Attorneys

Stephen T. Boughner is a partner with the Washington, D.C. law firm of Staas & Halsey LLP. He joined the firm in August of 1999, after practicing as a Patent Examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). He has substantial experience in both preparing and prosecuting patent applications, as well as in post issuance activities and evaluations, including reissue, reexamination, patentability, validity/non-validity, and infringement/non-infringement prosecution and evaluation involving a broad range of technologies and legal issues. He also has prepared and conducted numerous seminars, both with focused presentations and general IP overviews. The seminars have been presented in Staas & Halsey's Washington D.C. office, as well as internationally on client campuses.

Mr. Boughner has worked within a wide variety of technology fields, from primarily mechanical technologies, to electronic and electromechanical technologies, to primarily mathematical or computational intensive technologies, from small to large devices and systems. These fields have included at least home and office appliance arts; storage or media standardization, reproduction, and control; telecommunication components, systems, and processes, video hardware display devices and standardized audio and video technologies; more recent multi-dimensional video, display, and processes and corresponding encoding/decoding devices, systems, and processes, as well many other visual and audio related devices, systems, and processes. While at the USPTO, Mr. Boughner focused primarily on the display arts and video processing, which included television and other display technologies, hardware, software, and encoding/decoding methodologies, optical systems and processing, and video projection systems, including LCD and PDP technologies. During his studies in electrical engineering, Mr. Boughner's academic emphasis was on the areas of analog and digital communication, analog and digital controls, and software-based system simulation, as well as other electrical technologies.

Mr. Boughner received an electrical engineering degree (B.S.) from the University of Akron and a law degree (J.D.) from Akron University School of Law. He has been admitted to practice in California, New York, and Ohio, and is currently active in California and New York. He is similarly registered to practice before the USPTO. Mr. Boughner holds memberships in the Licensing Executives Society (LES), Intellectual Property Owner Association (IPO), the Intellectual Property Section of the American Bar Association, and the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), California Bar IP Law Section, and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Outside of work, Mr. Boughner is interested in athletic activities, including swimming and biking, and he recently began kayaking. He also has an interest in wine and reading for pleasure.

*Limited to matters and proceedings before federal courts and agencies, including the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office