On February 23, 2018, in In re Silver, the Supreme Court of Texas conditionally granted mandamus relief and vacated the trial court’s order compelling production of emails between an inventor and his non-lawyer registered patent agent. In re Silver, Case No. 16-0682, 2018 WL 1022470 (Tex. February 23, 2018). The court held that a client’s communications with a patent agent, made to facilitate the agent’s provision of authorized legal services to the client, are privileged under Texas Rule of Evidence 503 (attorney-client privilege). The ruling marked the first time a state high court weighed in on the issue.
Albert Carrion
Albert is an intellectual property attorney on Husch Blackwell’s Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation team. He advises clients concerning the licensing, development, ownership and protection of intellectual property assets, such as software, trademarks, trade secrets, patents and domain names and the transfer of technology and IP in the context of corporate mergers, acquisitions and asset sales. He prosecutes trademark applications before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and handles trademark disputes at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Albert also handles litigation relating to the ownership, use and infringement of all forms of intellectual property, with an emphasis on patent litigation.