Avery Joseph Welker
Avery Joseph Welker primarily serves clients in patent litigation, business disputes, and patent prosecution. Avery is a patent attorney registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office, enabling him to represent clients throughout prosecution and into post-grant proceedings. With B.S. and M.S. degrees in petroleum engineering, Avery is well versed in upstream oil and gas processes, routinely drawing upon this experience to support clients in the energy sector and beyond. He counsels clients in the consumer electronics, semiconductor manufacturing, oil and gas, and commercial aviation industries, among others.
In the realm of patent litigation, Avery has been a member of two US International Trade Commission (ITC) proceedings trial teams and for a jury trial in the Southern District of Texas. Much of Avery’s patent litigation experience rests in patent infringement damages work, including devising and responding to relevant discovery, deposition preparation, and working with experts.
In these trials and more, Avery plays an active role in pretrial litigation, drafting all types of discovery, organizing tracking documents, working with technical and economic experts, and preparing for, taking, and defending depositions. Inherent in his trial experiences, he has experience with trial preparation, including drafting exhibit lists, preparing demonstratives, drafting direct and cross-examinations, and participating in meet and confers with opposing counsel.
Avery has worked on multiple matters involving Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) and associated F/RAND licensing issues. He frequently seeks out the latest legal updates in patent damages and F/RAND issues to help clients stay apprised of new promulgated law. Drawing on these experiences and knowledge through trial or settlement, Avery has assisted with drafting and revising various patent license and settlement agreements.
Avery serves clients by drafting and prosecuting patents, at the heart of any intellectual property dispute. He uses his experience in litigation to draft stronger patents and ensure proper scope of protection for any client’s invention. As a benefit of his engineering background, Avery uses spatial thinking skills to bring inventions to life in a patent.
In addition to his work with intellectual property issues, Avery also represents clients in commercial business disputes. Avery contributes an engineering mindset to these disputes, methodically thinking through the results and ramifications of litigation decisions to strengthen client outcomes.
Avery is passionate about his pro bono practice and was named a “Pro Bono Legend” by Houston Volunteer Lawyers (HVL) for his service and participation in HVL’s Naturalization Clinics. He also participates in HVL’s Family Preparedness Clinics and assists clients with alternatives to guardianship.
- Represented a leading consumer electronics manufacturer and provider in multiple patent infringement actions before the ITC and District of Delaware; after ITC evidentiary hearing, case resulted in global license agreement between parties
- Represented an employee-owned industrial scale company in a patent infringement suit in the Southern District of Texas brought by a national industrial scale company; all claims asserted by the plaintiff were found invalid after a jury trial
- Represented a large multinational oil and gas drilling service company in the Southern District of Texas in enforcing its patent rights against a similarly situated service company; case settled out of court
- Represented a social media company in multiple arbitrations brought by former employees; employees and social media company entered into a settlement agreement
- University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law, 2023, J.D.
- Missouri University of Science and Technology, 2018, M.S., petroleum engineering
- Missouri University of Science and Technology, 2016, B.S., petroleum engineering
- Northwest Missouri State University, 2013, A.S., science and mathematics
- Texas
- Missouri
- US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- US District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- US District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- US District Court for the Western District of Texas
- US Patent and Trademark Office
Member, Practice Group of the Year, Intellectual Property, Law360 (2024)
Member, American Bar Association
Member, Houston Bar Association
Member, Society of Petroleum Engineers
Student Representative, University of Missouri Board of Curators (2018–2020)