E. Eric Mills

I am a registered patent attorney and licensed professional engineer who has the broad-based understanding and hands-on experience clients need to manage virtually every aspect of intellectual property matters, from patents and trademarks to copyrights and trade secrets.

Clients that I work closely with include a number of companies in the start-up and manufacturing sectors. This includes businesses with interests in medical and diagnostic devices; geotechnical and geogrid products; microfluidic devices; textiles; home and personal appliances; and general mechanical, electromechanical, and biomechanical technologies. I also partner with various universities in order to protect intellectual property developed at the educational institution level.

At Nexsen Pruet, I serve as Chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property practice group. In addition to this role, I devote a significant portion of my practice to preparing and prosecuting patent and trademark applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in foreign jurisdictions. I am well versed in the Patent Cooperation Treaty and Madrid protocols, and concentrate my practice in the area of international intellectual property law.

I also counsel clients in patentability and patent infringement issues; the selection, use, and enforcement of trademarks; domain name disputes; and other Internet issues. I have a broad background in strategic planning and management of client intellectual property portfolios, including acquisition, maintenance, and licensing of U.S. and foreign patent and trademark assets.

Outside of my practice at Nexsen Pruet, I hold the rank of Commander in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and serve as the senior reserve judge advocate with the District Thirteen Legal Office based in Seattle, Washington.

• Member, American Bar Association, Intellectual Property Law Section
• Member, American Intellectual Property Law Association
• Member, Association of University Technology Managers
• Member, Carolina Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law Association
• Board Member, Secretary, Marine Bio-Technologies Center of Innovation
• North Carolina Bar Association, Intellectual Property Law Section (chair, 2012-2013; vice chair, 2011-2012; treasurer, 2010-2011; secretary, 2009-2010; council member, 2003-2009; co-editor, IP Links, 2006-2008)

• Listed in Best Lawyers in America for "Lawyer of the Year" for Copyright Law in Raleigh, N.C. in 2020
• Listed as a 2016  North Carolina Lawyers Weekly “Leader in the Law.”
• Listed in North Carolina Super Lawyers® - Intellectual Property, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020
• Listed in Best Lawyers in America for Copyright Law in 2012 – 2015, 2019, 2020
• Listed in Legal Elite, Business North Carolina - Intellectual Property, 2004, 2006, 2008-2012, 2019
  • Legal Elite Hall of Fame – Intellectual Property, since 2013
• IP Star, Managing Intellectual Property, 2013 – 2014, 2018
• Martindale-Hubbell AV Peer Rated for Highest Level of Professional Excellence
• Certified Legal Lean Sigma® and Project Management Yellow Belt