John Thuermer focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation, including Section 337 investigations at the U.S. International Trade Commission and civil actions in U.S. District Courts.
John has handled many facets of Section 337 investigations, including preparing and filing a complaint, pre-institution submissions, discovery, claim construction, hearings, petitions for review, remedy briefing, and Federal Circuit appeals. John’s experience includes preparing and examining witnesses for hearings; assisting witnesses in preparing testimonial witnesses statements; taking and defending fact, corporate, and expert depositions; working with technical, economic, and public interest experts; drafting pre-institution submissions, pre- and post-hearing briefs, petitions for review, and remedy briefs; crafting technical and domestic industry arguments; and preparing written discovery requests and responses. John has also assisted clients with District Court litigation, inter partes review proceedings, patent prosecution, and trademark and trade secret matters.
Before joining Fish & Richardson, John worked at the ITC for five years—three as an attorney advisor to Commissioner Rhonda K. Schmidtlein and two as an attorney advisor to Administrative Law Judge David P. Shaw. While at the ITC, John assisted on Section 337 investigations spanning a wide variety of technologies and allegations, including patent and trademark infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and other theories of unfair competition. He also assisted on advisory opinion, enforcement, and modification proceedings. John’s experience at the ITC encompassed investigations that presented ITC-specific issues, such as the domestic industry requirement, redesigns and the scope of exclusion orders, and the effect of the Commission’s orders on the public interest.
Between private practice and his tenure at the Commission, John has participated in over 60 Section 337 investigations.
