Michael J. Colitz, III

Florida

Michael J. Colitz, III is a Shareholder in GrayRobinson’s Tampa office, where he focuses his practice on intellectual property and technology litigation, including patents, trademarks, and copyright matters. He has litigated numerous patent, trademark, and copyright disputes in courts throughout the country and brings jury trial experience as both first and second chair to complex disputes.

Michael is board-certified in Intellectual Property Law by The Florida Bar and has served as past chair of The Florida Bar’s Intellectual Property Law Committee. In addition to his litigation practice, he is a registered patent attorney with extensive experience in preparing and prosecuting patent applications, having successfully obtained patents for clients across a broad range of technologies, including robotics, thermodynamics, medical devices, and building materials.

Before becoming an attorney, Michael worked as a registered patent agent in Washington, D.C., assisting with patentability, infringement, and validity studies, and during law school he was a senior associate member of the Stetson Law Review and graduated second in his class. He holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame and a J.D. (cum laude) from Stetson University College of Law. Michael is admitted to practice in Florida, before the U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Middle, and Northern Districts of Florida, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh and Federal Circuits, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Representative Patents

• U.S. Patent 5,542,806, titled “Fluid Actuated Lifting and Tilting Device”
• U.S. Patent 6,209,625, titled “Heat Pipe With Hydrogen Getter”
• U.S. Patent 6,572,653, titled “Vertebral Implant Adapted for Posterior Insertion”
• U.S. Patent 6,622,935, titled “Articulated Crop Spraying Apparatus”
• U.S. Patent 6,659,967, titled “System and Method for Noninvasively Evaluating a Limb Suspected of Compartment Syndrome”
• U.S. Patent 6,732,499, titled “Method and Apparatus for Gathering, Transporting and Processing Aquatic Plants”
• U.S. Patent 7,175,695, titled “Apparatus and Method for Enhancing Filtration”
• U.S. Patent 8,486,516, titled “Plastic Coated Composite Building Boards and Method of Making Same”