Christopher Hoff

About Chris

Christopher Hoff is a principal in the Twin Cities office of Fish & Richardson P.C., and provides IP legal services to a wide variety of clients, ranging from individual inventors and startups to large technology companies. His practice focuses on patents, including patent portfolio development and management, patent prosecution, and post-grant proceedings. Mr. Hoff has extensive experience helping clients develop valuable IP around their technology in the U.S. and abroad. He also has experience across a broad range of technologies and business sectors, including computer software and hardware, medical devices, telecommunications, and digital health technologies.

Mr. Hoff has extensive experience defending and invalidating patents in post-grant proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), including ex parte reexaminations, inter partes reexaminations, and inter partes review proceedings. He has also provided technical assistance in patent litigation matters. Mr. Hoff has experience counseling clients on trademark, copyright, and trade secret matters, as well.

Technical Areas

While Mr. Hoff’s practice includes a broad range of technologies, his primary areas of focus relate to computer technologies and medical devices.

Computer and Electrical Technologies

Mr. Hoff’s patent practice has covered a wide variety of computer and electrical technologies, including as mobile devices, wearable technologies, mobile apps, sensors, digital health, cloud computing systems, data analysis and signal processing, search engines, web applications, social networking systems, memory and storage devices, internet advertising systems, and telecommunication systems.

Mr. Hoff has a degree in computer science and worked as a software developer at CodeWeavers, Inc. for several years before becoming an attorney.

Medical Devices

As part of his patent practice, Mr. Hoff has experience with a variety of medical device technologies, such as automated external defibrillators, implantable diagnostic and therapeutic devices, CPR assist devices, spinal implants, brain computer interfaces, prosthetic devices, medicine dispensing technologies, and catheters.​

Speaking Engagements

• “Securing Intellectual Property,” University of Minnesota (February 2018)

During law school Mr. Hoff was a judicial extern to the Honorable Joan N. Ericksen of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.

​Post-Grant Proceedings

Google Inc. v. Porto Technology Co. Ltd., IPR Case No. IPR2016-00022

Google Inc. v. Porto Technology Co. Ltd., IPR Case No. IPR2016-00045

Google Inc. v. KlausTech, Inc., CBM Case No. CBM2016-00096​

​ResMed Limited et al. v. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Limited, IPR2016-01716

ResMed Limited et al. v. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Limited, IPR2016-01717

ResMed Limited et al. v. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Limited, IPR2016-01723

ResMed Limited et al. v. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Limited, IPR2016-01724

ResMed Limited et al. v. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Limited, IPR2016-01725

ResMed Limited et al. v. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Limited, IPR2016-01727

ResMed Limited et al. v. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Limited, IPR2016-01729

ResMed Limited et al. v. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Limited, IPR2016-01730

ResMed Limited et al. v. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Limited, IPR2016-01731

ResMed Limited et al. v. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Limited, IPR2016-01735

​Reexamination Proceedings

Nest Labs, Inc. v. Honeywell Int’l, Inc., Control No. 95/002,037

Nest Labs, Inc. v. Honeywell Int’l, Inc., Control No. 95/002,038

Nest Labs, Inc. v. Honeywell Int’l, Inc., Control No. 95/002,040

Nest Labs, Inc. v. Honeywell Int’l, Inc., Control No. 95/002,041

Nest Labs, Inc. v. Honeywell Int’l, Inc., Control No. 95/002,042

NuVasive, Inc. v. Medtronic, Inc., Control No. 95/002,364

NuVasive, Inc. v. Medtronic, Inc., Control No. 95/002,380

Requester v. Zoll Medical Corp., Control No. 90/012,444​

• Nationally recognized for his volunteer work
• Recognized as first volunteer patent attorney in the US to obtain a patent for a pro bono client under the USPTO’s patent pro bono program (2012)
• Recipient (one of seven) of “Stewards for the Environment Award” from REI based on his volunteer work for Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness Foundation, a non-profit organization (2004)