Steve, a patent attorney and leader of Bricker Graydon Wyatt’s intellectual property practice group, helps innovators express and protect their best ideas. In over 30 years of legal practice, he has gained a unique perspective on the importance of communication. In the courtroom and before patent offices around the world, Steve helps clients to refine and present their innovation stories in the best light. The clients he serves have been granted numerous U.S. and foreign patents, helping generate tremendous value through company acquisitions, patent licenses, and strategic contracts. Steve takes the time to understand the challenges our clients are working to solve – both technical and logistical – and he brings structure and clarity as the foundation for advice and action. 

Clients observe that Steve is an “excellent communicator,” who “is straightforward, detail-oriented, and understands the businesses he works with.” This is in large part due to the broad range of his career.  Steve started as a research and development chemist before moving to law. Early on, he represented physicians and hospitals in malpractice cases, operating at the intersection of science and law. For the past two decades, he has practiced patent law, placing him at the intersection of innovation and business. 

As an adjunct professor, Steve has taught courses on executive leadership and consulting for the MBA program at the University of Louisville. He has also presented dozens of talks, workshops, and trainings during his career to inventors, business leaders, and university administrators. Each event takes on its own character, because each audience is unique.

Steve enjoys his work and the client connection. He is a visual thinker and communicator who sees his clients’ innovations as stories that must be told well. An enthusiastic open water swimmer who particularly enjoys the great lakes, Steve’s steady determination and adaptability to changing conditions are his key attributes – whether swimming or representing clients.

Education

J.D., University of Cincinnati College of Law (1992)

B.A. (Chemistry), magna cum laude, University of Louisville (1988)

Distinctions

• Ranked, Chambers USA – Intellectual Property: Band 2 (2012–2026)
• Listed, The Best Lawyers in America® – Biotechnology Law (2008–2026); Trade Secrets Law (2017–2026)
• Martindale-Hubbell Highest Professional AV Rating
• Listed, Super Lawyers®, part of Thomson Reuters® – Kentucky, Intellectual Property (2013–2026)
• Recognized, Louisville Magazine's "Top Lawyers" – Patent Law (March 2014)

Professional Activities

Registered Patent Attorney, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Adjunct Professor, University of Louisville College of Business

• Obtained multiple biotechnology patents for our client in virus purification, therapeutic delivery through safe viral carriers, production of an enzyme that protects military from chemical warfare, and preparation of monoclonal antibodies.
• Obtained multiple patents for our client, a company that makes equipment to amplify motion in machines with moving parts, allowing problems at the sub-pixel level to be detected quickly and addressed.
• Obtained multiple patents for our client, a large metropolitan research University, in a broad range of fields that includes bioengineering, chemical, and engineering.
• Obtained foreign patents for our client, a University with strong multidisciplinary research programs, covering water quality testing and analyte detection.
• Obtained sporting goods patents for various clients including baseball equipment, bowling balls, fitness exercise, and motor sports.
• Represented our client, the plaintiff, in a patent infringement lawsuit involving electronic safes and related devices with cash management features.
• Defended our client in a patent infringement lawsuit related to drop safes and mechanical locking safes.
• Defended our client in a patent infringement lawsuit involving computer-to-plate printing methods.
• Represented our client, a developer of proprietary formulations in the animal feed industry, in the negotiation of several license agreements with large animal feed companies.
• Represented our client, the Estate of a well-known inventor and television personality, in a patent licensing program.
• Represented the petitioner, a commercial truck seller, before the state Supreme Court, successfully briefing and arguing that arbitration provisions in commercial contracts are valid and enforceable under the Constitution's commerce clause.

News

Blog Posts

Publications

• "From Patent to Pitch," Amplify Louisville (October 16, 2025)
• "Think Like an Innovator to Solve Business Challenges" (June 20, 2025)
• "The Stakeholder Briefing" (May 14, 2026)
• "Using IP – Where, How & Why in Healthcare IT," TechFest, Louisville, Kentucky (August 25, 2023)
• "Navigating Artificial Intelligence at Your Work" (June 6, 2023)
• "Making Sense of Machine Learning," Finding IP Value (August 2023)
• "How to Tell Your Innovation Story to Every Audience," Amplify Louisville (February 28, 2023)
• "Navigating the Innovation Path: Intellectual Property and Contracts," Owensboro, Kentucky (July 22, 2022)
• "Think Like a Champion to Get Your Ideas Noticed," Finding IP Value (October 2022)
• "How Coaching Benefits Lawyers," Franklin, Tennessee (October 29, 2022)
• "Patent Invalidated Due To 'Impossibility' In The Claims," Finding IP Value (April 2021)
• "DoorDash Patent Shows Some Patents Are Granted for Incremental Advances," Finding IP Value (April 2021)
• "Probing Questions by Courts Foretold Ruling of Patent Invalidity," Finding IP Value (April 2021)
• "Assembling the Pieces: Practical Lessons from Recent IP Posts," Finding IP Value (May 2021)
• Quoted in "Starting a Business? These Louisville Lawyers, Founder Offer IP Advice," Louisville Business First (November 2021)
• "Assignor Estoppel: Do I Contradict Myself?" Indiana Continuing Education Forum Midwest Intellectual Property Summit (December 2, 2021)
• "Preparing for Deposition as a Financial Executive," Financial Executives International, Virtual Presentation (May 18, 2021)
• "The Problem of Trade Secret Theft and How to Address It," Wyatt's The Art of Successful Litigation & Dispute Resolution Seminar (November 2017)
• "Envisioning Success: Visual Thinking Strategies for Avoiding Intellectual Property Problems," Wyatt In-House Counsel Institute (June 22, 2016)
• "Using the AIA's First to File Rule and the Written Description Requirement to Invalidate Patents," Defense Research Institute Intellectual Property Seminar (May 6, 2016)
• "Let's Go Crazy – Select Strategies, Cases, and Developments in Intellectual Property," Wyatt's Memphis Corporate Counsel Seminar (April 2016)
• "Clearing the Hurdles: Patent Examination at the USPTO," Nucleus LaunchIt Program (October 30, 2014)
• "The Changing Landscape of Patent Litigation: Fee Awards and Exceptional Case Status," (June 17, 2014)
• "Fee Awards in Exceptional Cases" (June 10, 2014)
• "Patents and Trademarks," Wyatt In-House Counsel Seminar (June 2014)
• "Building Fences: Creating the Right IP to Protect Your Most Important Ideas," LaunchIt Series (November 4, 2013)
• "Protecting Your Ideas: The Importance of Breadth, Clarity, and Strategy," XLerateHealth (October 9, 2013)
• "Protecting Your Ideas: What Every Inventor Should Know About 'First-to-File' and the America Invents Act" (March 19, 2013)
• "The America Invents Act: Are You and Your Business Prepared?" Tennessee Bar Association, Memphis, Tennessee (February 19, 2013)
• "Protecting Your Intellectual Property," Nucleus' Kauffman TechVenture FASTTRAC® (April 10, 2012)
• "The America Invents Act" (November 18, 2011)
• "Protecting Your Intellectual Property," Nucleus' Kauffman TechVenture FASTTRAC® (October 25, 2011)
• "Commercializing Your Idea: Protecting Intellectual Property" (October 13, 2011)
• "The America Invents Act" (October 4, 2011)
• "Protecting Your Intellectual Property While Commercializing It" (May 26, 2011)
• "Protecting Your Life Sciences Company" (May 18, 2011)
• "Patenting Diagnostic Methods and Compositions," The Diagnostic Conference, Boston, Massachusetts (March 22, 2011)
• "Patent Law Essentials: Why, What, Who, When, and How" (February 16, 2011)
• "Managing the Ripple Effect of 'Public' Activities Surrounding Your Technology" (May 20, 2010)
• "Recognizing and Avoiding the Pitfalls of a Joint Research Program" (April 23, 2010)
• "Starting Up: Balancing Your Roles / Things You'd Wish You Knew" (April 15, 2010)
• "There's a Doc for That: Legal Documents for Commercializing Your Invention," International Society for Automation (March 15, 2010)
• "Risk Management for Clinical Trials: What's in Your Forms?" (April 18, 2006)
• "Is Inter Partes Review Unconstitutional?" Finding IP Value (December 2017)
• "The Impact of President Trump's IP-Related Appointments," Finding IP Value (January 2017)
• Quoted in "Intellectual Property Law Has a Real-World Impact on Businesses," Louisville Business First (March 2016)
• Quoted in "Many Options to Protect Intellectual Property," The Lane Report (February 2016)
• "Changes in U.S. Patent System Bring a Fundamental Shift" (January 2013)
• "An Overview of a Recent Court Challenge to the Protection of Biomarkers as Intellectual Property," Clinical Chimica Acta (2011)
• "Law and Medicine: Federal Appeals Court Rules That Biomarker Tests Are Patent Eligible, Expect to See Tests Promoted, Commercialized and Integrated into Healthcare" (March 2010)
• "Risk Management Applications from TGN 1412 Clinical Trial," Biotech Briefing of the American Bar Association Section of Science and Technology, Vol. 2, No. 4 (July 2006)
• "The Physician's Duty and Role in Communicating with Family Members Regarding Results of Patients' Genetic Testing" (April 2005)
• "Kentucky Supreme Court Adopts Separability Doctrine for Agreements to Arbitrate," American Bar Association Section of Business Law Newsletter, Vol. 12, Issue 2 (Spring 2004)
• "Court Prohibits Experts From Testifying That Cell Phones Can Cause Brain Cancer" (February 2003)
• "The Impact of Genetic Medicine on Civil Litigation" (January 2003)
• "Defending the Product Liability Action" (April 2002)
• "The Defendant's Right to Compel Genetic Testing," For the Defense (October 2000)