Robert Hulse

Office

Silicon Valley

Practices

Industries

Education & Admissions

J.D., University of California, Davis, School of Law
Senior Articles Editor of the U.C. Davis Law Review

M.S., Engineering
Harvey Mudd College
Harvey Mudd Fellowship Award

B.S., with High Distinction, Engineering and Economics
Harvey Mudd College
Economics major completed at Claremont-McKenna College
Tau Beta Pi

Admitted to practice in California

Registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Bob builds strategic patent portfolios in a wide range of technical fields that equip clients with a strong intellectual property footing as they grow into household names.

“Peers call him ‘the oracle of patent law,’ while clients laud him as ‘hands down the most innovative, reliable and smartest patent prosecutor.’”

IAM Patent 1000

Bob advises clients in the computer software, electronics, electromechanical and medical devices, digital healthcare and electronic media industries. His holistic approach to building patent portfolios is strengthened by his extensive experience in intellectual property due diligence experience on both sides of M&A and financing transactions. Companies in the earlier stages rely on Bob to establish strong patent programs as they grow from industry newcomers to household names. He worked alongside Facebook to secure their first patent, on the Newsfeed, and many other fundamental patents such as the Like button, Check-In feature, privacy controls for social media, Social Ads and more. Bob was also the original patent attorney for Instacart and successfully grew their portfolio in the lead-up to their IPO.

In addition to providing legal services for his clients, Bob has served as an adjunct professor at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, teaching patent drafting and prosecution. He is also a member of the faculty at the Practising Law Institute and has lectured on topics related to patent law at the University of Washington School of Law, Dalhousie University and the National University of Singapore.

Advises Instacart, market-leading grocery delivery app, on their patent portfolio strategy and development, and in connection with acquisitions by Instacart, including Caper AI and Eversight.
Developed the IP strategy, including counseling about trade secrets and developing a patent portfolio, for Digital Diagnostics, a leading healthcare company that provides AI-based diagnostic tools for diagnosing various diseases.
Represented Facebook from their first patent through the portfolio’s growth to several thousand patents. This included establishing core IP in social media and online advertising fields and then continuing to core IP in online messaging and virtual reality.

Advises Instacart, market-leading grocery delivery app, on their patent portfolio strategy and development, and in connection with acquisitions by Instacart, including Caper AI and Eversight.
Developed the IP strategy, including counseling about trade secrets and developing a patent portfolio, for Digital Diagnostics, a leading healthcare company that provides AI-based diagnostic tools for diagnosing various diseases.
Represented Facebook from their first patent through the portfolio’s growth to several thousand patents. This included establishing core IP in social media and online advertising fields and then continuing to core IP in online messaging and virtual reality.