Robert Kinberg, Esq.
Central 1966
Robert Kinberg is an intellectual property law attorney in Washington, D.C., and represents clients all over the globe.
As a senior attorney in the Patent Prosecution Practice Group at Venable LLP, Kinberg counsels clients in patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and unfair competition. As a law specialist in the area of patents, he represents the interests of clients around the world in diverse technology fields that include high-tech electronics, industrial machinery, consumer products and biotechnology. During his career, Kinberg has obtained over 2,000 patents for his clients, and has developed a network of international patent attorneys from the United States, Europe, Asia the Far and Middle East. He has been a partner at Venable since 1998 and headed the Patent Prosecution Group for five years.
Kinberg began his law career as an examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He was later promoted to patent agent for the Navy and Air Force departments. His government service concluded with a six-year term at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, where he was a patent attorney in the Office of General Counsel.
At NASA, Kinberg assisted the Justice Department in defending one of the largest patent infringement suits ever brought against the U.S. government (Hughes Aircraft vs. U.S.). He co-counseled one of the largest Board of Contract Appeals cases ever brought against NASA, involving the tracking and data relay satellites that the space shuttles use to communicate with ground-based operations while in orbit. The general counsel honored him by assigning him as counsel to a prestigious Satellite Failure Review Board to investigate the failure of an important satellite.
In 1982, Kinberg took a position at a boutique patent law firm in Washington, D.C., where he honed his legal skills, made partner after four years and became intimately involved in the management of the firm.
Former Principal Al Burr remembers Kinberg as president of the student body who had a talent for communicating with others. “He connected the student body into a oneness of purpose,” Burr says. “He managed to take the high road with all of his leadership decisions. His goal was to gain more freedom for students by having students become more responsible, and he achieved it.”
Kinberg earned his B.S. in electrical engineering at Washington University in 1970. He received his J.D. degree in 1975 at George Washington University National Law Center in Washington, D.C.
Kinberg is married to Sharon R. Wilkes and lives in Chevy Chase, Md. He has two grown children, three grandsons, and two step-daughters. He has maintained an active involvement in his community as a Boy Scout leader, Boy’s Club basketball coach and president of a community swim and tennis club.