Our History

Our History

Shumaker & Sieffert was founded in 2001 by Steven (Steve) Shumaker and Kent Sieffert as a small firm dedicated to assisting technology companies with developing their patent portfolios. Steve and Kent followed their vision to develop a patent prosecution firm that is engineered, from the ground up, with processes designed to produce patents that provide a competitive advantage and withstand challenge. Based on this strong foundation, the firm has seen exponential growth through high-quality and efficient work and has been recognized as a highly ranked patent law firm in the United States.

Our Founders

Steve Shumaker

Steve Shumaker

Steve Shumaker was a founding principal of Shumaker & Sieffert until his retirement in June 2022. Steve started his career as a patent examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and then worked as a patent agent and patent attorney in private practice at two large law firms and in-house at 3M. It was at 3M that Steve began a long collaboration with inventor Kent Sieffert. At Shumaker & Sieffert, Steve’s practice focused on patent preparation and prosecution and patent infringement and validity counseling in the areas of electronics, software, and medical device technologies. From 2001 to 2018, Steve served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Minnesota Law School, establishing and teaching courses in Patent Prosecution Practice and Advanced Patent Prosecution Practice. In his retirement, Steve is enjoying spending time with his family and finally getting more time to play his impressive collection of guitars.

Kent Sieffert

Kent Sieffert

Kent J. Sieffert was a founding principal of Shumaker & Sieffert until his retirement in June 2022. Patent law was a second career for Kent, who started out as a software engineer at 3M. Kent’s initial experience in patent law was as an inventor while at 3M, where he worked with patent attorney Steve Shumaker. At Shumaker & Sieffert, Kent’s practice included all facets of patent prosecution, strategic counseling on patent portfolio management and development, opinions, and pre-suit investigations for complex electrical and software technologies. From 2001 to 2018, Kent served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Minnesota Law School, establishing and teaching courses in Patent Prosecution Practice and Advanced Patent Prosecution Practice. Since 2019, Kent has been a faculty member for the Management of Technology (MOT) graduate degree program in the Technology Leadership Institute at the University of Minnesota’s College of Science and Engineering, teaching courses in Managing Intellectual Property. In his retirement, Kent is enjoying spending time with his family while captaining his beautiful boat on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Services

Shumaker & Sieffert provides high-quality application and prosecution services ranging from Patent Prosecution to IP Strategy and IP Portfolio Engineering.

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Technologies

Shumaker & Sieffert provides patent legal services in a variety of technology areas. Our areas of expertise include the electrical, software, chemical, and medical device fields.

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Diversity Committee

A Commitment To Diversity

Shumaker & Sieffert values a culture of diversity and inclusion. We have proudly established a Diversity Committee that leads our firm’s initiatives and ensures that all of our internal processes align with our Diversity & Inclusion statement.

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Join Our Team

Join Our Team

At Shumaker & Sieffert, we believe that collaboration is one very important key to success. We are part of a team of professionals, challenged to solve complex problems across differing industries. If you are looking for a work environment that provides the training and support needed to develop successful and creative solutions, join us!

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