Albert B. Deaver, Jr.
Principal

For over 30 years, Al has focused his efforts on protecting his clients’ intellectual property, and defending his clients against intellectual property attacks. Al is an experienced patent, trademark, trade secret and copyright trial lawyer having successfully handled numerous disputes before both judges and juries. Using his pre-law experience as a mechanical engineer and consulting metallurgist, he has a well-earned reputation as a patent and trademark prosecution lawyer.

His professional recognitions include being named a 2021 Super Lawyer in Intellectual Property Litigation (Houston Region), the 2021 Lawyer of the Year, Trademark Law (Houston) by Best Lawyers; the 2020 Lawyer of the Year, Patent Law (Houston) by Best Lawyers, the 2019 Lawyer of the Year, Trademark Law (Houston) by Best Lawyers, and Litigator of the Week for October 20, 2016, by the AmLaw Litigation Daily. Al has been recognized by Best Lawyers each year since 2014 for his expertise and results in Litigation-Intellectual Property and Patents, and in Patent and Trademark Law.

(281) 460-2315  |  adeaver@md-iplaw.com

Detailed background

After receiving a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 1984, Al practiced until 1988 as a Registered Professional Engineer consulting in the areas of metallurgy and stress analysis. Al began his legal career in 1988 as a law clerk with Arnold White & Durkee P.C., a Nationally recognized IP law firm, and earned his J.D. from the South Texas College of Law in 1989, where he was a member of the South Texas Law Review and the Order of the Lytae. Al uses his real world experiences to represent his clients.

His courtroom and litigation experience covers a wide range of industries and technologies from consumer products to nuclear downhole tools, from semiconductor power supplies to wireless payment systems, and a range of technologies in between. Al focuses on structuring the case to join the issues as soon as practicable to achieve an early and effective resolution. As one example, Al represented Belco Manufacturing Company in a patent infringement suit by a former Licensor, who was asserting an expansive application of the doctrine of equivalents. Al was able to force a very favorable settlement from the Patent Owner within 2 months of answering the complaint by deposing the non-employee inventor and establishing invalidating prior sales. KBK Industries v. Belco Manufacturing Co. (WDTX 2017). In another case on behalf of Fiesta, Inc. involving wireless payment systems, Al was able to force a dismissal with prejudice within 60 days of filing the complaint by demonstrating that the complaint itself relied on invalidating prior art to make its claim of infringement against Fiesta. RFID Technologies v. Fiesta Mart (EDTX 2017). In The Board of Regents of the University of Houston System, et. al. v. Houston College of Law, f/k/a South Texas College of Law (SDTX 2016), Al and others represented the UH Law Center against his alma mater on claims of trademark infringement, dilution and unfair competition caused by the law school changing its name from South Texas College of Law to Houston College of Law, and it colors to red and white.  Within days of the name change, the lawsuit was filed and UH Law Center move for a preliminary injunction. Judge Ellison found a preliminary injunction was warranted against continued use of the confusingly similar name.  The case settled with the defendant abandoning the new name.  For his efforts on behalf of UH, Al was named Litigator of the Week by AmLaw Litigation Daily.

Unlike other IP trial attorneys, Al continues to provide legal services to patent and trademark clients before the United State Patent and Trademark Office.  As a registered patent attorney and recovering consulting engineer, Al routinely works with companies and inventors to identify patentable inventions, prepare patent and trademark applications for U.S. and foreign protection, prosecute patent and trademark applications to issuance, and instigate and defend post-issuance proceedings, including reexaminations, IPRs and oppositions.  Al represents individual inventors and small business owners as well as IP portfolio management for large companies over a wide range of mechanical, bio-mechanical, electro-mechanical, and electronic technologies.  Al routinely counsels clients in selecting trademarks and policing potentially infringing uses of clients' marks. Al has represented clients in trademark matters before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).

 In addition, Al provides IP counseling and strategic analysis for his clients, including opinions, due diligence, licensing, market analysis, competitive designing, and invention management.

 Al and the team at McAughan Deaver are driven to find creative, efficient solutions to your most vexing IP issues.