Alan Burnett

Alan Burnett is a patent litigation attorney with a practice focused on intellectual property, including patent prosecution, strategic planning, portfolio management, and litigation. His technical background and practice areas encompass software, electrical, mechanical, computer systems, advanced robotics, control systems, embedded systems, and medical devices, with a recent emphasis on Machine Learning and AI.

In his litigation practice, Mr. Burnett has demonstrated experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants. He served as lead counsel for SoftView LLC in its litigation against Apple Inc. et al., and as counsel for SoftView LLC when facing a challenge from Unified Patents [case data]. His career history also includes roles focused on patent assertion, licensing, and portfolio management, including as a Senior Licensing Attorney and Portfolio Administrator for Intellectual Ventures, where he managed wireless, networking, and computer architecture portfolios.

Mr. Burnett currently operates through the Law Office of R. Alan Burnett and is also a Patent Attorney and Shareholder at Compass IP Law PC. Previously, he was a partner with Blakely, Sokoloff, Taylor, and Zafman.

Notable cases include his involvement with SoftView LLC's litigation, specifically the appeal in SoftView LLC v. Apple Inc., which reached the Federal Circuit. This case addressed the scope of patent estoppel under 37 C.F.R. § 42.73(d)(3)(i) in the context of inter partes review (IPR) and reexamination proceedings concerning U.S. Patent No. 7,461,353, related to the scalable display of internet content on mobile devices. His experience explicitly includes Post-Grant Reviews (PGRs) and IPR proceedings.

Mr. Burnett is admitted to the Washington State Bar and registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He earned his J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law in 1997, and holds an M.S. in Computer Science and Software Engineering (2020) and an M.S. and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington and Washington State University, respectively.