Biography
Rick Grauer, after practicing intellectual property law for over forty years, now devotes his practice to serving as an independent neutral in intellectual property disputes. His earlier law practice included patent litigation at the trial and appellate levels, representing clients before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (primarily in mechanical technologies), and testifying as a patent expert witness.
In more recent years, he has had substantial training and experience as a mediator, arbitrator and court-appointed master or expert in patent, trade secret and trademark litigation in Federal and state courts.
A graduate mechanical engineer (University of Michigan), with a masters degree in automotive engineering (Chrysler Institute of Engineering), Rick worked as an automotive engineer for several years before serving as a U.S. Patent Office examiner and obtaining his law degree (The George Washington University, with honors).
Rick is a member of the Technology Panel of Neutrals of the CPR International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution, and of the Academy of Court-Appointed Masters. He has been listed in the Intellectual Property section of The Best Lawyers in America from 1993 to 2009.
About Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR)
ADR comprises several forms of nonjudicial, confidential, and cost-effective dispute resolution processes, conducted by a qualified neutral.
• Mediation: The mediator promotes negotiation between the parties, who retain full control over the terms of the settlement. In facilitative mediation, the mediator offers no opinion on the merits. In evaluative mediation, the parties may request a nonbinding informal opinion if negotiations reach an impasse.
• Arbitration: The arbitrator makes a decision on the merits, based upon evidence usually presented informally following limited or no discovery. The arbitrator’s decision may be a fully-reasoned written opinion, or simply a conclusion. If the parties request a binding decision, that decision is normally nonappealable.
• Neutral opinion: An informal but reasoned opinion based on written submissions, without discovery or testimony.
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