Niall A. Macleod
Minneapolis, Partner
Education
- Syracuse University College of Law (J.D., 1996, magna cum laude, Law Review)
- University of Arizona (B.S. Electrical Engineering, 1989)
Bar Admissions
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) (Registration No. 41,963)
- Minnesota Supreme and State Courts
Awards
- Recognized in the area of Intellectual Property Litigation by The Best Lawyers in America© publication (2024)
- Awarded Minnesota Lawyer’s Attorney of the Year (2018) – “Arctic Cat’s Winning Team”
Biography
Niall Macleod has a proven track record as a successful trial lawyer. He focuses his practice on patent, trade secret, and commercial litigation in U.S. federal courts, and Inter Partes reviews before the U.S. Patent Office, Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Niall joined the Minneapolis office of Hansen Reynolds LLC in 2022. Prior to joining the firm, Niall was a partner at two AmLaw 200 firms.
Experience
Appellate lead counsel arguing for Arctic Cat (a Textron subsidiary) in Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. et al. v. Arctic Cat Inc., 785 Fed. Appx. 858 (Fed. Cir. 2019). Bombardier appealed from a jury verdict in favor of Arctic Cat. On appeal, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the jury verdict and post-trial rulings in Arctic Cat’s favor that Bombardier’s patents were invalid on multiple grounds.
First chair trial counsel for Arctic Cat in Bombardier Recreational Products v. Arctic Cat (D. Minnesota). Bombardier alleged that numerous models of Arctic Cat’s snowmobiles infringed two different Bombardier patents and claimed over $100 million in damages. After a three-week trial, the jury returned a verdict in Arctic Cat’s favor finding that both Bombardier patents were invalid under §102, §103 and/or §112 (indefinite).
Trial counsel for Arctic Cat in Arctic Cat v. Bombardier Recreational Products (S.D. Florida). A jury found that Bombardier willfully infringed two Arctic Cat patents related to controlled-thrust steering technology for personal watercraft (PWC). Based upon sales of Bombardier’s Sea-Doo PWC, damages in excess of $46 million were awarded to Arctic Cat by the jury. (Damages later reduced on appeal).
Lead counsel for GE MDS (a General Electric Company subsidiary) in the District of Delaware. The patent technology in the case related to cellular systems involving error rate dependent controls.
Inter Partes Review (IPR) counsel for an eCommerce company in multiple IPR proceedings filed by a competitor related to mobile payment systems.
Lead counsel for Opsens, a publicly traded Canadian medical device manufacturer accused by a competitor of trade secret misappropriation, unfair competition, and breach of contract. The technology in the case involved fiber optic sensors and measurement of coronary fractional flow reserve (FFR).
Lead counsel for defendant J&S Fabrication in patent and trademark case obtaining summary judgment in the Eastern District of Wisconsin of patent non-infringement and invalidity, and also on trademark infringement claims.
Trial counsel for TVI in TVI v. Microsoft (N.D. Cal.). TVI was the owner of several patents covering the “autoplay” feature of Windows. TVI sued Microsoft in the Northern District of California alleging that versions of Microsoft Windows infringed the TVI patents. The case settled favorably one week before trial.
Trial counsel for Medtronic AVE and Medtronic PLC in several patent infringement cases relating to coronary catheters and stents, and ventricular and atrial defibrillators/cardioverters.