Katherine E. White

Katherine E. White

Professor of Law

Contact

Room 3205
(313) 577-1054
(313) 577-2620 (fax)

Katherine E. White

  • Biography

    Katherine E. White received a B.S.E. degree in electrical engineering and computer science from Princeton University, a J.D. degree from the University of Washington, a LL.M. degree in patent and intellectual property law from the George Washington University Law School and a Master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College. From 1995-96, she was a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Randall R. Rader, Circuit Judge (ret.), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. From 2000-02, she was appointed by the Secretary of Commerce to serve on the United States Patent and Trademark Office Patent Public Advisory Committee. She was also first appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Plant Variety Protection Office Advisory Board serving from 2004 and continues to serve today. She was elected to the University of Michigan Board of Regents in 1998, and reelected in both 2006 and 2014. Her term expires January 1, 2023. She is a member of the corporate board of directors for Old National Bancorp, as well as Alta Equipment Group, Inc.

    In addition, she is a Brigadier General in the U.S. Army National Guard currently serving as the Deputy Commander of the 46 Military Police Command in Lansing, MI. In 2021, she was inducted into the Michigan Military and Veterans Hall of Honor. She is a Fulbright Senior Scholar (Germany), a White House Fellow 2001-02, and a registered patent attorney.

  • Degrees and Certifications

    LL.M., Intellectual Property Law, George Washington University Law School
    J.D., University of Washington School of Law 
    M.S.S., U.S. Army War College
    B.S.E., Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Princeton University

  • Selected publications

    Intellectual Property Litigation: Pretrial Practice, Wolters Kluwer (2019) (with Eric Dobrusin)

    Post-Teva: When Will the Federal Circuit Embrace the Deferential Standard of Review for Claim Construction, FED CIR. B.J. (2016)

    Government Contracting Should be a Core Competence for U.S. Military Personnel, Carlisle Barracks, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, 2014

    There's A Hole in the Bucket: The Effective Elimination of the Inequitable Conduct Doctrine, 11 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 999 (2012)

    Celebrating Contributions of Opinions Authored by Chief Judge Randall R. Rader in Patent Infringement Cases, 7 Wash. J.L. Tech & Arts 427 (2012)

    How the Supreme Court's Decisions over the Last Decade Have Reshaped Federal Circuit Jurisprudence, 35 N.KY.L. Rev. 315 (2008)

    The Recent Expansion of Extraterritoriality in Patent Infringement Cases, UCLA J.L. & Tech 1 (2007)

    One Step Outside the Country, One Step Back from Patent Infringement, Contract and Fiscal Law Developments of 2006 - Year in Review, ARMY LAW. 136, Department of the Army Pamphlet 27-50-404 (January 2007)

    Preserving the Patent Process to Incentivize Innovation in a Global Economy, SYRACUSE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LAW REPORTER, (2006)

    Trade Secrets and the Federal Tort Claims Act, Contract and Fiscal Law Developments of 2005 Year in Review, ARMY LAW. 125, Department of the Army Pamphlet 27-50-392 (January 2006)

    DD Form 882 Over Substance: Caveat Forfeiture, Contract and Fiscal Law Developments of 2005 Year in Review, ARMY LAW. 126, Department of the Army Pamphlet 27-50-392 (January 2006)

    Eriic M. Dobrusin and Katherine E. White, "Intellectual Property Litigation, Pretrial Practice Guide," Aspen Law & Business Supplement (September 2006)

    Losing Rights to Intellectual Property: The Perils of Contracting with the Federal Government, Contract and Fiscal Law Developments of 2004 Year in Review, ARMY LAW. 146, Department of the Army Pamphlet 27-50-380 (January 2005)

    Eriic M. Dobrusin and Katherine E. White, "Intellectual Property Litigation, Pretrial Practice Guide," Aspen Law & Business Supplement (September 2005)

    An Efficient Way to Improve Patent Quality for Plant Varieties, 3 NW J. OF TECH. & INTELL. PROP. 79 (2004)

    Eric M. Dobrusin and Katherine E. White, "Intellectual Property Litigation, Pretrial Practice Guide," Aspen Law & Business Supplement (September2004)

    Eric M. Dobrusin and Katherine E. White, "Intellectual Property Litigation, Pretrial Practice Guide," Aspen Law & Business Supplement (September2003)

    Festo: A Case Contravening the Convergence of Doctrine of Equivalents Jurisprudence in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, 8 MICH. TELECOMM. & TECH. L. REV. 1 (2001-2002) (lead article)

    Eric M. Dobrusin and Katherine E. White, "Intellectual Property Litigation, Pretrial Practice Guide," Aspen Law & Business Supplement (September 2002)

    A Rule for Determining When Patent Misuse Should be Applied, 11 FORDHAM INTELL. PROP., MEDIA & ENT. L.J. 671 (Spring 2001)

    Eric M. Dobrusin and Katherine E. White, "Intellectual Property Litigation, Pretrial Practice Guide," Aspen Law & Business Supplement (September 2001)

    A General Rule of Law is Needed to Define Public Use in Patent Cases, 88 KY. L.J. 423, No. 2 (1999-2000)

    Eric M. Dobrusin and Katherine E. White, "Intellectual Property Litigation, Pretrial Practice Guide," Aspen Law & Business Supplement (September 2000)

    Eric M. Dobrusin and Katherine E. White, "Intellectual Property Litigation, Pretrial Practice Guide," Aspen Law & Business (September1999 loose-leaf edition)

    Katherine E. White, "Intellectual Property Litigation, Pretrial Practice Guide," Chapter 2A, Cumulative Supplement, Aspen Publishing 1998

    Prosecution History Estoppel after Warner-Jenkinson, Comment, Center for Advanced Study and Research on Intellectual Property Publication Series No. 3, 1997, University of Washington School of Law (Summer 1998)

  • Social Science Research Network
  • Books

    Intellectual Property Litigation: Pretrial Practice, Fourth Edition (Wolters Kluwer 2019), co-authored with Eric M. Dobrusin.

    This book offers up-to-date, comprehensive case analysis and a clear framework for streamlining the procedural requirements and issues involved in resolving patent disputes.

    You'll find unparalleled analysis of crucial procedures and guiding case law on key phases of pretrial litigation practice including: preliminary injunction, bifurcation, discovery, summary judgment, and more.

    With Intellectual Property Litigation, you’ll learn cutting-edge, evidence-based practices to establish facts, test the sufficiency of your opponent’s case, commit your opponent to a position, and focus the issues toward your advantage.

    This must-have resource provides expert guidance and in-depth case analysis to pave your way through complex intellectual property litigation, including:

    • How to use injunctive relief, bifurcation, discovery, and summary judgment to resolve disputes
    • The best methods for protecting sensitive information from discovery
    • Recognizing and using the claims and defenses commonly encountered in patent litigation
    • Recent Federal Circuit and Supreme Court cases on the evolving standards for invalidating patents
    • And much more!

    The new edition of Intellectual Property Litigation: Pretrial Practice, Fourth Edition includes:

    • An examination of the proportionality standard
    • Analysis of recent changes in standards with respect to the new post-grant procedures and the shift of evidentiary burdens under the America Invents Act (AIA)
    • An in-depth discussion on patentability as seen through the lenses of landmark Supreme Court decisions 

    Intellectual Property Litigation: Pretrial Practice, Third Edition. (Aspen) 2008 co-authored w/Eric M. Dobrusin

    This book offers up-to-date, comprehensive case analysis and a clear framework for streamlining the procedural requirements and issues involved in resolving patent disputes. The book provides an unparalleled analysis of crucial procedures and guiding case law on key phases of pretrial litigation practice including: preliminary injunction, bifurcation, discovery, summary judgment, and more. Readers will learn cutting-edge, evidence-based practices to establish facts, test the sufficiency of an opponent's case, commit an opponent to a position, and focus the issues toward their advantage.

  • Accomplishments
    • Katherine E. White was inducted into the Michigan Military and Veterans Hall of Honor in 2021.
    • Katherine E. White was appointed Brigadier General in the U.S. Army National Guard on Sept. 1, 2019. She serves as the Deputy Commanding General of the 46th Military Police Command in Lansing, Michigan.
    • Katherine E. White is a recipient of a ATHENA International Leadership Award presented by ATHENA International. White received this honor in recognition of her “fine work inspiring, encouraging, educating and developing tomorrow's leaders, particularly emerging women leaders.”
    • Katherine White has been appointed by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue as a member of the Plant Variety Protection Board. She will serve a two-year term. The Plant Variety Protection Act secures intellectual property rights for developers of new varieties of plants. Read more here.
  • Recent courses taught