Craig Summers is a dedicated, life-long IP attorney with over 35 years of experience and the praise of his peers as “an outstanding litigator.” His practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and dispute resolution, including patents, trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights, and unfair competition. With a strong and diverse technical background, he is able to explain complex technology in simple terms that are easily understood. This has allowed him to successfully represent clients through jury trials, bench trials, and appeals, and to achieve his clients’ goals before trial through motion practice, settlement and other means.
Over the years, Craig has litigated hundreds of intellectual property cases in district courts throughout the United States, the ITC, the PTAB, and the TTAB. He handles a wide range of technologies, from the highly complex to the simplest of inventions. Representative technologies include computer software and hardware, wireless communication, GPS navigation, e-commerce, aircraft equipment and components, medical devices, dental products, pharmaceutical products (and related Hatch-Waxman litigation), apparel, and athletic equipment. Representative clients include Rolex Watch U.S.A., Edwards Lifesciences, TCL Communication Technology Holdings, TCT Mobile, Toshiba Corporation, HTC America, Alpine Electronics, Winn Incorporated and lululemon.
In addition to his litigation practice, Craig has extensive experience advising clients regarding intellectual property infringement and validity issues, and he has been able to successfully resolve many disputes for his clients without litigation, either through informal pre-litigation negotiations or through formal ADR, such as mediation and arbitration. His diverse practice also includes representing several foreign corporations, which makes him especially qualified to navigate the unique issues facing those companies in U.S. litigation. He also has been retained as an expert witness in business disputes and litigation where patent law is an issue.
Earlier in his career, in addition to his litigation practice, Craig was the lead attorney responsible for preparing and prosecuting patent applications for many well-known innovators, such as the Walt Disney Company. During that time, he was responsible for obtaining patents related to many of Disney’s most famous amusement park attractions and technologies. Although he no longer prepares or prosecutes patent applications, his prior experience has proven to be a very useful resource in litigating patent infringement cases.
Active in Knobbe Martens’ law firm management, Craig has served several terms on the firm’s Executive Committee and Diversity Committee. He is currently serving as a member of several firm committees, including the firm’s Litigation Committee, Data Privacy and Security Committee, and Mentor Committee. He also serves as pro bono counsel for the Downtown Women’s Center in Los Angeles and has worked on pro bono litigation in connection with the Central District of California’s Pro Bono Civil Rights Panel, which provides opportunities to represent pro se litigants in prisoner civil rights cases in Federal District Court.
Loyola Law School, J.D., Dean’s List, American Jurisprudence Award – Conflicts of Law
University of Southern California (USC), B.S., Mechanical Engineering
State Bar of California
Supreme Court of the United States
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. District Court – Central District of California
U.S. District Court – Eastern District of California
U.S. District Court – Northern District of California
U.S. District Court – Southern District of California
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Consumer Products & Services
Aesthetics & Personal Care Products
Sporting Goods & Recreation
Fashion & Beauty
Footwear
Jewelry
Media, Advertising & Entertainment
Amusement Parks
Film & Television
Medical Devices & Procedures
Aesthetics & Implants
Balloons
Cardiovascular
Catheters & Probes
Dental Devices
Left Atrial Appendage (LAA) Occlusion
Ophthalmology & Eye Care
Stents, Valves, & Delivery Systems
Structural Heart
Transcatheter & Surgical Aortic, Mitral & Tricuspid Valve Replacement
Transportation & Vehicles
Aerospace & Space Technology
Automotive Transportation & Powersports
Personal Motorized Recreation Vehicles (ATVs, Snow Vehicles, Personal Watercraft)
Advertising
Appellate Litigation
False Advertising Litigation
False Advertising Litigation
HatchWaxman Litigation
Infringement Risk
Inter Partes Review (IPR)
ITC Litigation
Licensing
Litigation
Opinions Counseling
Patent Litigation
Patent Strategy & Prosecution
Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB) Litigation
Post-Grant
Tech Transactions
Trade Secret
Trade Secret & Employee Mobility Litigation
Trade Secret & Employee Mobility Litigation
Trade Secret Protection Advice, Counseling, Employee & Nondisclosure Agreements
Trademark & Brand Protection
Trademark and Brand Protection Litigation
Trademark and Brand Protection Litigation
Trademark Enforcement
Trademark Trial & Appeal Board (TTAB) Litigation
TTAB Proceedings
Unfair Competition Litigation
Unfair Competition Litigation
Mr. Summers has received multiple awards for his legal accomplishments, including:
- Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® for his work in Intellectual Property Litigation (2023 – 2024)
- Named a 2022 “World IP Leader” by World Intellectual Property Review (WIPR)
- Named a “Leading Litigator – IP Litigation” in the 2022 edition of Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Litigators in America” guide
- Recognized by The Legal 500 “United States” for Patent Litigation (2021)
- Recognized in the World Trademark Review (WTR) 1000 as one of the “World’s Leading Trademark Professionals” (2018). His peers described him as an “outstanding litigator”.
- Recognized for Outstanding Leadership Contribution by the American Bar Association, Section of Intellectual Property Law (2018)
- Selected multiple times by his peers as a “Southern California Super Lawyer” for his work in intellectual property litigation by Super Lawyers magazine.
- Recognized in 2013 by American Lawyer Media as a “Top Rated Lawyer in Intellectual Property Law”.
- Named as one of Southern California’s “Top Lawyers” for intellectual property litigation in an annual survey of his peers published by Los Angeles magazine.
- Voted by his peers as one of Orange County’s “Top 50 Attorneys” in intellectual property litigation in 2011.
- Recognized by Texas Lawyer magazine as one of the “Top Texas Verdicts of 2009” for his jury trial victory in Golden Hour Data Systems, Inc. v. emsCharts, Inc.
- Consistently recognized by Martindale-Hubbell as an AV Preeminent Rated lawyer.
American Bar Association, Section of Intellectual Property Law
Chair, IP West Conference, 2018-2019
Member of CLE Board, 2017-present
Member of Council, 1999-2003
Past Editor of the Section’s Newsletter
Past Chair, Litigation Division and numerous committees
American Bar Association, Section of Litigation
Federal Circuit Bar Association
Federal Bar Association, Orange County Chapter
Board of Directors, 2005-2008
American Intellectual Property Law Association
Patent Litigation Committee
Trademark Litigation Committee
ITC Trial Lawyers Association
Association of Business Trial Lawyers
Institute for Corporate Counsel, formed by the USC Gould School of Law and the Los Angeles County Bar Association
Member of the Advisory Board, 2014-2017
The Institute focuses on new developments in law, business and politics
Orange County Bar Association
Orange County Intellectual Property Law Association
