Nick Apel

Nick Apel is an intellectual property litigation attorney at Erise IP, focusing on complex patent litigation, trade secrets, and post-grant proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). His technical expertise is rooted in mechanical engineering, particularly in airflow and fluid mechanics, manufacturing engineering analysis, and material sciences. However, his case experience also extends to software and web technologies, as seen in his involvement in challenging patents related to interactive elements on video player webpages.

Apel primarily represents petitioners in post-grant proceedings. His tracked appearances include one plaintiff-side engagement, where he represented Unified Patents, LLC in challenging patents, indicating a focus on invalidating patents often asserted by non-practicing entities (NPEs). A notable case includes Unified Patents, LLC v. Razdog Holdings LLC, where he was part of the legal team that successfully initiated an ex parte reexamination proceeding against Razdog Holdings' patent related to web video control, leading to a finding of substantial new questions of patentability for the challenged claims. His practice explicitly includes an emphasis on post-grant proceedings.

He earned his J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law, where he received a Business and Commercial Law Certificate and Property & Patent Practice CALI Awards, and served on the Law Review. He also holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kansas. Apel is admitted to practice in Kansas, the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, and is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.