Alexandra E. MacKenzie

Alexandra E. Criner, formerly known as Alexandra E. MacKenzie, is a patent litigation attorney at McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff (MBHB). Her practice areas span a broad range of technology, drawing on her background in electrical engineering. She handles cases involving the electrical, mechanical, telecommunications, and computer science industries, with specific experience in digital health, autonomous driving, control systems, and meeting and event planning software. Additionally, she has experience with pharmaceutical industry litigation, as evidenced by her role in gene therapy patent disputes.

Ms. Criner primarily represents patent holders, assisting clients in securing and defending their intellectual property rights. Her litigation experience includes counseling on infringement and invalidity, as well as managing pretrial discovery and expert identification. In her tracked case, Genzyme Corporation v. Novartis Gene Therapies, Inc., she served as Lead Counsel for the plaintiff, Genzyme Corporation, in a patent infringement suit concerning six patents related to recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors, foundational technology for gene therapy like Zolgensma. This high-stakes case, filed in the District of Delaware, concluded after 796 days with a dismissal with prejudice, where both parties agreed to bear their own costs.

Her experience extends to post-grant proceedings, having successfully argued before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to secure a reversal of an examiner's rejection for a patent related to autonomous vehicle technology. She earned her J.D., cum laude, from Michigan State University College of Law, and holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Michigan State University. She is admitted to practice in Illinois and before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.