Robert (Rob) D. McCutcheon is a member of the Munck Wilson Mandala executive committee and a partner in the technology/intellectual property law group. He has over 30 years experience in domestic and foreign intellectual property procurement, exploitation, enforcement, and counseling in patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. His vast technical expertise covers semiconductors, telecommunications, hand-held devices, hardware, software, medical devices, fiber optics, as well as the electro-mechanical and mechanical arts.

Rob has a broad range of legal experience in patent matters, including domestic and international patent preparation and prosecution, patent infringement and litigation matters (enforcement and defense), patent reexamination proceedings, opinions, licensing, and various matters related to mergers and acquisitions involving intellectual property. He also has extensive experience with a multitude of trademark matters including procurement of domestic and foreign trademarks and registrations, inter partes proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, trademark infringement and litigation matters, and client counseling.

Prior to joining Munck Wilson Mandala in 2002, Rob was IP counsel for STMicroelectronics (f/k/a SGS-Thomson Microelectronics), an international semiconductor company.  Throughout his legal career, Rob has worked at other Texas law firms, including a prominent intellectual property boutique. Prior to his legal career, Rob worked as an electronic/systems engineer with McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis. In 2004, he was listed as both a Texas Rising Star and a Texas Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters, and he has been selected annually as a Texas Super Lawyer by his peers from 2008 – 2017.

  • Defending handset manufacturers in several patent infringement actions in the Eastern District of Texas
  • Rendered legal opinions of non-infringement and invalidity for patents-in-suit asserted against a medical device manufacturer
  • Defended fiber optics connector manufacturer in patent infringement action; successfully sought and obtained a USPTO order for reexamination of all claims in the patent-in-suit resulting in amended reexamination claims foreclosing plaintiff’s multi-million dollar damages claim; and obtained a jury verdict on non-infringement
  • Representing a plaintiff semiconductor company in action for patent infringement, misappropriations of trade secrets and breach of confidentiality claims against a large semiconductor manufacturer
  • Defended manufacturer of vinyl and composite sheet piling for seawall and bulkhead retaining systems in patent infringement action; successfully sought and obtained a USPTO order for reexamination of all claims in a patent-in-suit and a stay of the action pending reexamination and resulting in amended reexamination claims foreclosing plaintiff’s multi-million dollar damages claim
  • Responsible for domestic and foreign patent procurement for major telecommunications equipment manufacturer, and major semiconductor manufacturer
  • Responsible for procurement and enforcement of worldwide trademark portfolio for US-based children’s toy and furniture manufacturer

Press Releases

Munck Wilson Mandala Verdict Listed Among 2021 Top 20 Verdicts

TopVerdict reviews cases that were tried in either state or federal courts of Texas to determine the top 20 verdicts each year. The same verdict was also listed as a Top 100 Verdict of 2021 by The National Law Journal, which will publish its Top 100 Verdicts in the July publication. In early March 2022,

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Press Releases

19 Munck Wilson Mandala Attorneys Named Texas Super Lawyers

The 2021 list of Texas Super Lawyers will be published in the October issue of Texas Monthly. The annual Texas Super Lawyers list honors Texas’ top lawyers based on surveys of more than 57,000 active attorneys across the state. The final list is estimated to be only five percent of Texas’ licensed attorneys. Several MWM partners

| 2 minute read

Press Releases

18 Munck Wilson Mandala Attorneys Named Texas Super Lawyers

The 2020 list of Texas Super Lawyers will be published in the October issue of Texas Monthly. The annual Texas Super Lawyers list honors Texas’ top lawyers based on surveys of more than 57,000 active attorneys across the state. The final list is estimated to be only five percent of Texas’ licensed attorneys. Several MWM partners

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Press Releases

Eight Munck Wilson Mandala Attorneys Honored as Best Lawyers in Dallas

Mandala, Ray and Kaliser are members of MWM’s corporate practice.  Mandala is a name partner and member of the executive committee and chairs MWM’s corporate practice. Ray and Kaliser are both partners in the corporate practice. Martinez is a senior partner in MWM’s complex litigation/dispute resolution practice. She is a trial attorney with a versatile

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In the News

How to Choose a Patent Attorney

Drafting a patent requires understanding the technology to be protected. A patent for an invention within a technical field is safest in the hands of an attorney with educational and work experience within the same industry. A patent attorney who understands the complexities of your invention can write thorough patents that outline the precise details

| 3 minute read

Press Releases

18 Munck Wilson Mandala Partners Named Texas Super Lawyers

The 2019 list of Texas Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters) will be published in the October issue of Texas Monthly. The annual Texas Super Lawyers list honors Texas’ top lawyers based on surveys of more than 57,000 active attorneys across the state. The final list is estimated to be only five percent of Texas’ licensed attorneys. The following

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Press Releases

16 Munck Wilson Mandala Partners Named Texas Super Lawyers

The 2018 list of Texas Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters) will be published in the October issue of Texas Monthly. The annual Texas Super Lawyers list honors Texas’ top lawyers based on surveys of more than 57,000 active attorneys across the state. The final list is estimated to be only five percent of Texas’ licensed attorneys. The following

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Press Releases

16 Munck Wilson Mandala Partners Named Texas Super Lawyers

Dallas, TX, Sep. 5, 2017 —–  16 partners from law firm Munck Wilson Mandala have been selected as Texas Super Lawyers for 2017.  Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.  Produced and managed by Thomson Reuters, the selection

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Press Releases

23 Munck Wilson Mandala Lawyers Named to 2024 Best Lawyers List

Munck Wilson Mandala is pleased to announce that 23 lawyers have been included in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Lawyers on The Best Lawyers in America list are divided by geographic

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Press Releases

18 Munck Wilson Mandala Attorneys Named Texas Super Lawyers 2023

Munck Wilson Mandala congratulates 18 attorneys who have been recognized as Texas Super Lawyers for 2023. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Produced and managed by Thomson Reuters, the selection process involves independent research,

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Press Releases

Munck Wilson Mandala Ranked Among 2024 Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms”

In Dallas, MWM ranked as a Best Law Firm® in commercial litigation, copyright law, corporate law, employment law/management, insurance law, labor law/management, litigation/construction, litigation/intellectual property, litigation/labor and employment, litigation/patent, mergers and acquisitions law, patent law, sports law, technology law, trademark law, and venture capital law. In Austin, MWM ranked as a Best Law Firm® in

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Saint Louis University School of Law, JD, 1993

cum laude

University of Dallas, MBA, 2002

Highest Honors

University of Iowa, BS, 1987

Electrical Engineering

  • Registered U.S. Patent Attorney

  • Best Lawyers in America
    2024
  • Texas Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters
    2004-2005, 2008-2023
  • The Best Lawyers in Dallas, D Magazine
    2020
  • Texas Rising Stars, Thomson Reuters
    2004

Missouri, 1993

Texas, 1994

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office