Francois Ecclesiaste

Partner

Francois.Ecclesiaste@lewisbrisbois.com

François Ecclesiaste is a partner in the Minneapolis office of Lewis Brisbois and is a member of the Intellectual Property & Technology and Complex Business & Commercial Litigation Practices. Mr. Ecclesiaste has significant experience representing clients in high-stakes intellectual property and business litigation matters, including cases that involve patent, trademark, copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation, antitrust, and breach of contract issues. He maintains a diverse client base that includes Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, start-up companies, and individual inventors. As a registered patent attorney, Mr. Ecclesiaste has also successfully represented clients in inter partes review proceedings before the United States Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). He has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America: “Ones to Watch” since 2022.

Mr. Ecclesiaste gives back to his community by providing pro bono legal representation and by supporting various local non-profit organizations. He is a member of the boards of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Film Society, Haiti Outreach, Inc., and the advisory board of the Jack Mason Law and Democracy Initiative. Outside of his law practice, Mr. Ecclesiaste enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter. He enjoys biking, swimming, singing, and playing the piano.

Primary Area(s) of Practice

  • Complex Business & Commercial Litigation
  • Intellectual Property & Technology
  • Entertainment, Media & Sports

Associations

  • American Chemical Society (ACS) – Biochemical Technology Division
  • Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA)
  • Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers
  • New York State Bar Association (NYSBA)
  • District of Columbia Bar
  • Minneapolis St. Paul Film Society, Board of directors
  • Haiti Outreach, Inc., Board of directors
  • Books for Africa, Advisory Board

Awards & Honors

  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch (2023-2024 editions)
  • Selected as "Top 40 Under 40" by The National Black Lawyers (2019-2025)
  • Named a “North Star Lawyer” by the Minnesota State Bar Association for providing at least 50 hours of pro bono legal services (2017-2024)
  • Selected as Finance and Commerce’s 2024 “Rising Young Professional (RYP)” 

Professional Presentations

The Legal Risks and Implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blacks in Technology Conference (BITCon), Minneapolis, Minnesota (October 11, 2019)

Education

University of Minnesota School of Law

Juris Doctor (2015)

Florida State University

Bachelor of Science, Dual Degree in Biology and Chemistry (2012)

Representative Matters

  • Counsel for business in copyright infringement suit in Middle District of Florida.
  • Counsel for client in trademark infringement and unfair competition matter against multi-billion-dollar company before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
  • Counsel for Liberty Mutual and Comerica Bank in patent infringement suit in the Eastern District of Texas involving software and networking technologies and in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings at the Patent Trademark and Appeals Board (PTAB).
  • Counsel for Target Corporation and Forever 21 Retail, Inc. in successful defense of trademark infringement case in the Southern District of New York.
  • Counsel for FunitureDealer.Net, Inc. in copyright infringement suit against Amazon.com, Inc. and COA, Inc. dba Coaster Company of America in the District of Minnesota. Obtained favorable settlement for client.
  • Counsel for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and Dynamic Advances LLC in patent infringement suit involving natural language processing, machine learning, and artificial intelligence technology in the Northern District of New York. Successfully defended against institution of inter partes review seeking to invalidate asserted patents.
  • Counsel for Superior Industries, Inc. in patent infringement suit against a competitor involving conveyor belt technology.
  • Counsel for Sherwin-Williams Company and Valspar Corporation in defending patent infringement suit against Arch Chemicals. Inc involving paint compositions in the District of Delaware, as well as in inter partes review proceedings with the Patent Trademark and Appeals Board.
  • Counsel for Orthocor Medical, Inc., and its corporate parent Caerus Corporation as defense counsel in a patent infringement suit related to pulse electromagnetic field (PEMF) medical and veterinary devices in the Central District of California. Obtained successful dismissal of all claims with prejudice and without payment of any settlement amount.
  • Counsel for co-defendants INVT Inc. and Inventergy Global in successful defense of alleged antitrust violations resulting in dismissal of complaint with prejudice. Intel Corp. and Apple Inc. v. Fortress Investment Group LLC et al. (N.D. Cal. No. 19-cv-07651).
  • Counsel for General Electric Company in contract dispute related to silent Medical Imaging Resonance (MRI) technology in the District of Minnesota.
  • Counsel for Hunter Douglas in employment, trade secret, and breach of contract dispute.
  • Counsel for Minnesota-based artist and sculptor in copyright infringement suit related to art and content depicting Bigfoot. Obtained favorable settlement for client.

Foreign Language Capabilities

  • French
  • Haitian Creole