Martin is a registered patent attorney, one of the few patent attorneys in Hawai‘i. He practices patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, right of publicity, computer, licensing, Internet, and entertainment law at Cades Schutte. Martin is Chair of the Intellectual Property Group and Co-Chair of the Internet, eCommerce & Information Technology Group.
His practice includes advising clients about all aspects of U.S., foreign, and international intellectual property rights; filing and prosecuting U.S. and international patent and trademark applications, and U.S. copyright applications; representing clients (working with the firm’s litigation practice group) in proceedings before U.S. federal courts, the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board; and filing and prosecuting (through an extensive network of foreign correspondents) foreign patent and trademark applications, and prosecuting and defending opposition and cancellation proceedings before the patent and trademark offices of many of the major industrialized countries in the World.
Martin has been listed in the Best Lawyers® in America for 30 years and has been Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated for over 25 years. He is also listed in Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers and Who’s Who in American Law. He has given addresses on intellectual property matters to groups as diverse as the American Bar Association Business Law Section, United States Trademark Association, the Chamber of Commerce of Hawai‘i, the Rotary Club, Innovation workshops sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Association of Paralegals, a third-grade class studying inventions, as well as major colleges and universities, and other organizations.
Before becoming an attorney in Hawai‘i, Martin worked for the Office of Technology Assessment of the U.S. Congress on patent law and energy law projects and also worked as a paralegal in the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration in the Freedom of Information division.
Awards
- Listed in Best Lawyers®, since 1991
- Best Lawyers® Lawyer of the Year, Trademark Law, Honolulu, 2012
- IP Stars, Patent star-Hawai‘i and Trademark star-Hawai‘i, 2019
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated, since 1996
- Listed in Super Lawyers®, 2008-2013, 2015-2022
- Who’s Who in American Law
- IP Star by Managing Intellectual Property, since 2015
Podcast
Education
- J.D. (1981), Georgetown University Law Center, cum laude
- B.A. (1978), Brown University, with honors
Admissions
- Hawai‘i State Bar (1981)
- United States District Court for the District of Hawai‘i (1981)
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2001)
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (1990)
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (1986)
Memberships
- Hawaii State Bar Association, Intellectual Property and Technology Section, past Chair
- American Bar Association
- Patent and Trademark Office Society
- American Intellectual Property Law Association
- International Trademark Association
- Licensing Executives Society
- Computer Law Association
- International Referral, IP Trademark & Copyright Exclusive Member
- “Covenants against Competition in Franchise Agreements, Fourth Edition (Hawai‘i Chapter),” ABA Forum on Franchising and ABA Publishing (January 2023) (Author)
- “Top Ten Ways Organizations are Being Blindsided by their Websites and Social Media: A Practitioner’s Experiences and Perspectives,” Cades Schutte ke kumu (Spring/Summer 2023) (Author)
- “Intellectual Property Law in Current Contexts: A Less Boring Primer,” Hawaii Bar Journal p. 4. (February 2023) (Author)
- “Here’s Who Needs a Disclaimer at the End of Their Emails,” Hawaii Business Magazine (November 2022) (Author)
- “Intellectual Property: What Every Business Must Know Ninth Edition,” © 2021 Martin Hsia (2021) (Author)
- “Who Owns What Employees Create? Part 1: ‘Work for Hire’ and Copyright,” Hawaii Employment Letter p.1-5 (December 2018) (Author)
- “The Supreme Court’s Intellectual (Property) Year: A Whirlwind Tour,” Hawaii Bar Journal p. 26. (October 2014) (Author)
- “Technological Revolution and Patent Law Evolution (Or Devolution?): The Recent Weakening of Patents,” 14 Hawaii Bar Journal (No. 13) 117 (2011) (Author)
- “Workshop: Protecting Your Business Brand and Products – Patterns and Trademarks,” Leeward Community College, 2022 Hawai‘i Small Business Fair (September 17, 2022) (Speaker)
- “Legal Clinic: Trademarks,” Creative Lab Hawai‘i (June 9, 2021) (Speaker)
- “Legal Clinic: Copyrights,” Creative Lab Hawai‘i (June 2, 2021) (Speaker)
- “From Startup to Large International Company: Intellectual Property During Each Stage of the Life Cycle of a Business,” IPTL Section, Hawaii State Bar Association (July 8, 2020) (Co-Speaker with Dick (Richard) C. Mosher)
- “Legal Expert: Protecting Your Brand & Your Product,” Leeward Community College, 2019 Hawai‘i Small Business Fair (May 4, 2019) (Co-Presenter with Keri Ann K.S. Krzykowski)
- “Protecting Your Brand When Exporting,” Hawai‘i State Trade Expansion Program (April 11, 2019) (Speaker)
- “Patents and Intellectual Property,” University of Hawai‘i, Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Course (October 23, 2017) (Speaker)
- “Overview of the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DSTA),” Hawaii State Bar Association (August 31, 2017) (Speaker)
- “Intellectual Property, Copyright and Fair Use in Media,” ACM Western States Region Conference (March 18, 2016) (Speaker)
- “Patents, Copyrights & Trademarks,” Honolulu Community College, 2015 Small Business Fair (August 8, 2015) (Co-Presenter with Keri Ann K.S. Krzykowski)
- “Intellectual Property 101 A 101 CLE Series Seminar,” Hawaii State Bar Association (June 1, 2015) (Speaker)
- “Copyrights, Patents & Trademarks,” Leeward Community College, Spring 2015 Small Business Fair (February 21, 2015) (Co-Presenter with Keri Ann K.S. Krzykowski)
- University of Hawai‘i College of Engineering lunch seminar on intellectual property rights (September 18, 2014) (Speaker)
- Legal Advice in Paradise podcast episodes 7 and 9 (June 2014) (Speaker)
- “Creative Industries Division Co-Sponsors Visual Arts Segment,” (segment begins at 14:30), Showcase Hawai‘i (April 19, 2014) (Interviewee)
