Robert Jeffery Veal

Robert (“Jeff”) Veal is a Partner in the Intellectual Property Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP.

Mr. Veal’s practice is devoted entirely to intellectual property as a blend of litigation with prosecution of patent and trademark applications as well as counseling clients. He formerly served on the committees that drafted the current Alabama State Trademark Act and the current Alabama State Trade Secrets Act. Additionally, Mr. Veal has been a CLE speaker for various bar associations and has spoken on intellectual property at numerous seminars and presentations. His litigation matters include patent, copyright, trademark and unfair competition issues.

Mr. Veal’s representations include:

• Veeck v. Southern Bldg. Code Congress Intern, 49 F. Supp. 2d 885 (E.D. Tex. 1999), affd. 241 F.3d 398 (5th Cir. 2001) rehearing en banc 293 F.3d. 791 (5th Cir. 2002); cert denied 537 U.S. 1043, 123 S.Ct. 650 (2002), 539 U.S. 969, 123 S.Ct. 2636 (2003); (Copyright)
• Vulcan Engineering Co. v. Fata Aluminum, Inc., 278 F.3d 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2002) (Patent)
• Decorations for Generations, Inc. v. Home Depot USA, Inc., No. CIV-S-01-0284 DFL PAN (E.D. Cal. Sep. 22, 2003) reversed in Decorations for Generations v. Home Depot USA, 128 Fed.Appx. 133, 2005 WL 548205 (Fed. Cir. 2005) cert denied 546 U.S. 1075, 126 S.Ct. 827 (2005). (Patent and Trade Dress)
• Central Admixture Pharmacy Services v. Advanced Cardiac Solutions et al, (N.D. Alabama 2006) reversed in Central Admixture Pharmacy Services v. Advanced Cardiac Solutions,482 F.3d 1347 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (Patent)
• In re EBSCO Industries Inc., 41 USPQ2d 1917 (TTAB 1997)(Trademark)
• In re Homeland Vinyl Products Inc., 81 USPQ2D 1378 (TTAB 2006)(Trademark)

His prosecution of patents in the United States Patent Office has resulted in hundreds of issued patents, and he has prosecuted over 1,000 trademark applications before the United States Trademark Office.

Mr. Veal is a registered patent attorney, admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 1982. He is admitted in a number of courts including: the Supreme Court of the United States, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the United States Court of Federal Claims, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and various United States District Courts.

He is a former Officer in the United States Navy.

Mr. Veal received his Bachelor of Science in Physics from Auburn University and earned his Juris Doctor from The University of Alabama College of Law. He is licensed to practice in the states of Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi and is a member of their respective bars.