James Namiki

James Namiki is a versatile attorney who uses plain-language communication skills to efficiently secure patent protection for his clients.

With degrees in chemical and electrical engineering, James serves clients in a range of technologies including software, mechanical, electrical, and chemical fields. He is particularly proud of innovative patents he gained for his clients in the early days of social networking as well as patents for microchip fabrication technologies, mobile applications, and artificial intelligence.

Most of all, James is a skilled communicator who deeply values clients of all sizes.

Versatile Attorney for Inventors of All Experience Levels

James has worked in settings including large law firms, in-house legal departments, and his own solo practice, where his versatility helped him address not only his clients’ patent needs but also branding and trademark questions. 

A former in-house attorney at Microsoft-backed Intellectual Ventures, James is equally comfortable with highly sophisticated inventors as well as small-business owners. With experience as a solo practitioner who also holds an MBA along with his law and engineering degrees, James appreciates that patents can be particularly valuable to clients with new businesses. He proudly recalls when he obtained a patent in under a year that served as a valuable asset for a young client with an invention for an apparel hanger.

James provides creative solutions for clients, like the time early in his career when he was working on a patent application for a rock-crushing machine clutch. At the time, he didn’t have access to CGI tools so he created the drawings for the patent application by hand, and successfully obtained a patent.

Explaining Technical Concepts in Plain English

After graduating from college, James held a variety of jobs from working as a nuclear engineer to driving and entertaining tourists on tour buses in Hawaii. Through that experience, he honed his public speaking ability along with a self-deprecating sense of humor. After a conversation with a retired federal patent judge on his bus tour, James discovered that patent law might be a good fit for his engineering education and aptitude for communication.

James went on to earn dual degrees in electrical engineering and law at Syracuse University. 

James says drafting a patent application is like telling the story of the invention. Just as he once told stories to tourists on his bus, he now communicates with ease to everyone from inventors with little experience in legal matters to examiners at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.