Industries
Education
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 2017
University of Windsor School of Law, J.D., 2017
University of Western Ontario, B.S. (honors), 2014
Bar Admissions
- Canada/College of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents
- Canada/Province of Ontario
- Michigan
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (limited recognition)
Anita Marinelli is a principal in Miller Canfield's Intellectual Property Group and advises clients on complex intellectual property matters in both the United States and Canada. She focuses her practice on intellectual property strategy, patent and trademark prosecution, portfolio management, IP counseling, and targeted enforcement and defense of intellectual property rights. Her background managing various complex IP issues allows her to help clients comprehensively manage their intellectual property portfolios globally. Anita has experience in a wide range of technologies, including biotechnology, software, biomedical devices, chemicals, and consumer products.
Anita’s disputes experience is focused on intellectual property matters, including patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, domain name, and technology disputes. She advises clients on pre-suit IP analysis, enforcement strategy, risk assessment, discovery, claim construction, trial preparation, and proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Anita has represented clients before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; U.S. District Courts in Michigan, Texas, Massachusetts, and California; the Patent Trial and Appeal Board; and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Anita also aids in drafting and negotiating business agreements, including confidentiality, joint development, technology transfer, and nondisclosure agreements. In transactional matters, she also supports clients with intellectual property due diligence, portfolio review, ownership analysis, and chain of title investigation.
Anita is a registered patent attorney admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. She is also licensed to practice patent and trademark law before the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. She is one of the only U.S.-based attorneys fully licensed to file and prosecute patents and trademarks in Canada, in addition to the United States. This rare dual qualification allows her to provide seamless, cost-effective IP protection for clients with cross-border operations. Based in Detroit, she offers an integrated North American patent strategy. Her ability to handle filings directly with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office streamlines the process across jurisdictions, reduce coordination costs, and support more efficient North American portfolio management.


Representative Matters
- Led negotiations of intellectual property licensing and protection provisions for a non-profit organization advocating and innovating against human rights violations globally in a six-figure funding grant agreement, successfully reaching a resolution with the funder and securing a long-term funding boost for the client.
- Successfully defended a Michigan-based craft brewer in the defense of an allegation of trademark infringement by a manufacturer of the client’s brand of over twelve beers, as well as obtaining trademark protection for the same.
- Obtained a Federal Circuit reversal of inter partes review decision invalidating patent. Virtek Vision Int'l ULC v. Assembly Guidance Sys., Inc., 97 F.4th 882 (Fed. Cir. 2024)
- Obtained successful settlement of trade dress, trademark, and copyright infringement case involving consumer product for pets.
- Assisted lead counsel with drafting summary judgment papers for a defendant in a trade dress and trademark infringement action in the Central District of California.
- Supported lead trial counsel in design patent infringement action in the Northern District of Texas and obtained a jury verdict of willful infringement on 13 design patents, $3 million attorney fee award, all of which was upheld on appeal.
- Independently investigated client's intellectual property portfolio identifying various authorship and ownership issues and strategized actions to be taken to perfect the client's intellectual property rights
Honors
Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Intellectual Property Law, Intellectual Property Litigation, and Patent Litigation, 2026
Chambers USA, Up and Coming, Intellectual Property, 2025-present
DBusiness Magazine, Top Lawyers, 2025-present:
Intellectual Property & Patent Law
Michigan Super Lawyers, Rising Star, Intellectual Property, 2025
State Bar of Michigan Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2020, 2022, 2025
Professional Activities
Leadership Detroit, Class XLVI
Speeches
"Marks, Mascots, & Mottos: The Art and Effort of Academic Branding," National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) 2026 Annual Conference, Panelist, July 1, 2026
"Higher Education Privacy Laws," Michigan Independent Colleges and Universities (MICU), Webinar Presenter, May 7, 2026
Publications
"Website Tracking, Wiretapping Litigation Expand to Other States, Lawyers Say," Privacy Daily, Quoted, April 7, 2026
"Prepare and File a Copyright Infringement Suit," Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE), Author, October 31, 2025
"Behind the Rise of Dupe Enforcement and How Brands Should Respond," AdAge, Quoted, October 28, 2025
"Website establishes jurisdiction in trademark suit," Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Quoted, May 8, 2025

