Stephen A. Cortiaus

Specialty / focus areas. Cortiaus is a Dallas-based patent attorney whose practice centers on computer software, semiconductors, and telecommunications, with hands-on engineering background in firmware, embedded devices, networking, and cloud computing (Slater Matsil bio). His tracked matters reflect that mix: network-security/decryption technology in the Keysight matter, and validity challenges covering Wi-Fi 6, cloud storage, groupware, EMV chips, firewall/network communication, video streaming, blockchain, and vehicle-control systems.

Side preference. He works both sides — one tracked appearance each for plaintiffs and defendants. His lead-counsel work for Unified Patents involves attacking NPE-owned patents (petitioner/plaintiff side), while his of-counsel role in Centripetal Networks, LLC v. Keysight Technologies, Inc. was defending an operating company.

Firm context. Cortiaus has spent his entire legal career at Slater Matsil, LLP (Dallas), joining as a patent attorney in 2014 and now serving of counsel; he is a USPTO-registered patent attorney (Reg. No. 74750). Before law school he was a firmware engineer at Hewlett Packard and later a product engineer for desktop/cloud and Bluetooth industrial applications (The Org profile; firm bio).

Notable cases and PTAB/IPR experience. In the Centripetal v. Keysight matter, Keysight's IPR (IPR2022-01525) resulted in all claims of U.S. Patent 10,284,526 being held unpatentable, affirmed by the Federal Circuit on April 2, 2026 (nonprecedential); Reed Smith led the appellate work with Slater Matsil as co-counsel in the underlying defense. Cortiaus's more frequent post-grant exposure is before the USPTO's Central Reexamination Unit for Unified Patents, where his ex parte reexamination requests were instituted/granted against patents asserted by DataCloud Technologies (firewall, Jan. 2025), DigitalDoors (cloud storage, May 2025), and NL Giken (video streaming, Apr. 2026), among others (Unified Patents insight posts). Slater Matsil reports that Patexia ranked him among its Top 100 Best Performing Attorneys Overall and in High-Tech for 2025. Bar/education: Texas bar; B.S.E.E. magna cum laude, University of Houston (2010); J.D. cum laude, SMU Dedman School of Law (2015).