Charles M. McMahon

Mr. McMahon counsels clients and litigates on their behalf in the areas of patent, trademark, copyright and unfair competition law. He has represented domestic and multinational clients in federal courts and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the International Trade Commission, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. He also prepares and prosecutes patent applications and assists clients in the negotiation and preparation of licensing agreements.

Mr. McMahon's work has involved a variety of technical areas, including vehicular transmission systems, wireless communications, solid-state electronics, encryption systems, digital imaging systems, electronic measurement devices, lithium batteries, software applications and online business-to-business exchange systems. He received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 1996 and his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School in 1999. Prior to joining Brinks, Mr. McMahon was a Judicial Intern for the Honorable Randall R. Rader of the Federal Circuit.

• Illinois Super Lawyers, Rising Stars, 2008-2010 
• Executive Production Editor, AIPLA Quarterly Journal, 1998-1999
• George Washington University School of Law Moot Court Board
• President, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Student Chapter, University of Notre Dame

• Bilski v. Doll, cert. granted, 77 U.S.L.W. 3656 (June 1, 2009) (No. 08-964). Mr. McMahon represented Accenture and Pitney Bowes Inc. as amici curiae on petition for certiorari arguing that Supreme Court precedent counsels a flexible approach to application of 35 U.S.C. § 101 for process patent eligibility. By contrast, the Federal Circuit's "machine-or-transformation" test unnecessarily ties the process category of section 101 to one of the other categories of that section, such as the "machine'" or "manufacture" category and improperly anchors the standard in the 20th Century.
• Energizer Holdings, Inc. and Eveready Battery Co. v. Spectrum Brands, Inc., No. 08-CV-431 (W.D. Wis., Oct. 30, 2008). Mr. McMahon represented plaintiffs Energizer Holdings, Inc. and Eveready Battery Co. in this case involving two patents for advanced primary battery technology. The Court granted a preliminary injunction to stop infringement of both patents by Spectrum's Rayovac lithium iron disulfide batteries.
• Eaton Corporation v. ZF Friedrichshafen A.G. and ArvinMeritor, Inc. (E.D. Mich. 2003-2008). Mr. McMahon represented defendants ZF Friedrichshafen A.G. and ArvinMeritor, Inc. in this patent infringement action involving heavy-duty truck transmission technology. After a two-week trial, the jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of Mr. McMahon's clients on all issues.
• In re Bilski, 2007-1130 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (en banc). Mr. McMahon represented the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) as amicus curiae before the Federal Circuit, arguing that the categories of section 101 should be applied broadly.
• In the Matter of Certain Automated Mechanical Transmission Systems for Medium-Duty and Heavy-Duty Trucks and Components Thereof (I.T.C. 2003-2006). Mr. McMahon represented respondents ZF Friedrichshafen A.G. and ArvinMeritor, Inc. in this section 337 patent infringement investigation at the International Trade Commission. In the violation phase of this investigation, the ITC granted respondents' motion for summary determination with respect to one of the six asserted patents. The ITC also terminated the investigation, at the patent owner's request, with respect to two other patents and several other claims of the remaining three patents. After a ten-day hearing on the merits, the Administrative Law Judge ruled in favor of respondents on all but one claim of one patent. The respondents designed around the one remaining claim, and Mr. McMahon helped them work with Customs to ensure continuous importation of the redesigned product. When the patent owner brought an enforcement action, Mr. McMahon helped ZF and ArvinMeritor become the first respondents ever to defend successfully against such a proceeding at the ITC. As a result of this victory, ZF and ArvinMeritor have been able to continue the importation and sale of the redesigned product without interruption.

• Patents and the Federal Circuit, 2010 Supplement, co-author with Cynthia A. Homan
• "Enforcing IP Rights in the ITC," co-author with Richard D. Watkins, World Intellectual Property Review 2007, at 48
• "Digital Recordings And Copyrights In The New Millennium," co-author with William H. Frankel, presented at the Mid-Winter Institute of the American Intellection Property Law Association, Phoenix, Arizona, January 2002
• "Jumping Over the Evidence Hurdle at Trial," co-author with Timothy Q. Delaney, National Law Journal, Aug. 7, 2000 at B11
• "Intent To Commit Fraud On The USPTO: Is Mere Negligence Once Again Inequitable?" 27 AIPLA Q.J., 1999, pp. 49

• “Patent Law Update,” Law Bulletin Seminars’ Annual Corporate Intellectual Property Law Conference, Co-Presenter with Chief Judge James Holderman, John Augustyn, and Edward Rice, Chicago, Illinois, May 25, 2010
• "The Why's and How's of Amicus Briefing," Wisconsin Intellectual Property Law Association Meeting, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, March 11, 2010
• "The New Law Under In re Bilski: Are Your Process Patents Now Invalid?," Utah Technology Council Industry Luncheon, Salt Lake City, Utah, December 3, 2008
• "Electronic Discovery in Intellectual Property Litigation," IICLE 2nd Annual Intellectual Property Law Institute for Corporate Counsel, Chicago, Illinois, April 24, 2008
• "IP Protection for Web Sites," IICLE Intellectual Property Law for Business Lawyers, Chicago, Illinois, November 29, 2007

• American Bar Association, Intellectual Property Law Section
• American Intellectual Property Law Association
• Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago
• Licensing Executives Society
• Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers

• The Wall Street Journal, WSJ.com
• FresnoBee.com; Intellectual-Property-Info.com
• Various Media
• Heartland Alliance: National Immigrant Justice Center
• ipFrontline.com
• Shandyatwork.com (blog)