Nicholas Peterka
Professional Experience
Nick’s practice focuses primarily on patent law, but he also has experience advising clients on both litigation and transactional matters in all areas of intellectual property law. Nick provides counsel on patentability issues while conducting freedom-to-operate analyses; non-infringement, invalidity, and patentability searches; and drafting and prosecuting patent applications. Through his understanding of clients’ goals and objectives, Nick assists clients in optimizing the value of their innovations and minimizing risk associated with the intellectual property of competitors, both within the United States and abroad. Nick is suited to handle trademark registration and infringement issues, intellectual property licensing, and the protection of trade secrets. Nick uses his experience to develop and implement creative intellectual property strategies to address each client’s unique needs.
Originally from Park River, North Dakota, Nick received his Bachelor of Civil Engineering, summa cum laude, from North Dakota State University and his Juris Doctor, summa cum laude, from William Mitchell College of Law. During law school, Nick acted as an editor of the William Mitchell Law Review, contributed as a staff member to Cybaris® An Intellectual Property Law Review, represented the student body on the Student Bar Association Board of Governors, aided Professor R. Carl Moy as a research assistant, prosecuted patent applications through the William Mitchell Intellectual Property Law Clinic, and interned for Magistrate Judge Franklin L. Noel in United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.
While completing his undergraduate degree, Nick conducted research in the development of novel biomaterials for replacement tissue, such as replacement hips and knees. Because of his research, Nick was selected as a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar, a national award given for undergraduate research. In his spare time, Nick enjoys traveling, reading, rock climbing, running, curling, and skydiving.
Education
- William Mitchell College of Law, Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Juris Doctor, summa cum laude
- North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota
- Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, summa cum laude
Bar Admissions
- United States Patent and Trademark Office
- Supreme Court of the State of Minnesota
- United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
Publications
- Patent Freedom to Operate Searches, Opinions, Techniques, and Studies, (ABA, 2017), co-author
- Intellectual Property Law for Business Lawyers, Thomson Reuters®, annual (contributing author)
- Federal Intellectual Property Laws and Regulations, Thomson-Reuters®, annual (editor)
- Use of Unnatural Amino Acids for Design of Novel Organomodified Clays as Components of Nanocomposite Biomaterials,Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (368 PHIL. TRANS. R. SOC. A 1963 (2010))
Community Involvement
- Children’s Law Center of Minnesota, Volunteer Attorney
- Salvation Army, Volunteer