Bruce has 35 years of experience litigating patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, and employment matters.
On the intellectual property side, Bruce has served as lead counsel in cases involving copyright, trademark and patent infringement and ownership; false advertising, unfair competition, misappropriation of trade secrets, and the enforcement and interpretation of related license agreements, covenants not to compete, and non-disclosure agreements. Bruce also contributes due diligence reviews of U.S. and foreign IP assets during the acquisition and sale of companies, as well as for transactional work involving the licensing and financing of patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and know-how. He also advises on employment and independent contractor agreements related to the ownership or acquisition of IP.
On the employment side, Bruce has extensive experience litigating non-compete and other IP-related employment issues. Over the years, he has also litigated the full panoply of issues that might arise in the employer-employee context, including handling matters in state and federal courts involving claims of race, gender, religious, age, and disability discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful discharge.
Bruce’s clients range from emerging and fast-growth companies to major corporations and governmental entities faced with claims of potential damages of hundreds of millions of dollars. Bruce approaches client representation from the paradigm of what is best for the client. Whether on attack or defense or behind the scenes in discreet, productive negotiation, Bruce does not lose sight of what his client considers a win.
Before he began his legal career, Bruce was an award-winning journalist for newspapers in Illinois and Alaska.
Professional and Community Involvement
Member, American Bar Association
Member, Minnesota State Bar Association
Member, American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
Member, Minnesota Intellectual Property Law Association
Member and leadership role, International Trademark Association (INTA)
Honors
Minnesota Monthly Magazine, Top Lawyers in Minnesota, 2023
The Best Lawyers in America, 2011-2020, 2022-2024; Lawyer of the Year, 2015, 2017 and 2018
Minnesota Super Lawyers, 2003-2022