Kolisch Hartwell, P.C. has more than fifty years’ experience dedicated to obtaining and protecting intellectual property rights for its clients. We have been in the historic Pacific Building in downtown Portland virtually the entire time, eye-level with the Pioneer Courthouse.
Pierre Kolisch founded the firm in 1952. Three years later, Tim Hartwell joined him. The two built the foundation of the firm’s litigation and prosecution practices, with Kolisch practicing litigation and Hartwell handling prosecution. Pierre Kolisch, who passed on in 2008, is one of a small group of attorneys distinguished by having argued patent law before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Jon Dickinson joined the firm in the early 1960’s, and John McCormack joined in 1976. They played key roles in establishing the firm’s presence in California, with Dickinson focusing on patent prosecution for electronics companies, and McCormack handling many different types of IP work in various technologies, with an emphasis on trademark law and the toy industry. McCormack has also distinguished himself as a member of a small group of attorneys who have argued a trademark case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Pete Heuser joined the growing firm in 1983. He joined with Kolisch in the firm’s litigation practice, leads it today, and has been highly successful in obtaining major jury verdicts in both federal and state courts. With Pete on board, we became “Kolisch Hartwell Dickinson McCormack & Heuser.” Some clients still know us that way, but we shortened the name in 2002 to honor our two original founders.
As new shareholders and associates have joined the firm, we have carried on the tradition established by those before them. Our practice today carries on that tradition with a healthy and vital mix of intellectual property law, focusing on domestic and foreign patent, trademark, and copyright prosecution, as well as regional and national IP litigation and licensing.