Ms. Nickols concentrates her practice in the area of intellectual property law, including the preparation, prosecution, and enforcement of patents and trademarks for domestic and international portfolios.
Ms. Nickols’ intellectual property law experience includes:
- Counseling regarding new product clearance and patent infringement issues, including patent validity and the design and implementation of non-infringing alternatives to patented technology.
- Conducting patent portfolio acquisition due diligence, including freedom to practice analyses and patented technology landscaping.
- Preparing and prosecuting domestic and international patent applications directed toward medical device technology, software, nanotechnology, semiconductor technology, and telecommunications.
- Preparing and prosecuting trademark applications including conducting trademark searches and counseling clients on development of trademark portfolios.
- Providing litigation support for a variety of patent and copyright matters.
Ms. Nickols’ prior work experience includes:
- Engineering and management roles in several General Electric industrial businesses including GE Plastics, GE Transportation Systems, and GE Appliances;
- Conducting financial, process, and legal compliance audits for GE’s Corporate Audit Staff; and
- Managing acquisition integrations for GE Medical Systems.
Recent Speeches and Publications
- An Entrepreneur’s Handbook to Intellectual Property, University of Texas at Dallas Executive Training Program through the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, September, 2006; University of Texas at Dallas Commercialization and Entrepreneurship Boot Camp, December, 2006.
- Changes to Representation of Others Before the USPTO: What You Need to Know, State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting, July, 2004; DFW-IPLA, October, 2004.
Honors
- Selected for inclusion in Texas Super Lawyers - Rising Stars Edition (2010)