Iona Kaiser is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and is based in the Firm’s Houston office. She focuses her practice on patent litigation and transactional patent matters, including prosecution, counseling and licensing.
Prior to joining McDermott, Iona was an associate at a large law firm. She handled all aspects of patent-related intellectual property law, with an emphasis on litigation and chemical patent prosecution. She has worked extensively on patent disputes as well as disputes involving business interruption at industrial facilities.
Before attending law school, Iona worked as a process control engineer with a large chemical company, where she spearheaded an industry-wide alarm flood and interface management initiative.
Iona received her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Houston Law Center and her B.S. in chemical engineering from Virginia Tech.
Iona is a member of the Houston Bar Association and the Houston Intellectual Property Law Association.
Iona is admitted to practice in Texas and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Representative Experience
- Counseling, drafting and prosecution of patent applications on behalf of a major oilfield services provider
- Represented a major consumer appliance manufacturer in enforcing patent rights and defending against infringement allegations
- Represented a plasma display manufacturer in multiple suits against a competitor involving both assertion of patent infringement and defense of counterclaims for patent infringement
- Represented a telecommunications client in disputes involving assertion of patent infringement and defense of counterclaims relating to video playback and networking technologies
- Counseled a major oil company regarding freedom to operate and avenues of pursuing protection for emerging business opportunities
- Represented a major chemical company in a suit against an equipment provider alleging negligence and fraud
- Represented a component manufacturer in defending against a suit for patent infringement
Education
- University of Houston Law Center, J.D. (magna cum laude), 2001
- Virginia Tech, B.S., 1996
