attorneys who have practiced for 10 years or less and have distinguished themselves through professional accomplishment and community leadership. Courtney has represented some of the world's biggest technology companies in their most important patent infringement disputes. His litigation experience includes numerous matters in federal district and appellate courts, at the United States International Trade Commission (ITC), and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

In 2016, Courtney won two important patent infringement cases for local Minnesota-based client Cutsforth, Inc. On April 6, 2016, in a precedent setting victory, the Federal Circuit reversed two inter partes review (IPR) proceedings that had erroneously declared Cutsforth's claims unpatentable. The victory cleared the path for Cutsforth to proceed with infringement proceedings against its key competitor, MotivePower, Inc. Courtney's total victory came on the heels of an earlier Federal Circuit decision on January 22, 2016, which vacated a separate IPR decision that had erroneously declared claims in a different Cutsforth patent invalid.

Courtney also recently co-led and won two trials at the ITC for Nautilus Hyosung, the largest provider of ATMs in the U.S., against competitor Diebold in a patent dispute that involved a significant portion of the multi-billion dollar ATM industry in the U.S.The cases are now on appeal.

Prior to law school, Courtney worked for three years at the Center for Democracy & Technology where he advocated for global online civil liberties related to digital copyright, Internet governance, privacy and spam. He received his J.D., with distinction, from Stanford Law School in 2006 and his B.A., cum laude, from Dartmouth College in 2000.

Korte was one of 18 legal support professionals selected for the "Unsung Legal Hero" award, which recognizes the state's most talented and dedicated legal support professionals. She joined Fish in 2008 as a foreign paralegal and in 2013 was promoted to the position of supervisory patent paralegal, overseeing the work of 18 top-performing patent paralegals. In 2015, she was promoted to the position of manager of patent practice systems solutions, supervising 23 paralegals, overseeing patent-related projects, and consulting with various departments regarding technology and innovation efforts. In 2016, she was promoted to her current position, where she manages over 80 U.S. and foreign patent paralegals. Prior to joining Fish, Korte worked as a legal secretary and a docketing paralegal at two IP boutique law firms.