Christopher L. Kalafut, J.D.
Of Counsel
Email:ckalafut@bellmanning.com
Phone: (608) 712-7774
Chris has been practicing patent law for over 17 years, with a technical emphasis in electrical and mechanical engineering and software. Prior to joining Bell & Manning, LLC, Chris was a partner at the law firm of Foley & Lardner LLP. Chris's practice focuses on U.S. and international patent prosecution, patent-related counseling, and strategy development.
Education
- University of Wisconsin Law School, J.D., 2006
- Magna Cum Laude
- Order of the Coif
- Moot Court
- Order of the Coif
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Electrical Engineering, B.S., 2003
- Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society
Admissions
Registered Patent Attorney, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
State Bar of Wisconsin
Legal Experience
Chris has prepared and prosecuted numerous patent applications directed to a wide range of technologies, including software, medical devices, circuits, control and monitoring systems, electromechanical devices, wireless communications, fuel cell electronics, and digital watermarking. As examples, Chris has written the applications/patents listed below by category:
Software
- U.S. Pat. No. 7,266,693, Validated Mutual Authentication.
- U.S. Pat. No. 7,440,915, Method, System, and Computer-Readable Medium for Reducing Payee Fraud.
- U.S. Pat. No. 7,680,739, Check Processing and Categorizing System.
- U.S. Pat. No. 7,983,915, Audio Content Search Engine.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,073,941, Method and System for Providing Remote Access to Applications.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,332,137, Navigation System with Dynamically Calibrated Pressure Sensor.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,332,290, Real-Time Rewards Redemption.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,731,748, Predictive Mapping System for Anglers.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,876,638, Real Time Pitch Classification.
- U.S. Pat. No. 9,098,818, System and Method for Managing Task Performance at a Data Center.
- U.S. Pat. No. 9,106,649, Method and System for Efficient Remote Application Provision.
Circuits and Control Systems
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,000,730, Method And System For Improving Performance In A Sparse Multi-Path Environment Using Reconfigurable Arrays.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,228,251, Ultra-Wideband, Low Profile Antenna.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,362,956, Electrically Small, Source Direction Resolving Antennas.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,811,511, Hybrid Analog-Digital Phased MIMO Transceiver System.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,849,229, Electrically Small, Super Directive Antennas.
Electro-mechanical systems
- U.S. Pat. No. 7,920,392, Dynamic Voltage Sag Correction.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,232,676, Uninterruptible Fuel Cell System.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,288,891, Integrated Fuel Cell System with Auxiliary Power Delivery.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,624,549, Fuel Cell System for Charging an Electric Vehicle.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,648,562, Single Power Supply Dual Converter Open-Winding Machine Drive.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,802,308, Fuel Cell System with Interruption Control.
- U.S. Pat. No. 9,142,847, Fuel Cell Load Controller.
- U.S. Pub. No. 2016/0070275, Non-Contact Rotary Fader.
- U.S. Pub. No. 2016/0192069, Motion Detection for Microphone Gating.
Medical and Electromechanical Systems
- U.S. Pat. No. 7,714,790, Wall-Mounted Electrical Device with Modular Antenna Bezel Frame.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,253,553, Portable Occupancy Detection Unit.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,430,929, Spine Reduction and Stabilization Device.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,749,392, Evacuation System.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,834,341, Coil Optimization for Magnetic Stimulation.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,863,996, Controllable Medicinal Dosage Packaging for Liquid Medication.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,889,403, Bioreactor for Engineered Tissue.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,920,537, Flying Air Purifier.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,929,622, Method and Apparatus for In Vitro Analysis of the Physical Response of Blood Vessels to Vaso-Active Agents.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,970,365, Evacuation System.
- U.S. Pat. No. 9,034,640, Bioreactor for Controlling Cellular Growth.
- U.S. Pat. No. 9,068,662, Valve Block Assembly.
- U.S. Pat. No. 9,129,044, System and Method for Radiation Dose Reporting.
- U.S. Pat. No. 9,439,691, Fixation-Based Surgery.
- U.S. Pub. No. 2016/0312907, High-Flow Fluid Valve Block
Wireless Communications
- U.S. Pat. No. 7,639,726, Downlink Communication.
- U.S. Pat. No. 7,702,290, Dynamic Energy Control.
- U.S. Pat. No. 8,363,699, Random Timing Offset Determination.
- U.S. Pat. No. 9,397,860, Mobile Messaging Platform.
- U.S. Pub. No. 2014/0269477, Networked Evacuation System
In addition to preparing and prosecuting patent applications, Chris has extensive experience in the following areas:
- Representing both petitioners and patent owners in inter partes review (IPR) and post grant review (PGR) proceedings before the USPTO.
- Preparing reexamination requests before the USPTO.
- Preparing and prosecuting reissue applications.
- Preparing freedom-to-operate analyses, invalidity opinions, infringement opinions, and non-infringement opinions.
- Conducting prior art searching to analyze patentability of inventions, identify invalidating art, and locate patent claims relevant to a freedom-to-operate analysis.
- Providing patent litigation support, including preparation of claim charts, strategy recommendations, and legal briefs.
Professional Associations
American Bar Association
American Intellectual Property Law Association
Wisconsin Bar Association