Current Practice
Mr. Pate's current practice focuses on preparing and prosecuting patent and trademark applications before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He also assists clients in preparing and prosecuting foreign patent applications, as well as in litigation related to intellectual property matters.
Background
Mr. Pate has been involved in the preparation and prosecution of patent applications directed to a range of technologies. These technologies include automobile towing equipment, fuel nozzles, turbochargers, exercise equipment, medical implants, dental devices, electrical connection boxes, wire storage and dispensing devices, compressed-air guns, fertilizer distribution devices, refuse collection systems, down-hole systems, geological reinforcements, chemical generators, printing methods, search engine systems, language translation systems, network topology software, workstation monitor and control software, signal-interpretation software, drug-profiling software, and seismic analysis software.
Before joining Pate Pierce & Baird, Mr. Pate was employed at Utah State University's Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) where he generated computer models to predict thermal performance. Mr. Pate assisted in the fabrication of radiation shielding and its application to the SABER instrument (an earth orbiting infrared instrument launched in December 2001). He also performed thermal conductivity analysis used to design conductive heat sinks for cooling the circuit boards of the Advanced Reconnaissance Compression Hardware (ARCH) project. While at SDL, Mr. Pate was also involved in the machining, assembly, flexibility testing, thermal testing, and precision cleaning of numerous flexible thermal links made according to SDL's innovative design.
Mr. Pate has also been employed as a machinist, working with computer numerically controlled (CNC) equipment to produce custom plastic injection molds. Through this work he gained experience in metal working, mold making, and injection molding using ABS, polystyrene, and polyethylene.
Mr. Pate's formal engineering studies include courses in material science, mechanics of solids, thermodynamics, internal combustion engines, heat transfer, fluid dynamics, compressible flow, machine design, automation, aerodynamics, and hydraulics. During his senior year he was a member of a three-person team that researched, designed, and built a feed mechanism for predictably passing a product through an ultrasonic welder. The project required detailed planning and numerous experiments to optimize the welding process.
Mr. Pate speaks and writes Spanish.
