Jon Kappes

Mr. Kappes is the owner of the Law Offices of Jon E. Kappes, PLC, a firm that represents clients in patent prosecution, licensing, and enforcement matters in a variety of technical areas including semiconductors, mass media, wireless communications, electrical, and chemical arts. Mr. Kappes’ work includes intellectual property consulting, litigation-oriented patent prosecution, ex parte and inter partes PTO review proceedings, complex litigation, and patent sales and licensing.

During his first ten years of practice, Mr. Kappes worked with leading patent attorneys Steven Lisa and Gerald Hosier litigating patent cases on behalf of inventors and universities.

Mr. Kappes graduated from the Arizona State University College of Law, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, Order of the Barristers, and earned a certificate in intellectual property law. Mr. Kappes received the first annual Lisa Foundation Award for contributions to the Center for the Study of Law, Science & Technology at ASU, as well as the Hon. Mary M. Schroder Award for federal practice. While in law school, Mr. Kappes served as the Executive Editor/EIC of Jurimetrics, The ABA's Official Journal of Law, Science & Technology and worked for Arizona District Court Judge James Teilborg. Mr. Kappes has a BS in electrical engineering and MS in radiochemistry from Colorado State University. He is a member of the Arizona Bar, Illinois Bar, and registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, numerous federal district courts, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.  Mr. Kappes teaches IP law at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University including patent, copyright, and trademark law, advises ASU's Sports and Entertainment Law Journal (SELJ), advises the Intellectual Property Student Association (IPSA) and was the director of the Lisa Foundation Patent Law Clinic (LFPLC) in 2023-24.

In 2019, Mr. Kappes was awarded Faculty of the Year by the graduating class of students in ASU Law's Master of Legal Studies (MLS) program, and in 2021, 2023, and 2024 the JD graduates awarded Mr. Kappes Faculty of the Year.  

In the News:

• 10/10/2024 - USPTO Deputy Director Derrick Brent chooses ASU Law to host USPTO NIL Event for Young Athletes and Influencers Featuring Prof. Kappes
• 3/25/2024 - ASU Law students Compete in 2024 Saul Lefkowitz Trademark Moot Court Competition in Los Angeles coached by Prof. Kappes
• 9/29/2023 - McCarthy Institute Hosts IP-CON 2023 Panel on Right of Publicity and AI Moderated by Prof. Kappes
• 3/2/2023 - ASU Law hosts historic US Patent and Trademark Office hearings
• 1/22/2023 - Law Students Launch Spotify Podcast Minimally Creative (feat. Prof. Kappes in Episode 1 - Swift Justice).
• 12/16/2022 - ASU Law Student Kelsey Weinman Wins Best Student IP Paper in the Country from AIPLA.
• 4/27/2022 - National Jurist ranks Intellectual Property Program at ASU Law in Top 19 with A+ (preLaw Vol. 25, No.4, Spring 2022).
• 4/14/2022 - Prof. Kappes Honored with Distinguished Alumni Award from Jurimetrics: The ABA's Official Journal of Science & Technology Law.
• 4/6/2022 - J. Kappes (ASU) & Ruth Okediji (Harvard), "Legal and IP Issues in Technology Transfer," Launch Event, Global Center for Technology Transfer (GCTT).
• 11/9/2020 - ASU Law Students Engage in Dialogue with Inventor of the Super Soaker.
• 8/14/2020 - Hottest Practice Areas Post Pandemic III: Insurance, Regulatory, Intellectual Property & Tax Law, The National Jurist.
• 8/1/2020 - Commentaries on Patent Remedies and Complex Products, 60 Jurimetrics 381 at 382.
• 7/15/2020 - Phoenix Artist Objects to Car Company Using His Mural Art.
• 4/25/2018 - Lawsuit settled over use of term 'Believeland' for upcoming beer festival.
• 4/2/2018 - Non-Clevelanders take battle over the word 'Believeland' to federal court.
• 10/24/2017 - Prof. Jon Kappes on Picking the Right IP Law Program.
• 9/28/2017 - Pick the Right Intellectual Property Law Program, US News & World Report.
• 9/18/2017 - Newest additions further strengthen ASU Law’s faculty roster.
• 2/13/2015 - Konicek Jeffrey C and Kappes Jon E Seek Patent for Acknowledgment of Messages to Cellular Phones Through the Internet, Global IP News. Telecom Patent News; New Delhi (Login Req’d).
• 9/15/2009 - College of Law announces new patent clinic.
• 2007 - Innovative Collaborations: A Focus on Legal Issues Surrounding Academic Collaborations withFor-Profit and Government Entities, Journal of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) Vol. XIX at 41.