Michael J. Hartley

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Michael J. Hartley — patent litigation practice summary

Focus areas. Hartley is a St. Louis–based IP litigator and registered patent attorney whose docket spans patent infringement, trademark/trade dress, trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, and antitrust/commercial disputes in federal court. The technologies in his track record are diverse rather than concentrated in any single standards space: flue-gas mercury-control chemistry and power-plant processes (the Midwest Energy Emissions litigation), electroplating chemistry for semiconductor interconnects (MacDermid Enthone v. BASF), voting systems and software (Election Systems & Software v. Hart InterCivic PGR), silicon-wafer/semiconductor technology (MEMC v. SUMCO), pharmaceutical products, and mechanical/consumer goods. His educational background is in biology and sociology rather than engineering, though he is USPTO-registered.

Side preference. The structured case data show one tracked appearance, on the defendant side (0 plaintiff / 1 defendant). That single data point understates a mixed practice: searchable records show him defending accused infringers (Ameren/Union Electric in the ME₂C MDL) while also representing patent owners and petitioners in PTAB proceedings — e.g., petitioner in Election Systems & Software v. Hart InterCivic and patent-owner counsel in Scepter Canada v. No Spill and Arthrex v. P Tech. He is not an NPE/PAE-side specialist; his work is predominantly defense-oriented with substantial patent-owner representation.

Firm context. He is at Lewis Rice LLC in St. Louis, which he joined in March 2020 along with fellow registered patent attorneys Robert M. Evans, Jr. and Kathleen M. Petrillo, building out the firm's IP practice. Before that he was a partner at Stinson LLP (2018–2020) following the merger of boutique IP firm Senniger Powers into Stinson; he was at Senniger Powers from 2003 to 2018. Note: the tracked data lists him as of counsel, while contemporaneous firm/press announcements described him as joining Lewis Rice as a partner — the title discrepancy is worth confirming against the firm's current directory.

Notable matters and outcomes. The most prominent tracked case is Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. v. Ameren Corp. et al. (consolidated into In re Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. Patent Litigation, MDL No. 3132, S.D. Iowa), where he represents Ameren/Union Electric against ME₂C's mercury-emission-control patent assertions over coal-fired power plants; the defense has also pursued IPR challenges (including petitions by affiliated Berkshire Hathaway Energy defendants). In MacDermid Enthone Inc. v. BASF Corp. (Fed. Cir. 2022-1356) he was on the Lewis Rice team for the patent owner appealing a PTAB unpatentability ruling on the copper-electrodeposition patent; the Federal Circuit issued a Rule 36 affirmance on July 13, 2023 — an unfavorable outcome for his client. Earlier career results include the MEMC v. SUMCO antitrust defense (N.D. Cal. summary judgment for MEMC on Walker Process/sham-litigation and Noerr-Pennington grounds against $137M in claimed damages) and Fleming & Company v. Alliance Security Products (S.D.N.Y. summary judgment for Fleming on trade secret/unfair competition claims).

PTAB / IPR experience. Yes — he appears regularly in AIA proceedings, including IPR2015-00991, PGR2020-00031, IPR2020-00360, IPR2022-00786, and the 2025 ME₂C-related IPR petitions, frequently alongside Robert M. Evans, Jr. and Michael H. Durbin.

Bar / education. Admitted in Missouri (2003), E.D. Mo. (2003), Federal Circuit (2009), and the USPTO as a registered patent attorney (Reg. No. 67,230, 2010); B.S., Muskingum College (2000, magna cum laude); J.D., Ohio State University (2003, with honors).

Caveat: the tracked appearance count (1) is far narrower than his public litigation footprint, so this summary blends the authoritative case list with firm announcements, court/PTAB dockets, and Federal Circuit records.