Counsel Joe Muller has extensive legal experience in all areas of intellectual property, but also in business management and product development. Prior to his legal career, he successfully managed Carter Automotive Company, a manufacturer of automotive products with sales exceeding $125 million annually, as the company’s Senior Vice President and General Manager. He also served as Carter’s Director of Purchasing, Product Manager and Patent Counsel.
Later, as General Counsel to ACF Industries, Inc., whose sales exceeded $300 million annually, he was involved with corporate acquisitions and divestitures, corporate financing, the Securities Exchange Commission, employee and labor relations, retirement and environmental matters, in addition to intellectual property protection and a range of litigation matters including product liability and personal injury.
Joe was President of Marelly Leasing LLC, a retailer and lessor of AEDs, whose sales exceeded $1 million annually, and has recently started a new company, Simple Golf Products LLC to develop and sell sports practice aids.
He is an inventor with eight U.S. and foreign patents in automotive, electric motor, sports equipment, firearm safety and RFID technologies and has two pending patent applications. Joe has counseled a number of start-up companies with respect to the development and protection of their intellectual property and with other aspects of their businesses.
American Bar Association
Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
Missouri Bar Association
Joe served as Director for the St. Louis Environmental Control Commission from1988-1997 and Director for the St. Louis Economic Development Commission from1986-1993.
J.D., Washington University School of Law
M.A. in Political Science, University of Missouri - St. Louis
B.S. in Electrical Engineering, University of Louisville
Missouri
United States Patent and Trademark Office
"Corporate Patent Practices: A Brief Overview,” St. Louis Bar Journal