Richard W. Hoffmann

Rick has vast experience in IP litigation, and has litigated IP disputes at every court level from state district court through the US Supreme Court. Rick has also litigated cases at the International Trade Commission, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. He has litigated on behalf of a diverse range of clients, from individuals to Fortune 500 companies.

Rick helped lead the co-counsel team in the U.S. Supreme Court case TrafFix Devices, Inc. v. Marketing Displays, Inc. In preparation for this case, he worked closely with John G. Roberts, now chief justice of the United States. The case was decided in 2001 with a unanimous decision in favor of Reising’s client. Rick also filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the seminal Supreme Court case KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., in which he advocated upholding the current standards for determining the obviousness of an innovation.

Rick is a coauthor of the seventh edition of the textbook Cases and Materials on Patent Law: Including Trade Secrets, published by West Academic. Rick also is an adjunct faculty member at University of Detroit Mercy School of Law teaching Patent Law.

Rick has been selected for inclusion in Michigan Super Lawyers® every year from 2006 to 2024, Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year in the fields of patent litigation and patent law and has been named a Top Lawyer by DBusiness magazine. He also received an AV Preeminent® rating from the attorney directory Martindale-Hubbell Judicial Edition.

Rick received his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Technological University, where he graduated with honors and was president of Phi Lambda Upsilon, a national honorary chemical society. He graduated magna cum laude from the Detroit College of Law (now Michigan State University College of Law), where he served his college’s law review as a note and comment editor. Rick has also served as president of the Saginaw Valley Patent Law Association and as a council member to the Intellectual Property Law section of the State Bar of Michigan.

Rick originally joined Reising Ethington in 1985 and is currently serving his third term as the Firm’s President.