Michael B. Stewart

Michael’s litigation experience includes both trials and oral arguments before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He is also admitted before the United States Supreme Court. In addition, Michael has substantial experience managing, administering and conducting worldwide projects involving updating ownership records of large intellectual property portfolios. Michael’s breadth of experience has enabled him to apply a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary approach to maximize the scope of intellectual property protection and beneficial usage.

Prior to practicing law, Michael was an engineer for a major automotive OEM and a systems engineer for the Computer Aided Engineering Network for the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan.

Michael is a frequent author and speaker on intellectual property protection and enforcement. He has spoken at the International Trademark Association (INTA), American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) and Michigan Bar Association annual meetings, as a speaker on behalf of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the National Science Foundation, and third-party organizations such as ARVO.  He has also lectured to engineering, business and law students at schools such as the University of Michigan and Notre Dame University. He has further served as an instructor for Lorman Education Services and for the Institute for Continuing Legal Education, and conducted webinars for such organizations as the AIPLA. Michael has been recognized by the State Bar of Michigan’s “A Lawyer Helps” program for giving back to the community.

• University of Michigan Law School, J.D, cum laude (1991)
• University of Michigan
  • M.S. in Aerospace Engineering (1988)
  • B.A. in English, with distinction (1987)
  • B.S.M.E., magna cum laude (1987)

Representative Professional Associations/Memberships

• Member of Standing Committee directed to Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI)
• Past Chair of the IP Law Associations and the Public Education Committees of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
• Member of Editorial Board for Tech Century Magazine of the Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD)
• Past Board Member of the Birmingham Optimists
• Past Dean of the Metropolitan Detroit Chapter of Delta Theta Phi
• Past Trustee, The Episcopal Diocese of Michigan
• Past Senior Warden and current member of Personnel Committee, St James Episcopal Church of Birmingham, MI
• American Bar Association
• Michigan Patent Law Association
• International Trademark Association
• Tau Beta Pi
• Vistage CEO Group CE 22

Representative Admissions

• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Federal Claims
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• State Bar of Michigan (1991)
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (Registered Patent Attorney)

Representative Professional Honors & Recognitions

• IAM Patent 1000 World’s Leading Patent Professionals
• Best Lawyers® in America for 10+ years
• Super Lawyers® for 10+ Years and Michigan Top 100 Lawyer for consecutive years
• IP Stars
• Michigan Lawyers Weekly 2017 “Leaders in the Law”
• State Bar of Michigan: “A Lawyer Helps”
• Marquis Who’s Who® Lifetime Achievement Award
• Leading Lawyers
• Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of AV Preeminent Lawyers®
• Dbusiness “Top Lawyers”
• Crain’s Detroit “40 Under 40”
• 2024 AIPLA Mentor of the year
• 2025 AIPLA Project Award
• American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) – Co-Chair of the 2025 Leadership Forum
• Chair of the PCT Issues Committee (including representing the committee in Geneva, Switzerland in 2025)
• Inaugural Forbes 2025 list of Best-in-State Lawyers

Representative Articles, Speaking Engagements, and Webinars

• “Attorney Raises Awareness of World IP Day“, Legal News, April 2024
• “The Roots and Realities of Artificial Intelligence“, TechCentury, Spring 2024
• “Copyright Law for Graphics Professionals” Graphics Pro Magazine, July 2023
• “Embracing the Digital Age” (Page 7) Law Practice Management, Spring 2023
• “Michael Stewart: IP Lawyer Always an Expert at Learning,” Leading Lawyers Magazine—Michigan Edition 2020
• “The Dos and Do Nots of Logos, Art, Copyrights and Trademarks.” The Awards and Personalization Association (APA), May 27, 2020
• “If You Snooze, You Lose: Protecting Creativity” (with endnotes for attorneys), Michigan Bar Journal, September 2018
• “Missions & Visions,” Michigan Lawyers Weekly, May 2018
• “If You Snooze, You Loose: A Guide to Protecting your Intellectual Property” (for non-lawyers), ESD Tech Century Magazine, April 2018
• “Michael Stewart’s Innovative Approach,” Michbar.org, September 6, 2016

Client Testimonials

“My compliance Director said he learned more in two hours working with Michael of Fishman Stewart, than in a decade using our previous IP firm.”

“Michael Stewart and the rest of the Fishman Stewart team have been an excellent resource for our company and have assisted in our growth over the past decade.”

“Fishman Stewart attorneys are knowledgeable, efficient, responsive and pragmatic. I have worked with a number of legal firms over the years, but Michael Stewart and his team at Fishman Stewart have been by far the best.”

“Michael Stewart has built a team of talented, dedicated and pragmatic attorneys and supporting staff that are willing to go above and beyond to ensure successful outcomes for their clients.”

“Michael Stewart and his team at Fishman Stewart do a great job.”

“Michael is very smart with a savvy business sense, He is extremely diligent. He is a true fiduciary and is dependable.”

“Michael has been a great asset to our company, focusing on our efforts to protect our IP while bringing practical and business thinking to the issues”

“Michael is very strategic and innovative, he is prepared to tailer his approach to the specific cirumstances to maximize effectiveness. He is proactive and always preparing for a variety of scenarios enabling him to ensure success even under tight timelines.”

Glen Dimplex Americas Ltd. v. Twin-Star International, Inc., Court: United States District Court, Florida Southern | Date Filed: Aug 18, 2020 | Docket Number: 9:20cv81340 | Nature of Suit: Patent | Cause: Patent Infringement

Twin-Star International, Inc. v. Dimplex North America Limited, Court: United States District Court, Michigan Eastern | Date Filed: Jun 08, 2018 | Docket Number: 2:18cv11842 | Nature of Suit: Patent | Cause: Patent Infringement

Glen Dimplex Americas Ltd., F/K/A Dimplex North America Limited v. Twin-Star International Inc., Court: United States District Court, Michigan Eastern | Date Filed: Nov 09, 2018 | Docket Number: 2:18cv13504 | Nature of Suit: Patent | Cause: Fed. Question

Hungry Howie’s Pizza & Subs, Inc. v. Grubhub Holdings Inc., Court: US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan | Date Filed: Mar 06, 2020 | Docket Number: 2:20cv10616 | Nature of Suit: Trademark | Cause: Trademark Infringement

Jonna Markets LLC v. Makini Howell, et al, Court: US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | Date Filed: Jul 14, 2020 | Docket Number: 20-35621 | Nature of Suit: 3840: Trademark

Siser North America, Inc., et al v. World Paper, Inc., et al, Court: US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | Date Filed: Aug 07, 2018 | Docket Number: 18-1893 | Nature of Suit: 3840: Property Rights: Trademark

Siser North America, Inc. et al v. Specialty Materials & Digital Decoration, LLC, Court: US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan | Date Filed: Sep 22, 2020 | Docket Number: 2:20cv12603 | Nature of Suit: Trademark | Cause: Trademark Infringement (Lanham Act)

Stahls’ Inc. D/B/A Groupestahl v. Geo Knight & Co., Inc., Court: US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan | Date Filed: Jan 04, 2018 | Docket Number: 2:18cv10040 | Nature of Suit: Trademark | Cause: Trademark Infringement

Stahls Inc. v. California Global Signs Information Technology Co., Inc., et al, Court: US District Court for the Central District of California | Date Filed: Oct 15, 2018 | Docket Number: 2:18cv8897 | Nature of Suit: Patent | Cause: Patent Infringement

Stahls’ v. Results Heat Transfer Vinyl Inc., et al, Court: US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan | Date Filed: Dec 11, 2019 | Docket Number: 2:19cv13653 | Nature of Suit: Trademark | Cause: Trademark Infringement