H. Michael Hartmann

Senior Counsel

H. Michael Hartmann

H. Michael Hartmann

Senior Counsel

Overview

Early in his career, a judge cautioned Mike Hartmann “to be careful what you wish for – you may just get it.” It was a timeless lesson. Over the past forty years, judges, clients, colleagues and opposing counsel have all provided invaluable advice. Mike developed a keen sense for discerning the big picture and structure solutions accordingly, whether in “bet the company” litigation or more modest disputes.

Mike’s ability to deal with the technical and business issues at the heart of complex patent and trade secret disputes makes him a key asset to companies asserting or defending their intellectual property rights. His international background, experience, and perspective, covering a wide range of industries and technologies, allow him to effectively advance his clients’ interests in the United States and around the globe. One  of Mike’s early successes, involving the  rights to fundamental  soft contact lens technology, was featured in an article entitled The Global View of H. Michael Hartmann.

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Active in all phases of intellectual property law, Mike focuses on complex patent and trade secret litigation, Patent Office representation, and the creation, defense, and transfer of intellectual property portfolios in the United States and internationally. He has served as lead counsel in numerous jury and bench trials, appeals, Patent Office proceedings and major transactional matters.

Born and raised in Frankfurt, Germany, and fluent in his native language, Mike leverages his extensive experience in international patent matters on behalf of companies throughout Asia and Europe. He’s represented major corporations in China, Japan, Korea, Belgium, Germany and the U.K. in intellectual property portfolio creation, enforcement, and defense, as well as technology transfer and licensing matters. He has participated in legal proceedings in courts in England, Germany, and France, as well as before the European and Japanese patent offices.

Mike’s technical experience extends throughout a rich variety of disciplines and industries, including:

  • Commercial printing technology
  • Gypsum wallboard manufacture
  • Machine vision
  • Mechanical devices
  • Molecular sieve zeolites and catalysts
  • Oilfield drilling and geophysical methods
  • Polymeric lenses and separation membranes
  • Pharmaceuticals and blood filtration
  • Semiconductor manufacturing
  • Software
  • Subsea electrical and optical connectors
  • Telecommunications
  • Wind turbine and standby power generation
  • X-ray film emulsions

Before starting his legal career, Mike earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and attended an MBA program at Tulane University in New Orleans. He worked on the engineering staff of Mobil Oil Corp. (now ExxonMobil) and interned with a German patent firm before earning his law degree magna cum laude from DePaul University College of Law. Joining Leydig immediately after law school, Hartmann was president of the firm from 2009-2015.

He has lectured before numerous professional groups, including the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Practicing Law Institute, and at German professional conferences. Hartmann is also a member of several national and international professional organizations.

Education

  • DePaul University, J.D., magna cum laude, 1976
  • Colorado School of Mines, B.S. in Chemical Engineering, 1970

Admissions

  • Illinois, 1976
  • Registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Courts

  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Member, Trial Bar)
  • 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 Seventh Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Honors

  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Intellectual Property Law (2008 – Present)
  • Named among “The Top 100” Illinois Super Lawyers (2010 – Present)
  • Named in the Illinois Super Lawyers list, Intellectual Property Litigation (2005 – Present)
  • Listed in America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Chambers USA (2007 – Present )
  • Awarded “America’s Top 10% Honored Lawyers” by the American Registry (2022, 2025)
  • Named Best Lawyers’ Chicago Patent Law “Lawyer of the Year” (2013)
  • Named among “The Top 100” Leading Business Lawyers in Illinois by Leading Lawyers Magazine – Business Edition (2012)
  • Featured in “The Global View of H. Michael Hartmann,” Illinois Super Lawyers(2011)
  • Featured in “Mike Hartmann | Understanding the People Behind Patent Litigation,” Leading Lawyers Network Magazine – Business Edition (2009)
  • AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated (Highest Rating) – Martindale-Hubbell
  • Named as “IP Star” – Managing Intellectual Property™
  • Named as one of “The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners” – Intellectual Asset Management’s IAM 1000 (2013 – Present)

Professional Affiliations

  • American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
  • Association Internationale Pour La Protection De La Propriété Industrielle (AIPPI)
  • Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago (IPLAC) – Board of Managers (2009)
  • The Richard Linn American Inn of Court – Emeritus Member
  • VPP – Vereinigung von Fachleuten des Gewerblichen Rechtsschutzes (the German IP lawyers association)
  • U.S. Bar-EPO Liaison Council (former Chair)
  • Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO)
  • DePaul College of Law Center for Intellectual Property Law & Information Technology (CIPLIT®) Advisory Board

Articles, Publications & Lectures

  • “Implementation of litigation holds can avoid liability over spoliation,” Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, June 16, 2014.
  • “The boundaries of discoverable information,” Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, March 20, 2014.
  • “The External Perspective: The European Patent Package from the Perspective of a U.S. Applicant,” European Patent Package National (Patent) Law as Infrastructure for the Unitary Patent, Mannheim, Germany, Feb. 7, 2014
  • Profiled in “The Global View of H.Michael Hartmann: The IP attorney crosses borders to protect inventions,” Illinois Super Lawyers, February 2011.
  • “Managing U.S. IP Litigation: A View from the Inside,” VPP Conference, Mainz, Germany, Oct. 20, 2011
  • “Lifecycle Management Strategies for Blockbuster Medicines: Brand and Generic Perspectives,” LexisNexis 3rd Annual Pharma and Biotech Conference, Shanghai, China, Sept. 22, 2011
  • “Wrestling with Trade Secret Damages: Insights from a Plaintiff’s and Defendant’s Perspective,” American Intellectual Property Law Association’s Spring Meeting, Palace Hotel, San Francisco, CA, May 13, 2011
  • “Litigating Against Acquired Patents,” American Intellectual Property Law Association’s Mid-Winter Institute, La Quinta, CA, Jan. 27-30, 2010
  • Speaker on “Mock Direct and Cross-Examination of an Expert in a Patent Case,” Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago, Patent Law Symposium, Chicago, IL, Sept. 25, 2009
  • Hosted presentations during the 2009 Inside Counsel SuperConference, Chicago, IL, May 5-6, 2009

Languages

  • German

Insights

H. Michael Hartmann

H. Michael Hartmann

Senior Counsel

  • Office: Chicago
  • Phone: 312-616-5600
  • Fax: 312-616-5700
  • Email: mhartmann@leydig.com

Early in his career, a judge cautioned Mike Hartmann “to be careful what you wish for – you may just get it.” It was a timeless lesson. Over the past forty years, judges, clients, colleagues and opposing counsel have all provided invaluable advice. Mike developed a keen sense for discerning the big picture and structure solutions accordingly, whether in “bet the company” litigation or more modest disputes.

Mike’s ability to deal with the technical and business issues at the heart of complex patent and trade secret disputes makes him a key asset to companies asserting or defending their intellectual property rights. His international background, experience, and perspective, covering a wide range of industries and technologies, allow him to effectively advance his clients’ interests in the United States and around the globe. One  of Mike’s early successes, involving the  rights to fundamental  soft contact lens technology, was featured in an article entitled The Global View of H. Michael Hartmann.

Active in all phases of intellectual property law, Mike focuses on complex patent and trade secret litigation, Patent Office representation, and the creation, defense, and transfer of intellectual property portfolios in the United States and internationally. He has served as lead counsel in numerous jury and bench trials, appeals, Patent Office proceedings and major transactional matters.

Born and raised in Frankfurt, Germany, and fluent in his native language, Mike leverages his extensive experience in international patent matters on behalf of companies throughout Asia and Europe. He’s represented major corporations in China, Japan, Korea, Belgium, Germany and the U.K. in intellectual property portfolio creation, enforcement, and defense, as well as technology transfer and licensing matters. He has participated in legal proceedings in courts in England, Germany, and France, as well as before the European and Japanese patent offices.

Mike’s technical experience extends throughout a rich variety of disciplines and industries, including:

  • Commercial printing technology
  • Gypsum wallboard manufacture
  • Machine vision
  • Mechanical devices
  • Molecular sieve zeolites and catalysts
  • Oilfield drilling and geophysical methods
  • Polymeric lenses and separation membranes
  • Pharmaceuticals and blood filtration
  • Semiconductor manufacturing
  • Software
  • Subsea electrical and optical connectors
  • Telecommunications
  • Wind turbine and standby power generation
  • X-ray film emulsions

Before starting his legal career, Mike earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and attended an MBA program at Tulane University in New Orleans. He worked on the engineering staff of Mobil Oil Corp. (now ExxonMobil) and interned with a German patent firm before earning his law degree magna cum laude from DePaul University College of Law. Joining Leydig immediately after law school, Hartmann was president of the firm from 2009-2015.

He has lectured before numerous professional groups, including the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Practicing Law Institute, and at German professional conferences. Hartmann is also a member of several national and international professional organizations.

Honors

  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Intellectual Property Law (2008 – Present)
  • Named among “The Top 100” Illinois Super Lawyers (2010 – Present)
  • Named in the Illinois Super Lawyers list, Intellectual Property Litigation (2005 – Present)
  • Listed in America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Chambers USA (2007 – Present )
  • Awarded “America’s Top 10% Honored Lawyers” by the American Registry (2022, 2025)
  • Named Best Lawyers’ Chicago Patent Law “Lawyer of the Year” (2013)
  • Named among “The Top 100” Leading Business Lawyers in Illinois by Leading Lawyers Magazine – Business Edition (2012)
  • Featured in “The Global View of H. Michael Hartmann,” Illinois Super Lawyers(2011)
  • Featured in “Mike Hartmann | Understanding the People Behind Patent Litigation,” Leading Lawyers Network Magazine – Business Edition (2009)
  • AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated (Highest Rating) – Martindale-Hubbell
  • Named as “IP Star” – Managing Intellectual Property™
  • Named as one of “The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners” – Intellectual Asset Management’s IAM 1000 (2013 – Present)

Professional Affiliations

  • American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
  • Association Internationale Pour La Protection De La Propriété Industrielle (AIPPI)
  • Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago (IPLAC) – Board of Managers (2009)
  • The Richard Linn American Inn of Court – Emeritus Member
  • VPP – Vereinigung von Fachleuten des Gewerblichen Rechtsschutzes (the German IP lawyers association)
  • U.S. Bar-EPO Liaison Council (former Chair)
  • Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO)
  • DePaul College of Law Center for Intellectual Property Law & Information Technology (CIPLIT®) Advisory Board

Articles, Publications & Lectures

  • “Implementation of litigation holds can avoid liability over spoliation,” Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, June 16, 2014.
  • “The boundaries of discoverable information,” Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, March 20, 2014.
  • “The External Perspective: The European Patent Package from the Perspective of a U.S. Applicant,” European Patent Package National (Patent) Law as Infrastructure for the Unitary Patent, Mannheim, Germany, Feb. 7, 2014
  • Profiled in “The Global View of H.Michael Hartmann: The IP attorney crosses borders to protect inventions,” Illinois Super Lawyers, February 2011.
  • “Managing U.S. IP Litigation: A View from the Inside,” VPP Conference, Mainz, Germany, Oct. 20, 2011
  • “Lifecycle Management Strategies for Blockbuster Medicines: Brand and Generic Perspectives,” LexisNexis 3rd Annual Pharma and Biotech Conference, Shanghai, China, Sept. 22, 2011
  • “Wrestling with Trade Secret Damages: Insights from a Plaintiff’s and Defendant’s Perspective,” American Intellectual Property Law Association’s Spring Meeting, Palace Hotel, San Francisco, CA, May 13, 2011
  • “Litigating Against Acquired Patents,” American Intellectual Property Law Association’s Mid-Winter Institute, La Quinta, CA, Jan. 27-30, 2010
  • Speaker on “Mock Direct and Cross-Examination of an Expert in a Patent Case,” Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago, Patent Law Symposium, Chicago, IL, Sept. 25, 2009
  • Hosted presentations during the 2009 Inside Counsel SuperConference, Chicago, IL, May 5-6, 2009

Languages

  • German

Insights